The begining of a shellie tank...

Thanks guys...so the Tropheus is a no go here. Will stick with my original thoughts at this time.
Really have nothing to update right now, except I've become lazy for a day or two here...getting the last scrapes of silicone is driving me crazy about to give up on that and just have some stripes in the tank LMAO!
 
Keep at it G! Once that stubborn silicon is gone the fun part begins!! I LOVE setting up new tanks, it's rather bad actually. :D
 
Thanks MyT, it's just so hard to get the last off. Going to work on things today.

I was wondering, there is a glass company down the road a ways. It wouldn't be to hard to make a glass top would it? Just get a piece big enough to go across, then not quite as wide, get two more pieces to make "top doors" and some hinges, so I can open the front...would I use silicone to attach the hindges?
 
Glass may be cheaper at Lowes, so you might want to check that out. What kind of hinge did you have in mind? You can buy the actual hinge of the versa tops as a replacement piece.

Glass tops can be as simple as running a bead of silicone between 2 pieces of glass to form a "hinge". Personally I find those a bit of a pain because they don't quite stay open.
 
It's actually less expensive to but a versa-top at your lfs than to get glass cut, then buy the hinge and splashguard strip for the back IME. I've made custom tops for my 75's and 45 because they're older tanks with no center braces. I used epoxy to attach knobs to the front piece for handles.
The hinge and splashguard is also available online from DR. F&S for 1/8" or 3/16" glass. The 3/16" is much better for tank tops, particularly for a 3-4' wide tank, because the 1/8" will bow/sag in the middle. For a 55 w/the center brace the 1/8" is fine though, that's what the versa-tops are made from.
 
Thanks guys, just thinking right now about it...not sure I'll go that route, but it seems simple enough. I know for the 4 pieces of glass I got when I made the sump it cost around 20bucks.

As for what hinge thing, I was just thinking of the little metal hinges you can by, like for cabinets?
 
Ya, you could use metal hinges and epoxy them in place, but the moisture will corrode them sooner or later. If you want a custom sliding glass top I have some plastic channel that works well for 1/8" glass. I tried it out on my 30 long, but didn't like the way the glass sagged in the middle so I went with a versa-top for that tank. I still have some of the channel lying around though, it would work well enough for a shorter width. I got an 8' length of it at Lowe's a year or two ago. Can't remember what the proper name/application of it is now. The channel has 2 sets of grooves, so you place one piece of glass in the lower and one in the upper, and one piece slides under (or over) the other one.
 
Thanks Todd, I think I'll look into the stuff first before deciding what I want to do. If I go with make my own I may take you up on that!!

So I am done as much as I'm going to be with the silicone removal, far from perfect but it works for me. I have to wash the tank out pretty good, then I'll add the crate, rocks, sand and shells!

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Just stumbled upon your post and noticed a little of the silicone is left on the last picture of your tank. Maybe using heat from a hairdryer will help.

Around my house we have ... industrial strength "hairdryers" that are used to warm up stickers and loosen the glue for easy removal. The intense heat will most likely melt the silicone and then you can just wipe it away. Most hardware stores allow people to rent some tools if you don't have one.

I'd check up on this before you try it ... I've never done it so I can't say or not if it will burn the glass. Use caution.

Good job and good luck!!!
 
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