What glass thickness on my diy tank??

[Reef UP]

Ok need help from the pros!
Ok just like anyone I've reached the point it's time for yet another tank upgrade and this time I'm building a rimless or that's the plan!
The dimensions of the new tank is going to be
6' by 3' by 2'
Front pain starphire (all I can afford) so my main question here is what thickness will the glass need to be? Would 3/4" be ok? Second anyone know how to do the PVC bottom thing? Also what silicone should I use I want black silicone, how thick does the silicone beads be? You know just all the basics, I built tanks before but never of this magnitude as to speak haha!
Also anyone know a good place to buy the glass from?
Thank you in advance!

 

[cmcneil]

honestly i would leave a tank of that size to the pros.rimless tanks that size IMO arent something the hobbiest should attempt on their own.im sure someone will chime in that can answer your questions if you are really set on DIYing it.

 

[Reef UP]

Thanks for your reply but I am planing on diy just one of those things I've gotta accomplish I built my 125 I had aga send me all the parts I saved about half and it was a lot of fun!

 

[aalvarado87]

honestly i would leave a tank of that size to the pros.rimless tanks that size IMO arent something the hobbiest should attempt on their own.im sure someone will chime in that can answer your questions if you are really set on DIYing it.

oh the negativity diy for the win... i think garf has a thickness calculator

http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp

 

[Reef UP]

Yeah I did that But will 3/8" be thick enough for rimless?

 

[iani]

The Garf calculator is worthless for a rimless tank.

3/4" is good for a rimless of that size. You probably would want a 1" bottom or a 3/4" bottom with a 1/2" bottom eurobrace. As for the silicone glass to glass you would want to use Momentive rtv 108 or 103 (depending if you want black or clear). I don't know if I would trust doing a PVC bottom on a tank like that, esp since no one is absolutely sure what AGE uses for their tanks.

 

[Reef UP]

Thank you yeah AGE. Was the inspiration for the PVC bottom I know a guy that works in a plastics shop so id have access to a thick sheet of PVC and a CNC machine to make a notch around the bottom to hold the glass in I was thinking on the PVC bottom I'd use a 1.5" thick piece and notch it out 3/4" deep to hold the glass and silicone it in this would be easier to drill for closed loop! But if I went with glass bottom I'd go without the closed loop... Thanks for the feed back! Hadn't thought about the euro brace in the bottom thanks that's the sorta stuff I need to know!

 

[Troylee]

oh the negativity diy for the win... i think garf has a thickness calculator

http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp

No negativity those were words from the wise haha!!!! If you think that calculator is worth a dang go for it haha!!!! I personally wouldn't attempt that myself but hey what ever floats your boat... Get a quote from miracles or something and they would spec it all out for ya if ya wanted to do it.... The problem with that particular tank is handling the material one side is gonna weigh 2 or 300 pounds how do you plan on supporting it??? Just one of the many problems that will arise from such a diy.... Trust me I'm all for the diy but I wouldn't on this one...sorry..

 

[cmcneil]

oh the negativity diy for the win... i think garf has a thickness calculator

http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp

I didn't say one thing negative in my post,I simply stated that kind of tank really
Isn't a DIY thing for the average person.

 

[Reef UP]

Dang Troy haha I'll have a few buddies helping me been doing construction forever so I have all sorts of clamps and such to help with support have access to many glass tools since my friend installs windows for a living so for the most all tools are available! I was actually hoping you'd stop by troy I can build tanks outta acrylic if all the materials are prepped thought of going that route as well what would my costs be in that aspect Troy? Just materials? Pm me if ya would! This is a task that doesn't scare me just wanna make sure it gets done right the first go around

 

[aalvarado87]

I didn't say one thing negative in my post,I simply stated that kind of tank really
Isn't a DIY thing for the average person.

it was a joke dont take it to heart...

 

[aalvarado87]

No negativity those were words from the wise haha!!!! If you think that calculator is worth a dang go for it haha!!!! I personally wouldn't attempt that myself but hey what ever floats your boat... Get a quote from miracles or something and they would spec it all out for ya if ya wanted to do it.... The problem with that particular tank is handling the material one side is gonna weigh 2 or 300 pounds how do you plan on supporting it??? Just one of the many problems that will arise from such a diy.... Trust me I'm all for the diy but I wouldn't on this one...sorry..

for sure on that one i would never build a big tank

 

[Reef UP]

I like doing this sort of stuff though, I think I'd be more intimidated by it if I didn't have a well rounded construction background I've done a lot of just about everything when it comes to building things haha so this will be fun I just want to take in all I can before I jump in to make sure I have all of the tricks and secret things that'll make it go smooth