Custom tank build advice

[FlickaSA]

Hi,

So I'm pondering a couple of tank sizes - go big or go home I suppose :)

Option 1:
180cm length, 80cm width, 60cm height
Fully supported base - level, structural plyboard or something
Base: 12mm float glass
Sides: 19mm float glass

Option 2:
150cm length, 80cm width, 60cm height
Fully supported base - level, structural plyboard or something
Base: 12mm float glass
Sides: 19mm float glass

Are either of these feasible options? 19mm is the thickest float glass I can get.
What bracing, if any would you recommend?

I'm aiming to keep some tangs (yes, different genus so they don't fight) and a range of smaller fish and corals.

Next thing...
Our house is on supports in NZ - so not a solid concrete floor. Would I need to brace the floor under this beast?
I would be putting the sump behind or next to or outside, not under the tank to extend it's footprint.

Final thing...
What would you make the stand out of?

 

[UncommonSense]

Are either of these feasible options? 19mm is the thickest float glass I can get.
What bracing, if any would you recommend?

Are these proposed designs rimless? If so, you will definitely want thicker bottom pane glass than anything!

Here’s a handy glass thickness calculator! — it assumes the dimensions you input are a totally open glass box; no plastic upper/lower rim, no eurobracing or any other bracing.

Aquarium Glass Thickness Calculator

The aquarium glass thickness calculator finds required aquarium thickness, volume, glass surface area, and weight for any given measurements.

www.omnicalculator.com

Regarding bracing? Top front to rear long pane braces will likely be necessary; possibly bottom ones too! — glass silicone seam reinforcements are also an option, and can be seen in my tank thread!

Our house is on supports in NZ - so not a solid concrete floor. Would I need to brace the floor under this beast?

You will likely need additional support for the floor the tank is on; best bet here is hiring an engineer for these huge tanks…

What would you make the stand out of?

For a tank this big? Probably aluminum extrusion! — a custom lumber and plywood stand may also be an option!

 

[FlickaSA]

Are these proposed designs rimless? If so, you will definitely want thicker bottom pane glass than anything!

Here’s a handy glass thickness calculator! — it assumes the dimensions you input are a totally open glass box; no plastic upper/lower rim, no eurobracing or any other bracing.

Aquarium Glass Thickness Calculator

The aquarium glass thickness calculator finds required aquarium thickness, volume, glass surface area, and weight for any given measurements.

www.omnicalculator.com

Regarding bracing? Top front to rear long pane braces will likely be necessary; possibly bottom ones too! — glass silicone seam reinforcements are also an option, and can be seen in my tank thread!




You will likely need additional support for the floor the tank is on; best bet here is hiring an engineer for these huge tanks…




For a tank this big? Probably aluminum extrusion! — a custom lumber and plywood stand may also be an option!

Awesome info - thanks!

I would probably be doing rims/bracing of some kind. Euro bracing or front to back bracing. Potentially a frame around the base as well as in the corners given your info.

Did think the floor would take some serious strain :)

I love that calculator! My proposed glass thicknesses are based on ChatGPT negotiations, so a guess at best.

 

[Idech]

Is this in inches or mm ? 60 and 80 mm don’t make sense.

 

[FlickaSA]

Is this in inches or mm ? 60 and 80 mm don’t make sense.

My bad! I've adjusted. It's supposed to be 180/150cm and 80cm and 60cm.

I lost track of whether I was typing in mm or cm and switched...

 

[UncommonSense]

I would probably be doing rims/bracing of some kind. Euro bracing or front to back bracing. Potentially a frame around the base as well as in the corners given your info.

There is really no good calculator readily available for it; but adding a top and bottom glass strip spanning front to rear inside the long viewing panes effectively breaks the tank up into multiple smaller tanks, glass thickness-wise! (It doesn’t account for what is essentially a missing short glass pane though, so consider this with caution)

You just need a very thick bottom pane (ideally tempered for exponentially more strength) for a rimless tank (and 100% plane/straight support across the top of the stand); you can add the glass to the interior of the silicone seams to increase their thickness even further if so desired, but this is ideally done during assembly, in one fell swoop during the 10 min silicone work time!

You can combine top and bottom center braces with top and bottom euros even; it just means a bit less space to get into the tank!

Are you thinking of rear long pane, short side pane peninsula, or bottom pane for your overflow holes?

 

[UncommonSense]

Is this in inches or mm ? 60 and 80 mm don’t make sense.

I’m guessing Cm

Edit: beat me to it! — bad service here tonight!

 

[areefer01]

If this is custom to order make the builder to give you quotes based on your measurements which limit material waste. You may be surprised that you will have a couple tank sizes at the same cost.

Something to consider.

 

[UncommonSense]

If this is custom to order make the builder to give you quotes based on your measurements which limit material waste. You may be surprised that you will have a couple tank sizes at the same cost.

Something to consider.

I’ll add that your short side panes can typically be thinner than your long front/rear panes, just because they see less force! — definitely do your math there, and consider that thicker glass = thicker silicone seams, with more PSI of tinsel strength! (This is before optional glass seam reinforcements too)

 

[Sixdinnersquid]

Regarding support structure: if you can do so, try to overbuild it with a large number of supports evenly distributed across the width of the tank. You don't want to constantly be worried that the thing will collapse underneath the weight of the tank. Trangle bracing is your friend.

Back when I was in my own tank-building phase, I lost a lot of sleep over that.

 

[areefer01]

I’ll add that your short side panes can typically be thinner than your long front/rear panes, just because they see less force! — definitely do your math there, and consider that thicker glass = thicker silicone seams, with more PSI of tinsel strength! (This is before optional glass seam reinforcements too)

Oh, I wasn't suggesting that - that is outside my area :). Sorry about that.

A recent quote I received included two tank sizes, 102x27x27 or a 102x30x30, for the same price. The reason was material waste. I wasn't expecting that but thought it was insightful. I did a few measurements found I could do the 102x30x30. I guess it comes down to the size of the sheet/material they are using or had - not sure to be honest.

Not sure if this is the norm or not.

 

[FlickaSA]

There is really no good calculator readily available for it; but adding a top and bottom glass strip spanning front to rear inside the long viewing panes effectively breaks the tank up into multiple smaller tanks, glass thickness-wise! (It doesn’t account for what is essentially a missing short glass pane though, so consider this with caution)

You just need a very thick bottom pane (ideally tempered for exponentially more strength) for a rimless tank (and 100% plane/straight support across the top of the stand); you can add the glass to the interior of the silicone seams to increase their thickness even further if so desired, but this is ideally done during assembly, in one fell swoop during the 10 min silicone work time!

You can combine top and bottom center braces with top and bottom euros even; it just means a bit less space to get into the tank!

Are you thinking of rear long pane, short side pane peninsula, or bottom pane for your overflow holes?

Because I need all the info…

Why does a rimless tank need a thicker bottom?

Why and how would bottom euro bracing work?

I’d put the overflow in the bottom pane. Unless there is a better recommendation?

This is something that I’m planning on making myself, and it’s my first. So more info is far better.

 

[FlickaSA]

Regarding support structure: if you can do so, try to overbuild it with a large number of supports evenly distributed across the width of the tank. You don't want to constantly be worried that the thing will collapse underneath the weight of the tank. Trangle bracing is your friend.

Back when I was in my own tank-building phase, I lost a lot of sleep over that.

Trangle bracing? I’ve not heard that term yet.

 

[areefer01]

This is something that I’m planning on making myself, and it’s my first. So more info is far better.

I missed that you are doing this on your own. Material size may still be applicable but wanted to apologize that I missed this detail. Ignore my comment about custom builders then :D

 

[FlickaSA]

I missed that you are doing this on your own. Material size may still be applicable but wanted to apologize that I missed this detail. Ignore my comment about custom builders then :D

That kind of thing about wastage is exactly why I’d make it myself

 

[UncommonSense]

Because I need all the info…

Why does a rimless tank need a thicker bottom?

Why and how would bottom euro bracing work?

I’d put the overflow in the bottom pane. Unless there is a better recommendation?

This is something that I’m planning on making myself, and it’s my first. So more info is far better.

The thicker bottom is due to the lack of structural support provided by the bottom plastic rim and center braces; the load is distributed across the glass pane to the stand; not the plastic rim/frame to the stand!

Bottom euro bracing essentially serves to increase the thickness of the bottom silicone seam, the seam which sees the most working load! — water is trying to push outwards on the viewing panes; trying to bow them and push them apart; the bottom euro would essentially allow you to either use thinner glass, or just have a much more overbuilt tank! (The latter is very important as someone who doesn’t build tanks for a living, and might make a slightly imperfect silicone seam during tank assembly!)

Bottom pane overflows work great! They are the only way to prevent plumbing from the side panes of the tank! — just always get your overflow, return, and closed loop (if applicable) bulkhead holes drilled before tempering (if applicable)!

I would not build this beast as your very first attempt! Cut your teeth on something a bit smaller and more manageable to get a feel for the assembly process! — it’s a mix of a science and an art form! — (I’ve currently got one tiny 4g corner triangle tank out in the world I’ve built from scratch, and am working on getting glass for my second 20g corner frustum tank currently; I have build threads here on both, and will be finishing the 20g before even considering rebuilding or at least internally reinforcing a Red Sea reefer 450 [92g tank; 78lb viewing pane])

There’s a ton more to it than I’ve listed here… feel free to send a PM if you want to get into the weeds of the finer details!

 

[FlickaSA]

The thicker bottom is due to the lack of structural support provided by the bottom plastic rim and center braces; the load is distributed across the glass pane to the stand; not the plastic rim/frame to the stand!

Bottom euro bracing essentially serves to increase the thickness of the bottom silicone seam, the seam which sees the most working load! — water is trying to push outwards on the viewing panes; trying to bow them and push them apart; the bottom euro would essentially allow you to either use thinner glass, or just have a much more overbuilt tank! (The latter is very important as someone who doesn’t build tanks for a living, and might make a slightly imperfect silicone seam during tank assembly!)

Bottom pane overflows work great! They are the only way to prevent plumbing from the side panes of the tank! — just always get your overflow, return, and closed loop (if applicable) bulkhead holes drilled before tempering (if applicable)!

I would not build this beast as your very first attempt! Cut your teeth on something a bit smaller and more manageable to get a feel for the assembly process! — it’s a mix of a science and an art form! — (I’ve currently got one tiny 4g corner triangle tank out in the world I’ve built from scratch, and am working on getting glass for my second 20g corner frustum tank currently; I have build threads here on both, and will be finishing the 20g before even considering rebuilding or at least internally reinforcing a Red Sea reefer 450 [92g tank; 78lb viewing pane])

There’s a ton more to it than I’ve listed here… feel free to send a PM if you want to get into the weeds of the finer details!

Awesome advice - thanks.
I'm planning a few years in advance - so got time to figure out the inner workings and build some smaller ones between then and now to test the waters.

Save up to brace and reinforce the floor and all that jazz - an expensive business a tank this big :)

 

[Sixdinnersquid]

It's a very good idea to do some smaller ones first. You'll develop a feel for working with silicone. It can be a royal pain.