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Hey whats up,

I have heard of people building there own AGA,
Is this possible?
How Hard would this be?
I see kits on ebay for $0.99 selling kits on how to build one but is it really that easy?
What would invlovle building a glass fish tank.

I would love to be able to build something with lots of foot print for some cardinals like a 20-55 Gallon tank

I mean what does it take? some cut glass something to seal it???

Please help me out,

It's not that I'm going to build one its that I would like to know if its possible how easy it would be, if it is ven worth building it.

Etc....
I called 3 lfs around me and for a 20 Long the cheapest one was $35 for only the tank.

Thanks, Later

really, i would just go and buy one, saves time,and trouble. u will have to worrie about the tank being very easliy broken.

Small tanks or even tanks around 100g I always been told it was easier and CHEAPER to buy them.

I was going to make my own glass top for my 75 gallon. By the time I bought the glass the plastic hinge part and the piece of plastic for around the filter it was going to be only $0.35 cheaper than buying one. That was only because I found one glass shop here that sold the glass for $4.00 less than the other 6 shops I called otherwise it would have more money.

ighs:
Ok, Thanks

Standard sizes will always be cheaper bought ready made because they're produced in humbers, which cuts production costs.

The time when DIY aquarium building starts to save money is if you're planning an unusual shape, non-standard geometry or a truly huge size. Because having one like that made by the professionals requires some serious financial firepower. Especially if you're in the fortunate position of being able to build a 2,000 gallon monster in a concrete basement to house a big reef, coupled to a similar sized sump. Once you start considering projects that size, however, you're moving away from standard aquarium construction and starting to think in terms of a small civil engineering project. And the expertise for that is what costs money. A fully stocked 2,000 gallon aquarium is going to be a massively immovable object once in place - with water, live rock (in the case of a reef) and substrate, that system will tip the scales at close on 15 tons. Even in a concrete floored basement, something like that will require a fair amount of attention to detail with respect to the structural integrity of the chosen site.

Even once those factors are out of the way, constructing a beast like that will require a LOT of forward planning. Because the last thing you want with a system that size is the bonds coming apart and the whole lot exploding. If you have the skill to construct something like that, then I take my hat off to you.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

[link=GARF]http://www.garf.org/howtodoinformation.htm#AquariumConstruction" style="COLOR: #FFFF00[/link]

Build away my friend.

my bad for it being closed.. i must have mis-clicked

Basically there is not a lot to building a tank. You need a few things:
Glass cut to size you need, 4 sides, 1 bottom, try to get the thickest possible glass you can afford and still see through for strength
metal or Plastic black frame, or wood frame if this so suits you. If the tank is 55g or larger get a frame with a brace in the center at the top.
Lots of Silicone
2 People, possibly more for a larger tank
Once you have all your stuff together heres what you go.
Starting with the bottom, silicone it into place in the frame. Now, time is of the essence for the next step.
Using a Corner device (you know those little metal things that measure degrees of corner angles?)
Run a bead of silicone up each edge and raise the glass, using the corner thingy to make sure your angle is perfect. Work as fast as possible and do it right, you have just 1 chance.
Once the sides are in place and your helper(s) is holding it, quickly apply silicone to the inside of the top frame, slip it on.
Using a wet finger or an ice cube, smooth the silicone on the inside edges smooth. apply extra if necessary to inside seams.
There ya go, tank complete.
Some of those extending long clamps would be helpful to hold the tank in shape as it dries for the next week.


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i built 2 ply tanks using the garf plans no problems with the 4*2*2 but i didnt seal the glass on the 8*2*2 properly it got a slow leak, so i stipped it down and redid the seal and its been working great.here is a link to some photos,
http://community.webshots.com/user/danglock

OH TOLEEDY!