500 gallon build !! (1 Viewer)

[Reefahholic]

Might as well make it a reseal party!

The hard part will be fitting that panel. We gonna need help. Gotta make sure it's even on both sides. Then pressed well into other panels. Not obsessively so, but sung to where we squeezing silicone out.

What are the deminisons?

Adult bevs post Bar Clamps.

 

[Wbattles]

Good info for when I have to do my 180 on the front panel and a side as well aha.

 

[Reefahholic]

I'm still not sure what we're actually doing with this thing. Are we building it or doing a couple panels?

Still haven't got the size or thickness?? 12mm?

 

[Lord Spice]

Sorry ! I want to swap out the main display pane for a low iron one, it's 3/4 thickness and I want to do a full reseal of the whole tank.

 

[Lord Spice]

Dimensions are 94 1/2 L, 25 1/2 W, 42T and I want to do a euro brace ,and a ghost overflow .

 

[Reefahholic]

Ok, no biggie. We either go big or go home right! Tank won't fix itself.

Overflow and bracing is easy. 18mm glass isn't gonna bow as much, and you'll probably be fine with 3 braces.

Are all the panels messed up? Where did you get this tank?

 

[Lord Spice]

The tank is in good shape , but the plan is to build a nice wall unit stand so the only viewable side will be the main front pane and I'm a big fan of the low iron glass

 

[Lord Spice]

something like this lol

 

[inigomontoya]

I know nothing about re-sealing these, but I was looking for a really tall custom and the price for any tank over 36" tall doubled. They required a stainless steel bracing/cage for the tank if using glass and over 36". Talked to the main guy at DSA and he refused to go any taller without it-height is what increases the pressure more than anything. That would make me more than nervous.

 

[Reefahholic]

I would personally run tempered 18mm 3" eurobracing around the parameter of the tank. Then I would run (3) tempered 4" 18mm staggered cross braces inbetween lighting for maximum light penetration.

 

[Reefahholic]

Ok, I'm ready to do this build. Does anybody disagree with the above bracing? It does not have to be tempered glass, but we need to keep the safety factor as close to 3.8 as possible if we can. This tank is huge and if it fails, it's no joke. I need input from you guys. Ten heads are better than one! We could actually use 12mm glass, but just need to stay around the 3.8 mark. Let me give you guys an example. Say you have an aquarium (I'll use the dimensions of this one [94.5 x 25.5 x 42]). His safety factor is currently 1.6 to start. "Not very safe Lord Spice." So, say we add a 4" cross brace dead center. This is a rough estimate, but lets say the SF increased to 2.3. After that.. we add complete Euro bracing around the parameter and now the SF has increased to 3.3. So you get the idea. Add a couple more 4" cross braces and we're golden. Also, we can further increase the SF by laying a Styrofoam or Polystrene pad on top of the stand. This will spread the load of the entire bottom and decrease the chances of the tank failing later on. One thing I do want to note, I have heard of MH lighting causing silicone and cross braces to fail. Not sure what kind of lighting your running, but just wanted to throw that out there. I'm sure the silicone was GE 1.

So let's set a D-day.

 

[Reefahholic]

So check it out. Here's a few things to look at:


This is a 325/G. Notice the Euro bracing and cross braces both top and bottom. I think it would be wise to do the top and bottom on yours.


325 gallon aquarium fish tank ? $3995 (Virginia Beach) | giant aquariums



This website is very informative. It's great for understanding safety factors. A lot of websites have copied this guys information and calculators. Good to bottom of page and enter your tank deminsions in millimeters. There's two links at the bottom.

Calculating Glass Thickness for Aquariums




I typed in your measurments on Garf.org to get a cut list for bracing... Here's what I got: The height of the tank when using Glass must not exceed 36 inches.


I got to say, 42" is extremely tall. I don't believe it's impossible though. There's a lot of really tall aquariums that have done fine for years. Not just acrylic either. We just need to brace it very well. Top and bottom for sure. I think the key will be to increase the euro width around the parameter. Say from 3-4" to 6-8" maybe. Not sure what you will be ok with. Maybe we can do more than three cross braces. I would go with the same thickness of your tank (18mm). We can do this. See, the problem I have with the above, is that this guy made a statement but doesn't give evidence to back it up. He just stated not to do it. I bet if I call him, he'll give me some BS answer with no evidence to back his claim. He probably had a tank fail that was over 36", but just because one or two fail it doesn't mean they all will fail. That doesn't establish anything. It would need to be long term failure with multiple people documenting what materials they used, silicone, cure time, temp, humidity, bracing, demensions, etc for it to be proven. There's just too many variables involved to say glass "MUST NOT EXCEED 36." If you guys are scared and back out that is fine. Just drop the material off with the tank at my garage. ;-)) Call you guys when I'm done. lol

Uncategorized | giant aquariums | Page 21

 

[RR-MAN]

How much this thing is gonna weight? Any issues with the home foundation?

 

[Reefahholic]

Man, I just priced a back horizontal Length panel for my 220/G, and it was $450+ 72X30x12mm

I'm assuming that back panel for the 180/G is about $400.

I'll be better off getting a cheap 180/g on Craigslist and tearing it apart to use the glass. Then at least I could get the panel and use the rest to build some QT/HT's and sell them. 12mm will go quick.

Poor spice will never find a 42" panel. Just one of those 18mm low iron will be $1,000+. Might be better to buy another aquarium on Craigs. Some cheap large ones. I got my 220 for $300. It even came with a mag 18 & 55/G. So really I stole that tank for $100.

 

[Lord Spice]

I know it's starting to look that way , sucks bad.

 

[RR-MAN]

Sorry spice.

Hey how about making it a reptile enclosure. Throw in a large python and call it a day.

 

[Lord Spice]

My wife would freak out !! I'm starting to think I might as well get a new one built that way I don't have to deal with all the hassle.

 

[James Lynch]

That would be much easier Spice.

 

[Wbattles]

aha 400 dollars for a panel on a 180 tank? As you said, craigs list is cheaper then that, espcially considering I need a front and side panel.

You know spice......... if you gonna make a new tank built..............

you could always go..........bigger!

 

[Reefahholic]

I hate my 30"H

You'll be glad you get a better tank.

I think 96Lx30Wx24H Sounds sick.