wilkens Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Getting ready to have the glass for my 60 Gallon Cube cut. I have been making my self crazy with the sizing of the panels. Can anyone tell me how much I should account for silicone? I am guessing 1/64th per joint. I told my glass guy I needed 3 pieces cut 24"x24" and 2 pieces 24"x23 7/32." He almost laughed at me. Any advice? Link to comment
cdelicath Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Getting ready to have the glass for my 60 Gallon Cube cut. I have been making my self crazy with the sizing of the panels. Can anyone tell me how much I should account for silicone? I am guessing 1/64th per joint. I told my glass guy I needed 3 pieces cut 24"x24" and 2 pieces 24"x23 7/32." He almost laughed at me. Any advice? When cutting glass the best you will get is within a 1/16" breaks are usually good to 1/8" and then the polisher/beveler will remove 1/16" at a time to get you where you need to be. You need to find a shop that will cut you: 3/8" glass 2 x 24" x 24" 2 x 24" x 23 1/4" 1 x 23 1/4" x 23 1/4" Have them polish to get to the 1/16" mark and let them know what you are doing and that the glass needs to be exact as possible. This layout is for the sides around the base not on it. With the size of glass you don't want the shear weight sitting on the base. Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 cdelicath, thanks for the quick reply! I think I am missing something still, if I was to have the pieces cut and trimmed to those exact specs, I would be allowing for no space for silicone. On another note, how do you feel about raising the bottom panel of glass. I have read to have it lifted 1/4" as per GARF. http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp Link to comment
cdelicath Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 cdelicath, thanks for the quick reply! I think I am missing something still, if I was to have the pieces cut and trimmed to those exact specs, I would be allowing for no space for silicone. On another note, how do you feel about raising the bottom panel of glass. I have read to have it lifted 1/4" as per GARF. http://www.garf.org/tank/BuildTank.asp If you cant find a level surface yes raising the base and adding spots of sealant under it when placing it in the final location will work. Not needed in a tank this size IMO however you should be adding padding under it regardless to help it self level. There is no need to account for sealant spacing in a tank this size either. Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thank you for the confirmation. Ordering the glass tomorrow, I will keep you updated! Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Finally got around to assembling the tank. Let the testing begin! Link to comment
glazer Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Nice job dude!! Looks great... So is it 24" in every direction? Optical illusion perhaps... in the pics it looks a bit taller than it is width both ways. If I can ask... what did you end up paying for the glass? I'm thinking about doing a similar size but only going 18" tall. Trying to decide if it's worth it to do my own or just like buy a Mr. Aqua. Steve Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Steve, its a true 24" cube. If I had he chance to do it over again, I think I would go with 24"x24"x18" tall as it is going to be sitting on a 36" tall base. The Mr. Aqua tanks are nice but you are able to produce the same quality with a little patience. Price was the biggest factor for me, the 24" cube is a huge jump in price from the 18." My glass is regular 3/8" and I paid $40/side. That is really cheap from what I am told, I have a friend who is a glazier. I did some searching around and the cheapest I could find was $70/side. I will clean it up and take some better pictures on the base tonight. I used two of these clamps for alignment as I lifted the sides into place... http://www.harborfreight.com/3-inch-corner-clamp-1852.html One of these band clamps to really sock the panels together.... http://www.harborfreight.com/1-inch-x-15-f...lamp-66220.html And this commercial grade silicone...I have an extra tube if you are interested. http://www.dkhardware.com/product-29571-sc...ne-sealant.html Link to comment
glazer Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Thanks for the info! I've built a few smaller tanks before (under 30 gallons) but was fortunate to get the glass for nothing because of a work situation... that no longer exists. I'm looking to do a 40 to 60 gallon for my living room so wasn't sure how it was all going to work out expense wise. I think you did great on your glass, 40 a side with polished edges, most excellent! I was thinking of doing more like 1/2" thick.... not with structural strength in mind, purely for looks. Dunno, think it will look pretty nice on a three foot tall stand... cuts down on some of the stooping over to look around in the tank ya know, good height for when you are sitting as well. Again, good job my man.... looks really nice! Steve Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 Thank you for the compliments! I was trying to keep the tank base as tall as possible to avoid having to bend over to look inside, but keep it low enough to do minor work without having a ladder. I'm taking the test water out tonight and putting it on the stand. Clean up the glass and take some better pictures. Any thoughts on overflows? I was looking at the 700GPH from GH's with two 1/2" returns. Link to comment
glazer Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Any thoughts on overflows? I was looking at the 700GPH from GH's with two 1/2" returns. It's a good kit... if the drain style fits with your plumbing desires, flow matches up with your stocking plans then yer all set. On the other hand.... if you need something to fit a different drain configuration just give me a shout, build the boxes all the time for people, wide, deep, shallow, tall, corner, teeth, no teeth, lids, yada, yada, yada. (poke around in some of my photo albums in my sig... ) Steve Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 I was just checking out your pics, I may be interested. I had some 1/8" black acrylic laying around and tried to put together an overflow with teeth but just couldn't get the teeth to come out straight enough for my liking. This is my first marine tank and I plan on keeping it a FOWLR for the time being. I'm am going to be moving within 6-8 months and when it is in its permanent spot I may make it a full reef. Need to do some thinking... Link to comment
wilkens Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 Couple of shots of the tank on the base. Link to comment
glazer Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Very NICE! I'll be looking forward to seeing some pics of this thing all wet and full of like rocks and stuff.. ha! Steve Link to comment
wilkens Posted March 7, 2011 Author Share Posted March 7, 2011 Update...Drilled in the 700gph Gl#######s overflow and twin 1/2" return lines. Link to comment
wilkens Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Its been a while so I thought I would put up an update on my cube. After buying a house and moving in, it is in its final resting place. DIY LED lighting, Moonlight, Programmable Digital PID for the heater, dimmers, timers...Now all I need is to stock it. I know the purple primer is a mess... Link to comment
Solarflare8806 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 my dream tank, very well done! Link to comment
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