saktown Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Hi everyone, I have recently decided that I want to downgrade from my current 120g to a cube around 40-50g. I am a college student, and frankly don't have enough time to properly care for a 120. I have looked around a bit, and either I will buy an acrylic cube on glasscages.com or build one from glass. I have never worked with glass before, so any tips would be very helpful. Also, does anyone know of some good places to get glass around here? When I was looking into it before, I just called almost every place I could find in the phone book, but I had no idea which were good. I haven't fully decided on the dimensions, but somewhere from 20^3 to 24^3. Any input would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I'm going to build my own tank also, but not quite so large (17" cube). I ordered the glass from a shop here in Vancouver, but they have not finished it yet. Joel at Waves builds 24" cubes, if you want to go that route, and you might also ask Envision for quote if you go acrylic. I plan to post a thread on my build, but I probably won't be building until December. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I have a cube on order from Joel and plan on posting a build thread when I actually start....I don't plan on getting the cube until after the first of the year. I'm going with a closed loop system powered by a Dart pump. I have not yet decided on the lighting system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saktown Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 hmm. If you don't mind me asking, what size tank did you order and how much is it going to be? I think I have decided on a 24" cube and I would like to do this somewhat cheaply. I will be building the stand and hood myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'm going with the 24" cube with 3 sided starphire glass...not the cheapest route but great quality and clarity. I'll send a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 FYI, I picked up my glass today, and thought I'd share some cost information. I didn't shop around, I went to a local shop (D & L Glass in Hazel Dell) that I had used before (they did our shower enclosure), and knew them to do good work. Anyway, my tank is going to be a 17" cube (actually 18" tall), 3/8" glass (overkill for this size, but I like the look). I had the edges flat polished, which added considerably to the cost. My tank is going into a corner, so I have two "backs" and two "fronts". I bought Starphire for the two fronts, each panel was just under $100. The regular glass (backs, bottom) were about $50 each. I also had 1/4" glass cut for my sump, approximately a 14" cube. Each of those was about $10. I just had the edges "seamed", which means just removing the sharp edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Sounds very cool, are you planning on using black silicon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Sounds very cool' date=' are you planning on using black silicon?[/quote'] That's the plan. I'm building the sump out of glass first as practice. If that doesn't go so well then I may go with clear, which would be a little more forgiving if I can't get perfect seams. I'm planning on using masking tape to get them nice and straight, so hopefully it will work out well. I'm pretty confident I can do a better job than many of off the shelf tanks, where it looks like the person building it must get paid by the amount of silicone they use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saktown Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Why is black silicon so much harder to work with? I think I am going to wait until I can find some cheap glass on craigslist. I almost had two huge sheets for $20, but they were 3/16. If I make the tank out of 3/8" glass all around, do I have to add braces around the top, or can it be rimless? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrellw Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Why is black silicon so much harder to work with? If the filet lines are not perfect, they will show up much more with black than with clear. The actual process isn't any more difficult, it is just that mistakes are much more visible. I think I am going to wait until I can find some cheap glass on craigslist. I almost had two huge sheets for $20, but they were 3/16. If I make the tank out of 3/8" glass all around, do I have to add braces around the top, or can it be rimless? 3/8" should be fine for rimless up to (and perhaps beyond) a 24" cube. 1/4" should be fine up to a 20" cube (that is what the Solana is, for example), and would have been fine for my tank. But I went for 3/8" because after the edge polishing, I still have a little over 1/4" to glue (the edges are slightly beveled with a flat polish). -Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saktown Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 3/8" it is, then. I have never built a tank before, so I'll probably just use clean silicon. What would you suggest for lighting? I was thinking a 150W/250W 10K MH with 1-2 24" actinic VHOs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayR Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Sounds like a fun project. Try to take some pics and post if you can. Is there a big difference from the starfire vs regular? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saktown Posted November 11, 2008 Author Share Posted November 11, 2008 I will try to take some pics when I get started. Yes, there is a big difference in starphire vs regular, but mostly in thicker glass. check this out: http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=58 IMO, for the thickness of glass I will be using, it is not worth the additional cost. Starphire is significantly more expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.