60 Gal w/ 36 Gal Sump & Stand.

[Grassman]

I thought I would share this build with everyone. Everything in this setup will be DIY except the pump, skimmer, heater, and bottom glass as it's tempered. Everything else is done by me. Here's the first picture of it. The table was finally cleared off at work so I could get down to some serious glass cutting. (plus the kids where driving me crazy so I stayed to polish the edges of the glass). :mrgreen:

This is going to be my first attempt at a marine tank & my first complete build of a tank over 35 gallons without store bought plastic tank trim. I'll post more when I get more done. The dimensions of the tank are 48" long x 13" deep x 22" high. I did this so I could drill drill my holes in the top and still have 55 gallons of water in it. The trim is going to made of a 1"x4" piece of red oak I ripped in half. It's laying behind the glass. I do have plastic trim for the 35 Gal that my buddy at LFS gave me.

 

[dcantucson]

Most don't actually build the tank itself, so it will be great to watch this! Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[bobby]

I will be tagging along for this one. I LOVE DIY so this should be fun!

 

[project5k]

yea, this is gonna be interesting to see, i've never seen a tank built before.

 

[daugherty]

they are not hard to build i helped at my old lfs to build a few.

 

[Wes888]

Looks like an interesting project. Make sure you take lot of pictures for the process. :)

 

[Grassman]

I'll post them as they come up, but I was informed tonight that the 'new fish tank' has been moved to the position 7 on the Barry's Projects To Finish List! :(

they are not hard to build i helped at my old lfs to build a few.

True they aren't hard to build. I have 37 10 gallon tanks in my basement that I've built. I used duct tape for the trim on them. What did people ever do before it was invented? LOL!! I've made the sacrifice of losing my second income of selling the fw fish I breed to start a marine tank. :grumble: Going from 40 tanks down to 2 if you include the sump as a tank.

 

[KidJ57]

Or video with professional lighting and audio...you know...if you have time :ugh: :mrgreen:

Haha, we're such geeks we're actually dying to see pictures of you cutting the glass even :lol: ...but honestly, where are the pictures of you cutting the glass :squint:

:lol:

 

[Grassman]

Or video with professional lighting and audio...you know...if you have time :ugh: :mrgreen:

Haha, we're such geeks we're actually dying to see pictures of you cutting the glass even :lol: ...but honestly, where are the pictures of you cutting the glass :squint:

:lol:

LOL. I'll take my camera to work with me and get them to take a picture of me cutting the piece I need for item # 2 on the list. 'Finish the wedding cabinet'. I could do a few of me drilling the holes in the back of the tank. I'm hoping to stop by Canadian Tire to get the fittings I need. It took me forever to get the pieces I needed. It's not too often we take out a good piece of .25" that I can use. As for the video......ummm...you really wanna look at my ugly face and hear me cursing and swearing? LOL. :rofl:

 

[KidJ57]

......ummm...you really wanna look at my ugly face and hear me cursing and swearing? LOL. :rofl:

That's a good point, I think we all get enough ugly faces and cursing when we wake up in the morning :sad: :grumble: :frustrat: :shock: :bounce:
:mrgreen:

 

[Grassman]

Is it fair that your wife adds point number in your project list? I now have a 4.4, 4.5, and a 4.6!!! Grrr....cutting glass this weekend for sump & putting it together. Will post pics. (wife has to work til 2. ;)

 

[Bifferwine]

Haha! No, it doesn't sound fair, but I think I will be employing that technique in the future!! ;)

 

[d2mini]

Why plastic and wood trim? Go trimless! :bounce:

 

[Grassman]

Why plastic and wood trim? Go trimless! :bounce:

I would but I don't trust myself. :mrgreen:

 

[project5k]

whats there to trust?

 

[Grassman]

whats there to trust?

My calculation of glass flex. I am making the tank bigger then a normal 55 gal, and anything bigger should have bigger the 6mm (1/4") glass. Since I'm cheap & am using used glass 6mm is the biggest we get returned to the shop to be scrapped. My 35's all held up, but I used 6mm for them which is plenty. I don't want to have wet feet cause the tank flexed and broke when I could have prevented it by trimming the tank.

 

[dcantucson]

Sounds like to me you make a valid point.

 

[Grassman]

Here are the second set of pics. It's me cutting the glass for the sump. Sorry about the quality, but I forgot my camera and used my cell phone to take them.

 

[project5k]

looks like progress to me! oh, and any pictures are better than none..

so, i guess the carpet covered table is pretty standard for glass shops then huh, cause my glass guy has almost the exact same setup...

man, i wish i had the cojones to make myself a custom sump outta glass, that would be so trick...

i can get the glass, its just the design, and the siliconing together that scares the crap outta me..

I mean i've repaired tanks, but thats not dealing with multiple parts that all have to line up just right on the edges, i dont know if i could do it without breaking something or it leaking after i'm done..

 

[daugherty]

I mean i've repaired tanks, but thats not dealing with multiple parts that all have to line up just right on the edges, i dont know if i could do it without breaking something or it leaking after i'm done..

just takes practice to cut the glass. i used tape to hold all the glass together while i siliconed the tank together. thats what worked for me