|
|
|
|
#26
09/15/2005, 11:02 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
dovetailing acrylic will not hold the joint any better than a plain butt joint. the brace is to keep the tank from bowing in the middle. this all depends on what size tank you want. but a 4x2x2 tank - would have to be made of t hinker acrylic, much thicker...in order to be braceless.
they make glass tanks like that all the time...as mentioned above..glass would be the better of the two materials....for a large braceless tank. steve
__________________
grow ur own |
|
#27
09/15/2005, 11:12 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#28
09/15/2005, 12:33 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
You would need thicker acrylic than glass for a frameless tank. Usually, thinner plexi is used than glass for a tank if its frames well...but frameless?? Plexi would have to be much thicker than the same tank made of glass.
A LFS in Atlanta wanted frameless tanks...ones in the 4x4x1 or 6x4x1 range for shallow displays and grow-outs. They had to use 1" thick acrylic to prevent bowing because they went frameless. Acrylic is just to flexible to go frameless in many cases. OTOH, glass is fine. Removing the plastic frame on some tanks can be done as long as the center brace (if there is one) is replaced with a piece of glass to prevent bowing. As far as the plastic frame helping the silicone at the corners...well, that just plain isnt true. Silicone can hold any glass tank together on its own. The cross bracing is what the plastic frame is for...to prevent bowing. |
|
#29
09/15/2005, 12:52 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Removing the top frame on a spec AGA-type tank is risky because, as I understand it, they don't polish the top edges.
Many people on RC have trimless tanks - Thunnus has a really nice one from Glass Cages. I'm trying to get my ducks in a row to order one from them by next week - 48x24x17 trimless (maybe euro on the front only) with a low-iron front panel. A local guy has a 1" acrylic tank - 5 x 3 x 18" - and it bows like mad. I would go glass only for a trimless tank, but that's just me. |
|
#30
09/15/2005, 01:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
jjjimmy - properly cement, and let fully cure, a butt joint on two pieces of acrylic and then try to pull them apart...i dare ya. a dovetail joint on an acrylic tank is not only a waste of time, but could lead to some problems in the construction of the tank....unless the joints are exactly uniform on all four corners. that and it would look like crap on a tank.
a proper dovetail joint makes a big difference with wood. but, glue and wood are different than acrylic and cement. much. the other thing is, it has nothing to do with keeping a tank from bowing, which is what this thread is about. steve
__________________
grow ur own |
|
#31
09/15/2005, 01:25 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I built a 250 gal frameless tank for some one once and just used glass braces across the top to help support the long front panels.
Silicone is all that is needed to hold a glass tank together. The plastic trim is usesless unless it has a support in the top center. That support is just to hold the top sides in place and can be removed and replaced with a glass one. The edges under the plastic may be sharp and uneven but the plastic can be reomved and the sharp edges can be sanded down. |
|
#32
09/15/2005, 02:58 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|
#33
09/15/2005, 03:21 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
no bracing is the norm everywhere except here
This type of tank is very common everywhere except the US. I have a "euro" braced tank and it always made me laugh that it was called a "euro" style. It may have started in europe but I don't think it as common as the "braceless" tank you show. I guess eurobracing is mainly for the acrylic tanks because of it's flexible nature. There was a thread about this in the Tunze forum when someone asked about their mounts for their streams. The design of their mounts is made primarily for a tank like we are talking about. I will try to find the thread. In the thread I am talking about it also talks about a set of regulations that european tank builders are required to keep. I suspect this is why they can make these types of tanks and US builders do not. I don't believe tank builders here have any regulations and customers have gotten used to the braces.
|
|
#34
09/15/2005, 11:24 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Glass Cages! That was the place I was thinking of! They made some sweet tanks that are frameless. I made my 60 cube after seeing something like a 36x36x20" frameless tank with black silicone, open top, and halide pendants...looked sweeeet.
|
|
#36
09/16/2005, 02:22 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I'm not sure why, but I've also heard that US tanks all have bracing, but not for that good reason. The fear that without it the tank would just "pop" seems quite potent.
I'm in Japan and can confirm that many of the tanks here have no bracing (mine doesn't). Just silicone and careful constrution.
__________________
Can't think of anything witty or profound to write here. |
|
#38
09/16/2005, 02:45 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
There is a clear silicon that hold twice as good as the black silicon
its activated by uv from the sun it some great stuff i had a tank built with this stuff its no joke only down fall it does not flex at all |
|
|
Linear Mode
