65 + 65 = cube?

[miwoodar]

I want to take apart my 65 and mate the front/back panes with those from another 65 to making a ~3'x3' cube that is 25" deep. Top edges will be eurobraced. The bottom pane will be 1/2" glass with a ground edge.

I checked out the GARF DIY specs page and it recommended 1/2" glass all around for the sides. From what I can tell though the panes on my 65 are only 1/4". What gives? Do I have any reason to doubt the panes that came with my tank?

[kgross]

You will find that most manufactures use thinner glass that most calculators use. With good enough bracing that glass will work. There will be no more stress on the glass with the cube than there is in the 65 gallon tank. I would put some cross bracing on the tank if possible though in addition to the eurobracing, if not you will want I would say 4 to 5 inch eurobracing at a minimum to cut down on the deflection which will add a lot of stress to the glass.

Kim

[miwoodar]

Wow - 4 to 5 inches...that seems like a lot. I imagined 2. How thick would the bracing glass have to be? If I made it thicker could I get away with 2 inches?

[kgross]

Yes if you went with 1/2 inch glass I would say that a 2 inch brace would work.

Kim

[miwoodar]

KGoss - Have you made any tanks similar to this or of this depth?

[Fiziksgeek]

Just look around at any larger tank...you wont find any made from 1/4" glass...

I previously owned a 30" cube that was made from 1/2" glass with a 4" eurobrace.

[kgross]

I would not make a tank of that size out of 1/4 inch glass without cross bracing. I'm not sure if I would with cross bracing to be honest It is very hard to do cross bracing that works as well as the frames that come on most tanks. They hold quite a bit of pressure to keep the glass from bowing, which can cause it to crack.

Kim

[miwoodar]

So you don't think eurobracing would be an option? I'm confused by your response. I thought eurobracing would be more secure than a cross brace. No?

[kgross]

A cross brace is normally stronger than eurobracing, depending on the size of the eurobrace. A 36 inch long tank that is 25 inches deep, will put a lot of pressure on 1/4 inch glass. A DIY cross brace might not be that good, it depends on how it is made, the factory frames work very well and can hold a lot of pressure on the braces to support the glass. If you go with eurobracing on a 36 inch longx25 inch high tank with 1/4 I would suggest at least a 4 inch wide 1/4 inch thick eurobrace. You might be ok if you do a 2.5 eurobrace, with a 3 inch cross brace. The fun part will be crossing the braces in the middle of the tank. But if you do it all out of 1/4 it will be very easy to break the braces if you hit them very hard while working on the tank.

Kim

[not_sponsored]

Saw this at a local fish show, really nice tank but it doesn't have any bracing or frames at all. How is that possible? Had to be at least 40-50 gallons.

[Fiziksgeek]

They make lots of rimless/braceless tanks...just not with 1/4" glass.....

[kgross]

From the picture it looks like 1/2 inch glass. That will make a big difference.

Kim

[justinpsmith]

My brother just constructed a huge 520G 6x6 cube tank for my dad with only eurobracing, it is 24" tall...He used 3/4" glass though. He said he gets a little bowing, so now he is emptying it and cross bracing it with a 6'x2' cross brace. He has built quite a few tanks now and knows what he is doing too, so this is not a first time thing for him. I would go with 1/2" glass if I were you or Eurobrace and cross brace it a few times with 1/2". Of course 3x3 will bow much less but you dont want the tank blowing up!

[miwoodar]

I would prefer 1/2" for the side panels but it's not an option.

I'm going to make a custom trim for both the top and the bottom using trim salvaged from the dismantled tanks. The top will also be eurobraced with 1/2" that is 3" wide. No cross members unless it bows heavily when I leak test it.

The bottom pane will be 1/2" tempered with a ground edge.