DIY Aquarium Ideas & Opinions Requested

[TaylorAnn]

Yes. I said opinions. I will provide more information as needed, but I really am just curious to know your opinions on depth requirements.

As I said, I am looking to make an aquarium, sort of DIY kinda, but not really. I have a friend who has kinda made a business out of repairing and DIYing aquarium tanks, but isn't sure about the depth requirements & limitations. I am looking to build one for a targeted location. It is on a bookshelf kinda shelving unit, but the shelf is built into the wall. While I am prepared to provide support (to support the weight of the filled tank), if needed, the height of the shelf is only so high, and that, for obvious reasons, cannot be changed. So the height of the glass/depth of the aquarium needs to be low enough that I can still reach in if needed.

So.... I feel like you obviously need to consider many factors like filtration capabilities, substrate compatibilities, rimmed vs rimless tanks, and etc., but... what really determines the requirements for the minimum height of the glass/aquarium depth to be? Is there really one?

FYI... I am hoping for around a 5 gallon tank. (imagine a 20 long, but shrunk down)

 

[Uberhoust]

5 Gallon tank would be reasonable easy to build using all glass construction. There are a number of sites that describe the process and how to get the correct thickness of glass, here is one https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/aquarium-glass-thickness#aquarium-glass-thickness-calculator (caveat I haven't confirmed the values generated but I like the safety factor aspect).

5 Gallons is not a large aquarium so you have to consider what you are going to put in it. Shrimp, some small, small fish (maybe some small rasboras), maybe a betta. You also have to consider how you are going to light and filter the tank. I personally find shallow tanks more interesting, but they can restrict your filtering choices if too shallow, whereas tall and narrow can be hard to maintain.

Note as far as I know there are two main ways to build an all glass aquarium, one is to have the bottom glass plate be the bottom most piece of glass, where the bottom glass rests on the supporting surface. The other method is to have the bottom supported some distance above the bottom (0.25 to 0.5") of the side glass pieces, kind of like the bottom glass plate being the cross bar on the letter H, this method is how many North American commercial tanks are built. The H style have to have strong silicon bond on the bottom because it is supporting the bottom and the sides (I silicon both sides of the bottom plate), but they also tend to be a bit more tolerant of a slightly unleveled surface, because the supporting glass is only supporting from its stronger side plate edges.

When considering your dimensions really consider maintenance, if it is difficult to get into the tank then maintenance is difficult, an unmaintained tank looks pretty bad pretty quick.

 

[TaylorAnn]

5 Gallon tank would be reasonable easy to build using all glass construction. There are a number of sites that describe the process and how to get the correct thickness of glass, here is one https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/aquarium-glass-thickness#aquarium-glass-thickness-calculator (caveat I haven't confirmed the values generated but I like the safety factor aspect).

5 Gallons is not a large aquarium so you have to consider what you are going to put in it. Shrimp, some small, small fish (maybe some small rasboras), maybe a betta. You also have to consider how you are going to light and filter the tank. I personally find shallow tanks more interesting, but they can restrict your filtering choices if too shallow, whereas tall and narrow can be hard to maintain.

Note as far as I know there are two main ways to build an all glass aquarium, one is to have the bottom glass plate be the bottom most piece of glass, where the bottom glass rests on the supporting surface. The other method is to have the bottom supported some distance above the bottom (0.25 to 0.5") of the side glass pieces, kind of like the bottom glass plate being the cross bar on the letter H, this method is how many North American commercial tanks are built. The H style have to have strong silicon bond on the bottom because it is supporting the bottom and the sides (I silicon both sides of the bottom plate), but they also tend to be a bit more tolerant of a slightly unleveled surface, because the supporting glass is only supporting from its stronger side plate edges.

When considering your dimensions really consider maintenance, if it is difficult to get into the tank then maintenance is difficult, an unmaintained tank looks pretty bad pretty quick.

I guess I forgot to say in the original post, I am pretty knowledgeable about aquaria, so I know what can supply the tank with. I have a few ideas, but right now I am thinking of putting my two guppy fry in there. (THEY ARE SO CUTE!). I also have a relatively decent idea of how to build one, but my question to you, is do you think there really is a limit as to how shallow it can be? I feel like as long as you can still have proper filtration and lighting/lid configurations, it could be relatively quite shallow.
I appreciate your help. Thank you!

 

[Uberhoust]

As the tank becomes shallower your choices for filtration system reduce simply because you don't have the room for the filter. If you are using a foam filter you need some depth to provide lift of the water though the filter, you could use the internal filters such as the Fluval U1?, (I have one but it is useless in my opinion). The depth knocks out a lot of the HOB filters unless the filter can extend below the bottom. That leaves a canister filter which might be a good choice.

 

[TaylorAnn]

As the tank becomes shallower your choices for filtration system reduce simply because you don't have the room for the filter. If you are using a foam filter you need some depth to provide lift of the water though the filter, you could use the internal filters such as the Fluval U1?, (I have one but it is useless in my opinion). The depth knocks out a lot of the HOB filters unless the filter can extend below the bottom. That leaves a canister filter which might be a good choice.

Because of the space restrictions, I was already thinking a canister filter! lol.

 

[GaryE]

There are no depth rules. It goes species by species. The ideal goal is to emulate nature, and there are a lot of different habitats. My best fishwatching tank is divided by a wall across the back. Behind, it's 2 inches deep, in front, about 10. It's a 3 foot 40 gallon, modified. It holds one species, and is 'self-divided' by age - with young fish at the back in the shallows, adults in front.

I keep planning to build really shallow tanks for breeding. It all depends on what fish you have or want.

But yeah, filtration.

 

[TaylorAnn]

Because of the space restrictions, I was already thinking a canister filter! lol.

I’ve found that small filters like the one you mentioned (although I haven’t particularly used it) provide such little filtration, they are pretty much moving a portion of the water, and not necessarily filtering the whole tank.

There are no depth rules. It goes species by species. The ideal goal is to emulate nature, and there are a lot of different habitats. My best fishwatching tank is divided by a wall across the back. Behind, it's 2 inches deep, in front, about 10. It's a 3 foot 40 gallon, modified. It holds one species, and is 'self-divided' by age - with young fish at the back in the shallows, adults in front.

I keep planning to build really shallow tanks for breeding. It all depends on what fish you have or want.

But yeah, filtration.

Just out of curiosity, can you send a pic? I don't have the room for that on this tank, but it sounds really interesting!

Also thanks for the help! I'm going to look at the natural environments of the fish I am thinking about.

 

[GaryE]

I like breeding my fish, and shallow or not is an issue I haven't played with enough. A lot of fish go into shallows at night, or or to breed. Someday I will make shallow tanks with air driven filters. For now, I just use deeper tanks with shallow water.

Here is a video I made on my pseudo-paludarium.