Glass Type And Where To Buy For Home Made Aquarium

[cjm]

I want to make an aquarium to fit a specific space. It'll be in the region of 5 or 6 ft by 2 ft by 2. I'm not sure which glass is best to use and thickness and if there are any recommended glass suppliers who are cheap to use. I live in South London (UK in case this forum attracts lots of non-UK posters ) Also, anyone got a rough idea how much the glass I'd need would cost for this sort of project.

Thanks

Chris

 

[denis coghlan]

Have a look at this chart on this website www.About.com it give you the required thickness of the glass required for different dimensions of tanks it also provides a safety rating. For instance if you wanted to build a tank that is 6 x 2 x2 ft, the chart states that you will need 9mm glass for the front, back and sides and 12mm glass for the base.

I cant answer your question as to how much the glass would cost as I have always been lucky enough to get my hands on it for free. I can only imagine that it would be very expensive. You might want to think about making the area you want to put the tank in suit a pre made tank, instead of making the tank to suit the area. Could save you money in the long run.

 

[Lateral Line]

A start would be to look at LeRoy's Garf site. It's american so everything is in imperial units, and I always think he under-engineers, but it'll give you an idea, (on the left menu click DIY->Tank Builder). The sticky at the top of the forum will give you some more ideas, and I expect WindsorAquatic will put you right when he sees this.

 

[cjm]

Thanks for the info guys. Anyone know if there is available an online ordering service for glass. Otherwise, I'll pop along to my nearest glazier.

Cheers


Chris

 

[raptorrex]

have you thought about a plywood and glass tank??? this can keep the price down, and how many of us need glass at the back and bottom of our tanks? lol safe too as you use mortise joints, and silicon not just silicon.

 

[windsor-aquatic]

For a one-off tank that size it would probably work out cheaper to have it made, rather than buying the glass (you would need 10mm) yourself.

 

[tetraman]

I just got an estimate from my glass store and found that it's a good deal more expensive to buy the glass, but if it's that important to fill the space, go for it.

 

[DarkEntity]

Ther is a site call Boss Aquariums they make custom sized aquaria and are reasonably priced. They will also deliver themselves, making sure it arrives in one piece.

http/www.bossaquariums.co.uk/index.htm