[EverettC]

I was just curious how I should go about building custom 15ish gallon aquariums. I want them to be front opening and I'll do the misting/draining by hand. What kind of glass/acrylic should I use and where should I get it at the lowest cost (of course not sacrificing tank durability and saftey etc). I will probably get lights from AHHobby so I have that part covered. I'm looking to make about 3 vertically orientated tanks (again front opening).

Thanks in advanced

 

[joshua_delancey69]

try

hey try http://www.glasscages.com tell tom....josh sent you he is really cheap and does shows all over the east coast check the show list..

 

[Scott]

Re: try

Everett lives in Washington State.

s

hey try http://www.glasscages.com tell tom....josh sent you he is really cheap and does shows all over the east coast check the show list..

 

[joshua_delancey69]

oh

oh my bad just assumed DC. if you would like acrylic tom can ship the tank broke down and you assemble. these can be nice tanks as well

 

[geckguy]

Kyle made some great front opening tanks, I think he has construction pics on his site. I think 1/4" glass would be the way to go.

 

[kyle1745]

Thanks,

It depends what you are looking to make. I am building some 10gal verts right now, as it is just so much cheaper. Glass in most cases is not cheap. I did use 1/4 inch on mine.

 

[Guest]

What can you use to sand/smooth the edges of glass? I'm gonna start working on a couple 10G verts. Have to have something to justify some retics and imitators

 

[khoff]

You can smooth the edges with some sand paper and elbow grease, or just use a dremel.

 

[troy b]

hi,
mine are out 1/4" acrylic, and they are front opening (i would love to post a close up pic but i still can't get them to up load to my gallery). they are fairly easy to construct. acrylic is on the spendy side. one cages costs around $55 for the acrylic alone.
you have to use an acrylic glue not silicone to put it together. the nice thing is you don't have to have any special tools to drill holes. drying time is a lot quicker than silicone. yes there is some warpage. i have not had enough to notice unless you look close. i would not build a large cage with acrylic. you would get a lot more warpage unless you went with a thinker acrylis which is really exspensive
my cage fronts are the sliding glass style. i will try to get some close up pics posted. here are some pics of a couple of my racks.
thanks
troy

 

[EverettC]

I really like Kyle's tanks, which game me the idea. I was just wondering what people use to make the sides. What is the average cost on a 10g vert that I could get the materials for at Lowes (front opening still) or a local store. I really like Troy's setup but it's out of my price range, I might as well just buy the store's 10g aquariums and make them front opening.

*edit*I already emailed Tom about a 40g aquarium that is front opening that he sells. It's too much to ship over here .

 

[troy b]

i buy my glass slides from my local glass supplier. lowes and home depot around here don't carry them.
are you going to put thumbnails in them? if so, i would run down to wal mart, ans purchase poster hangers. they run $1.99 and they fit 1/4" glass. cut it to length, and slip it over the edge of the front glass to fill in the gap between the two peices of glass. if you look at the front of my cages you can see what i meen. also make sure your glass doors are wide enough to overlape each other about 1" when they are closed.
thanks
troy

 

[Guest]

Troy, where can we see your pics?

 

[EverettC]

Troy are those poster covers like the black trimming you see on store bought tanks? I have been looking for something like that for some time now . I do plan on putting thumbnails or pumilio in them later on, but for now I intend to keep and raise broms in them so I might have a personal supply of broms on hand. Although I don't need to cover the tanks at this point, I still want to just to make sure everything runs smoothly.

 

[troy b]

hi,
they are a plastic piece of u channel. i'm going to take some pics tonight or tommorow, and i will take some of these strips.
thanks
troy

 

[Guest]

Troy, did you ever get those close up pics taken or the pics of the u-channel you were talking about?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Dancing frogs]

What can you use to sand/smooth the edges of glass? I'm gonna start working on a couple 10G verts. Have to have something to justify some retics and imitators

I've found a belt sander works exremely well.

 

[troy b]

hi,
here is a pic of the u channel i buy at walmart. i comes 2 pcs per pack and it is 24" long. i have to cute it down for my glass doors.

thanks
troy

 

[EverettC]

Awesome, thanks Troy