TreeTop Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hey everyone, I'm new to the forum and to building aquariums. I am actually more of a reptile guy but my favourite pet is a caiman lizard and they are highly aquatic so I am in the middle of building her a new enclosure as she is quickly out growing hers ,and i am in need of some helpful advice. Her enclosure is basically a " dry land/ climbing and basking area atop of a big aquarium. I have been doing quite a bit of research before and during the build but some first hand experience would be nice. The aquarium area is 8' long x 3.5' high and just over 2.5' deep. The viewing window will be 5.5' x about 3' high. The other walls are 3/4 inch plywood on a 2x4 frame and the wood will be covered with liquid rubber. Ive talked to a couple people but am still just making sure and wondering if 1/2" glass will be thick enough or if I need to use 3/4" ? I will be using glass and not acrylic because she will scratch up the acrylic to easy. Any info on the build will sure be appreciated. Thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Cannot reply to the thickness of the glass however I will say welcome to the forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperGuppyGirl Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I have been looking at several DIY sites but these all deal with all glass, not plywood tanks, and for your dimensions they recommended the 3/4" glass. I do have one question about the liquid rubber, is it aquarium safe ? If not might seep some rather toxic chemicals to your reptile. We do have a list in the diy forum of safe ones to use, sorry I couldn't be of more help and welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreeTop Posted January 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Thank you for the help and this looks like a pretty cool forum. The liquid rubber is safe for aquariums, it's actually pretty cool stuff, just roll it on and your done. Google ruberizeit.com. I am using the same stuff just a different brand(zavlar) from home hardware as this stuff on ruberizeit will cost $86 to ship to canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 from this topic. http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=35928 Hey I've been following this and other DIY threads on building an aquarium. I'm thinking of doing it aswell. I'm pretty sure you can buy zavlar at home depot or home hardware. I searched it on home hardwares site and they have it. I couldn't get a price cause you need to sign up to their site. But at least it's something that is at our local hardware store. Don't need to signup to view prices. They only want a postal code for price/location. This price was from the Okotoks location: SEALANT, LIQUID RUBBER ZAVLAR 3.78L Item #2035-580 Model #12602 $49.99 EA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOECANADIAN Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hi Tree Top. I have built a few aquariums. The main product I have used is acrylic. The last tank i built was plywood/wood, pond liner and then acrylic windows. It too was an 8ft long X 2ft wide X 30" deep. The acrylic was 2 - 2ftx4ft windows of 12mm or 1/2". Keep in mind acrylic is stronger than glass. I would suggest going with 3/4" glass for your application. The trick i found is sealing around the"window". I was able to drill through my acrylic to sandwich the liner like a port hole effect, along with a lot of silicone. i had bolts all the way around to tighten and make a good seal. This is going to be your weak spot too i would think. Being a wooden structure for the tank, it will flex somewhat, and you don't want the glass to flex obviously. Overbuild it and support it well! Don't be shy on the sealant. lastly.....Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreeTop Posted January 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Thanks Joe, that's kinda been my method so far (over build) and the tank is very heavy because of it lol. The front with the glass window is going to bolt on to the rest of the tank once its moved down to the basement,no way ill lift it all bolted together ,then ill just have to seal the seams with the liquid rubber.I think I'm going to fibre glass the window area because silicone won't stick to the zavlar. I do have another question as well, if anyone knows please let me know. I am going to use a pressurized pond filter but would like to also use an external bio filter and was wondering how or if it would work to suck out of the aquarium through the external then into the pressurized and back into the aquarium. I want to do this because she is a very large lizard and will get even bigger (4-5 ft) and she has gigantic craps lol. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceturf Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 (edited) The more you over-build it, the longer it will last. Less bending means less damage caused by stressing of the wood fibres, and hence longer lasting strength. I'm curious as to this Zavlar?? Edited January 8, 2013 by Iceturf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 As far as where to get 3/4" glass... How thick are office tower windows? If you could get ahold of one of those during a reno, I'd say that'd be your cheapest source. Otherwise, I've heard that AquaGiant can get glass pretty cheap from China - it comes on the SlowBoat, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TreeTop Posted January 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Ill have to check it out, I don't wanna be waiting months however tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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