Catherine's 55 Gallon Build Thread

[Picasso]

Can you imagine the size of the puddle if that pump died? Probably why he's got it outside. That wouldn't work too well here in Wisconsin! Really neat idea. Very cool looking, Fun way to add space without increasing the tank's footprint. Drawbacks: I'll bet it's loud, flooding problems if you loose your vacuum and it looks impossible to build a reef in that thing. How could you feed your corals? Hmmmmmmmm, more to think about.

C

 

[project5k]

it wouldnt be any louder than say a refridgerator with the way he has it set up... but i would definately go a different direction with the pump...

flooding would only be a problem if you let the water level get low and it broke the vac from the bottom, and even then it may or may not spill....

cause if you were to have something like that, you would have to have check valves on the vac line, so that if the pump quit, it didnt drain back... and once up and running, its not too likely that the joints would leak unless it got hit or something...

 

[Picasso]

I didn't think about the check valves...... Doesn't it seem like he's got a lot of vert space without any tank reinforcement? Where would the pressure of the water be against the glass? Since it's a vacuum maybe the water is pulling in on the glass instead of pushing out? I think I'm going to build one of these (a tiny version maybe 5 gallons) this weekend.

C

 

[project5k]

good luck and take lots of pics... yea, i would think that the forces on the glass would be inward, and not outward...

 

[wontonflip]

Neat concept. It's the same idea as a dog upside down automatic water dish.

 

[Picasso]

Is there a reason we use clear glass on an aquarium back? Why couldn't I use a sheet of stained glass and give it a bit of backlight?

Catherine

 

[Picasso]

What if I used something like this:

 

[Picasso]

This would be pretty:

 

[yote]

I dont think the stained glass would be any different than the way a lot of paint the back.
And since its gonna be a horse tank,that 2nd pic would really look natural.

 

[wontonflip]

Then again, might be covered with coralline in no time anyway....hehehe.

 

[dcantucson]

I like the first one! I think you horses would get very colorful trying to blend in. I think thats a very neat idea.

 

[project5k]

what gives stained glass its colors? I would wonder about what might be in the glass that might get into the water... they use things like copper to make fireworks colored, do they do glass the same way?

 

[Picasso]

what gives stained glass its colors? I would wonder about what might be in the glass that might get into the water... they use things like copper to make fireworks colored, do they do glass the same way?

An excellent point. Some stained glass is colored with toxins. You get the term "leaded" glass from both the coloring added to the glass during the smelting process and the lead used during the soldering process. Also, there are a variety of things added to glass to make it colorful. I need to do more research but I know there is a line of glass made to be used for food products. You melt the glass in a kiln over a slump mold to make bowls, glasses, and such. I would think if you can eat off it then it is free of toxins that might leach into my tank? If I'm truly dedicated to this design concept, I can also "sandwich" the glass between clear. I think if I get the right glass it would definitely enhance the tank! Thanks, Project5k, for giving me something to consider!

Catherine

 

[daugherty]

they had a show on hows it made about stained glass and they just add different minerals and or metels to the glass as they are melting it

 

[project5k]

yea see thats what scares me, and no, i dont think that if its safe to eat off of then its free of toxins.. think about this.... clorine, cloramines, and silicates are in the tap water, its safe for us to consume, but its not safe for the tank...

personally i think your sandwitch idea is the waw to do it,, i would press the stained glass up against the back of the tank and then fill the space with someting like self leveling epoxy, or, maybe globs of silicone.. something to fill in the air gaps but not be using the stained glass as part of the water vessel.

 

[Picasso]

Ok, it's been a while. I got the stand and hood for my birthday. Now I'm trying to figure out where to put it. Got it narrowed down to two spots. Spot One: Would look beautiful against a brick wall raised up on a very wide step. It would show off the tank magnificently. There is no electricity nearby and we aren't going to dig into brick to install electric so we would have to run it there by an extension cord. Spot Two: would be against a wall next to a sofa. The tank would look ok there but it would definitely blend into the room a bit. The neat thing about Spot Two is that there is a large mostly unused bathroom on the other side of the wall. That's where I put in the RODI. It would be pretty easy to dig a hole in the wall and set up a sump, fuge and anything else I would need. Also, with the RODI right there, topping off would be no problem. So, do I pick the pretty spot or the functional one?

I've decided to do the stained glass on my 12 gallon tank so I'll set up a separate build thread for that one.

Thanks,
Catherine

 

[Smitty]

I vote for spot 2.

 

[Bifferwine]

Functional. Spot 1 won't be pretty anymore if there are wires everywhere.

 

[dcantucson]

Spot 2
Can you re-arrange some things to focus on the tank more?

 

[SeattleDarko]

Spot two... my vote :)

Also with stained glass or fused glass let me know if you have questions I use to do a lot of glass art in high school. I did a 48in sq window 3 times! because the first one broke in the firing the second broke on the install... I have thought about it before I always thought the fused glass would work best, if you glued it in to a tank like a rock wall that some people do. However dealing with the firing would be ruff because you have to estimate for shrinking getting a exact fit that way would be really hard.