Thanks Al! I find making hybrid plywood and glass tanks fairly easy. If you have good hands on skills, you’ll be fine. Feel free to ask any questions of me, and I’ll be happy to help out. I’m thinking about building another tank soon, specifically for my moray eels. I’ll record its construction and post it.
A bloody fantastic aquarium build mate. Well done. Awesome job on the scape too. This is the 1st time I've stumbled across your channel. You got yourself another subscriber.
The fish update will come. I’m currently trying to get the tank, above and below water, greened up. I’ve got some teething issues I’m trying to figure out
Thanks Free Swimmer That’s my third plywood tank build, and I do like the flexibility of using timber in odd sized tanks. I’m not sure where you’re from, but in Australia, glass is really expensive in 10-15mm thicknesses.
Fantastic content, brotha! Keep em coming; you've gained a new subscriber. Bucket list item for me is build something similar as well as a full self-sustaining plant ecosystem aquarium with misters and a small waterfall for the office!
The front is not gonna hold over time the 2 panels is a massive weak spot the pressure on that point is inmentsly big . I hope it will hold but i have my doubts
Looks like he used a steel stock angle iron for structure. I’m pretty sure it will hold using the steel? I highly doubt he spent the money invested the time without doing adequate research
@@australianaquarist I'd never thing that it is possible to but joint glass and have it hold water, it like you used stainless steel reinforcement with braces on the top, I may use this in a build. Thank you.
Awesome stuff, I love this build!!! I was going to ask what glass thickness and type you used, but I saw in the comments that you've used 12mm pool fence panels, toughened glass. Genius idea!!! I've just built an all glass tank using 10mm thick toughened glass shower panels, 2025 L × 900 W × 600 H, end panels are float glass, so I could drill them for plumbing. New float glass, cut to size, in Australia is ridiculously expensive, hey! This tank is amazing, love the plywood base, back, and one end, glass front and other end, design... gives me inspiration to build something similar!
Wow that's the second biggest home aquarium I've seen next to diy's 2000 gallon! Amazing build,makes me wish my dad had taught me this sort of stuff instead of beat the shit outta me lol
Hey Jay Building a plywood and glass aquarium isn’t that difficult, so long as you have the basic tools. I think plywood is also a valuable material to use for the base of wide and unusual shaped tanks, where thick glass becomes expensive. I’d be happy to give advice if ever you decide to have a go
Hey , thanks Mintblueberry123! This guy is just a farmer, husband and father that loves his fish, but needs to watch the $$! Glad you enjoyed the video
Initially just butt siliconed, and then I siliconed on the aluminium angle across the top. With the angle ( full length ) across the top and the channel at the bottom that the glass sits in , the two panes were forced to be in alignment. Then I siliconed the aluminium plate down the join , on the outside. On my 12ft moray tank inside, that has 2 6ft glass panes for the front, I also siliconed a glass bridging strip on the inside of the join, which became hidden by the cover strip on the outside.
Hi Kerry Pond Armour is not available locally in Australia, and I didn’t want to try and ship it from USA. The actual timber sealing is achieved by the epoxy, but not being uv stable, I needed to overcoat it in this outdoor tank. So I chose to use Crommelin pond sealer as the uv barrier
The two panes are aligned and effectively “locked” in place by the timber recess ( and silicone) they sit in, and the single aluminium angle along the top edge. Their alignment can’t move. Then with a truck load of silicone, I installed a glass bridge on the inside, and an aluminium bridge on the outside of the joint
Hey John It certainly is still holding water! The two front panes were bridged with the aluminium plate, and the aluminium angle bracing along the top. The bracing was then cross braced back to the rear timber wall using aluminium strips.
Awesome build! I am in the process of making a similar sized tank. Do you ever have to worry about cold temps? I am researching insulation to reduce the heating costs where I am located in the US. Look forward to the fish being added!
Hi OPAIK It’s summer here at the moment, so the tank hasn’t been through a winter yet. Where I live, it’s considered a warm temperate to subtropical climate, and we don’t get frosts, and definitely no ice or snow! In saying that , our winter nights can get down to 2 degrees Celsius ( 35 Fahrenheit), and I expect the water temperature may drop to 16 degrees Celsius (60 Fahrenheit). Our winter days are still warm , and average 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit). The turtles will hibernate under water, though I may provide a box of grass and leaves for them , if they choose. I’m only going to stock fish that are native and found in my local rivers. That way I know they can handle lower temperatures. There is no way I could stock any northern Australian or New Guinea rainbow fish, without heating the water to a minimum of 68 Fahrenheit, which would be ridiculously expensive! I could stock certain barbs , like Odessa and Rosy Barbs, which prefers cooler water, and even livebearers, but I wish to depict an Australian theme tank.
The problem with big tanks is heat loss from the large water surface, and through the large glass panes. So even if you insulate the bottom , back and sides, I don’t think it would help much, if the environment the tank is in, is too cold eg outside. Inside, keeping the room shut up, a clear plastic sheet over the tank, and 600 watt heaters will work. That’s what I do for my similar sized marine tanks inside the shed.
Im in Florida and keep Southies. I had them in a 1210g plywood system for years. My house temp is between 73 Fahrenheit in winter to 79 fahrenheit in summer, I have run 2-800watt heaters to maintain an 82 degree tankwater temp, year round. My fishroom costs are $45-$50 per month.. All lighting and pumps and heaters.
That’s brilliant…. The cost of the hobby for you. I’m not sure what the cost of electricity is in the USA? It’s around 30 cents/kW hour in Australia. I’d love to have some more tropical rainbowfish in this tank, but there’s no way I could afford to heat the tank
I checked beforehand that the silicone would adhere to the sealer on the plywood. Then with the aluminium angle frame, and the recess in the timber base for the glass to sit in
Hey Brian The intent of the aquascape is to look like a log jam in a creek or river, which in many times around here, is formed by trees that have been felled by a chainsaw! I understand however, that in ‘nature style’ aquariums this wouldn’t be done, or obscured by moss
Hey Gareth, the valley the glass sits in, formed by the recessed plywood base, holds the base in place. The aluminium angle holds the top aligned with each other. A backing and face plate siliconed across the joint, keeps the butt joint water tight
@@australianaquarist I was wondering the same thing! Looks great. I've never seen a construction like that for multiple panes.... looks to be a neat and simple way to achieve the desired result. I guess, in theory, nothing's stopping as many panes as you'd like across the front?
Hey JD M Not that I’m aware of. The black paint is a commercially available pond sealer suitable for fish, and the epoxy on the plywood is one that had been used in public aquarium/ crocodile exhibits up north
The plywood in this tank is 12mm, whereas in my other plywood tanks I’ve used 19MM ply. Because I built the walls and floor using treated framing timber, and screwed the studs at 300mm centres, I decided to try thinner ply. The ply isn’t structural in this design
Not quite, but check out this video. Toward the end of it, I discuss bracing the glass panels ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-54qeGZLMD0o.htmlsi=CDk-QY6_Vd92bJXQ
I don't understand how it holds itself together could someone please explain I understand there's aquarium glue and stuff like that but especially the two pieces of glass that are fused it just seems like so much weight and pressure that it would explode
Hey Kyle I hope I can explain this for you. I created a ledge with the bottom of the tank, by having the upper sheet of plywood set back 15 mm from the edge of the bottom timber. The 15mm is for the 12mm glass, plus 3 mm silicone. You would have noticed me screwing a timber board across the front of the tank, along the bottom, before the glass was Installed. That then created a valley behind (a 15mm valley), that the glass could sit down into. The two panes of glass that a butt joined initially by silicone at the front middle, then had a aluminium strip siliconed ( full coverage of silicone) as a bridging piece, and a glass strip on the inside. The aluminium angle that runs along the top edge, is what gives it all the strength. The water wants to push the glass outwards, …. Convex. The aluminium angle is rigid and prevents the glass from bowing outwards. It is also locked back to the rear timber wall by the aluminium cross braces.
The water depth is only 800 mm (2.5 ft), and 12 mm thick toughened glass. Combined with the inability of the top edge or bottom edge to bow, the line of the glass stays straight
The plywood is sealed and made water proof with a two part epoxy. The epoxy is designed for the boat building industry, and can be thinned to wick into the timber, left unthinned to build up layers, and thickened to act as a glue. If the tank was inside, and not exposed to uv light, I could have just continued the build without any topcoats. Epoxy resin is not uv stable. Being outside, I decided to use a commercially available pond sealer to overcoat it , as well as a polyurethane sealer to give extra sealing to the screw heads and corners
I looked up flexseal and it is interesting! The liquid 1 gallon cans aren’t available in Australia yet, only the spray ons. Amazon was selling 1 gallon cans for $415 ! Which only cover 150 square feet. That one can would do a single coat over the timber shell, and I’d imagine that you’d want to do 2-3 coats. That, much like a lot of imported products, becomes really expensive!
