Tropical Fish Forums

blackjack06

Hello. This may sound crazy but, the question I have is can you glue two glass aquariums together to make a larger one? I have two 55 gal. and what I would like to do, if possible, is to glue the four larger plates of glass together and buy a larger piece for the bottom, to make an aprox. 200 gal tank. Any suggestions?!
_________________
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
-Patton

Oscer · Exemplars Joined: 03 Nov 2005 Location: South Africa

OK firstly, it is possible but amount of supports you'll have to in incorporate, will make it look realy ugly. Confused

The best thing to do is to buy a 110 gal tank. Surprised

The second best thing to do is to stick the two sides of the tanks together and drill holes in the "sides" so that the fish can pass throe. In my experience, it is best to use two filters one for each side of the "tank". But even this doesn
_________________
Years of fish keeping = Good advice

dave75 · New Members Joined: 06 Feb 2003

I just read a thread about this on fish geeks in the diy section seemed like a lot of work. Good luck.

Sahara22588 · Exemplars Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Location: Michigan

I don't think that would give you a very strong tank, since you'd have a big seam down the middle where the two long pieces of glass met. Plus, that would look kind of ugly. If you're willing to get rid of two 55's anyway, why not sell them and raise some money to buy a 110 gallon tank? Better that than filling your customised tank with water and having the middle seam break.

Byez! Very Happy

_________________
Duncan, ? 1992-July 13 2005.
-May he rest in peace forever.

blackjack06

Yeah, it would be nice to just buy a larger tank! However, I thought it would save some money and possibly be fun at the same time by just combining the two tanks that I already have. I honestly think that I am going to try it. Does anyone know what kind of glass I would need for the bottom pane? I've seen a couple of DIY's that said use tempered glass and some that said absolutely do not use tempered glass.(?)

blackjack06

First, to all, sorry if I posted this in the wrong section. I tried to repost it in the DIY and erase this but...

Sahara22588, I'm not trying to butt two ends together. More of a cube shape by using only the 4 long panes (from my two 55's) for the 4 walls and I would have to buy a new pane of glass for the bottom.

Sahara22588 · Exemplars Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Location: Michigan

Oh okay. That makes more sense. I thought you were going to make and 8 foot long tank with the four large pieces. I don't think there should be a problem with making a 4x4 tank. What fish would you be putting in there? It'd be a sweet shark or stingray tank.

Byez! Very Happy

_________________
Duncan, ? 1992-July 13 2005.
-May he rest in peace forever.

Michael L.

The downside to this is the fact that they use different glass thicknesses for larger tanks. Your 55 gallon glass may not be strong enough to hold all of the water. You are talking 1100 pounds of water in a tank whose glass is made for 550 pounds of water. It is possible, but you need to look at it from an engineering standpoint.
_________________

blackjack06

As for my fish, what I have now is listed in my profile. I have all cichlids as I'm fortunate enough to know an owner of a cichlid farm. I basically have them set up with lighting that would be for most marine tanks. Some think it's a bit much, but they are very aesthetically pleasing. I would like to have more obviously or I wouldn't want a larger tank! How about you?

However Michael, how would I be able to determine if the thickness of my glass is sufficient enough to withstand the weight of 110 gallons of water?