Ok so if you have 2 4x2 tanks why in gods name would you choose to butt joint the 2' panels together instead of just using the 4' panels for the walls?
Attaching 2 tanks together
- Thread starter Mod123
- Start date
It's quite difficult to cut a10mm strip off a 4 foot (long) side thats 10mm thick which would be necessary twice. It's far simpler to join a 2 foot end pane with a 4 foot pane (thats been cut almost in half). You wouldnt need to cut out as many panels to rebuild either. Speaking as someone who builds most of my tanks myself.
A square tank shape is really under rated. One of my best showpiece tanks is a 10 x 10 x 3 foot tank set into a protruding corner with 3 steps down to a split level on one side. The fish interact much more when they can escape to the back and the stepped level provide a tank with 2 different heights.
A square tank shape is really under rated. One of my best showpiece tanks is a 10 x 10 x 3 foot tank set into a protruding corner with 3 steps down to a split level on one side. The fish interact much more when they can escape to the back and the stepped level provide a tank with 2 different heights.
It's comments like these that drag MFK'ers down. Negative and mis-informed which drives lots of experienced members away. This is not a direct attack but constructive criticism.Buying 2 4x2 tanks and modifing in the described manner would likely be a no no since the glass used is not designed for the increase pressure. Not just the sides but also the bottom panel.
Obtaining two 4x4 craked tanks is another matter
-
Taking 2 4x2 tank and connecting them via drilling a large hole and using tubing or pvc with bulkhead in that manner would work since there is no increase in pressure on the glass (be aware that tempered glass is not suitable for hole drilling).
Firstly, joining glass panels to make a tank happens for every single tank, but the joins are at corners.
Secondly, joining tanks with piping is quite difficult and expensive. You need a circular glass cutter for wider diameters and they are not easy to use. Cracking glass insets is very challenging even with heat. Wide diameter clear piping is also expensive and difficult to glue to glass. And if considering PVC - a single 200mm PVC fitting is about $50 and rises significantly with diameter. A 300mm diameter pipe length cost me $850 last week.
Yes, I've made tanks like these. Usually for distributed sumps
Last edited:
Cutting 2x long panels would just look much better than butt joining the short pieces. I can get pretty ghetto with my builds but even i wouldnt condone something that inevitably turned out that trashy looking.
Cutting or holesawing glass isnt difficult with the right tools and anyone serious about DIY tank building should know how to do it.
Besides, It would really depend on the dimensions of the pieces as to whether you would need to cut them. Im confident i could build this tank without having to cut them. You would simply edge the long pieces slightly off the corners of the bottom in the same direction and connect the seams in an overlapping manner instead of the traditional method of having a longer front/back piece.
Cutting or holesawing glass isnt difficult with the right tools and anyone serious about DIY tank building should know how to do it.
Besides, It would really depend on the dimensions of the pieces as to whether you would need to cut them. Im confident i could build this tank without having to cut them. You would simply edge the long pieces slightly off the corners of the bottom in the same direction and connect the seams in an overlapping manner instead of the traditional method of having a longer front/back piece.
Yeah ^, I think the bulk of the cutting, if any, would be to the short ends of the dismantled tanks to make pieces that double up over the central butt joint in the floor. This will be hidden by substrate, or the entire bottom can be doubled up to give a flat surface to lay tiles, etc.
Correct me if i am mistaken but the original suggestion is to take 2 2x4 aquariums and join them with the middle panel removed so you end up with one 4x4 aquarium. This means the water pressure on the panels designed for approx 120 gallons would have to take the force of a 240 gallons. In this day and age i believe the panels are as thin as they vendor think they can get away with and i have my doubt the glass would be able to handle the additional weight but perhaps i do not understand their intentions.
That's not how physics work. The pressure is only defined by the hight of the water column, which stays the same after joining the two tanks. There is no change in water pressure in this case.
^Exactly.
The only difference might be that these tanks are indeed probably made of the thinnest glass they can get away with, and probably have front-to-rear braces across the top. With the new construction, they would need an X-brace, joining each side to the opposite one.
How I pine for the good ol' days, when tanks were made of nice thick glass, and crossbraces were almost never used nor needed. The first crossbrace I ever saw was on a 6-foot tank that was 24 inches deep; I worked for the glass tank maker part-time and I remember he put it on because the customer insisted, but he felt that the glass in use...probably 3/4-inch, don't remember for sure...was more than sufficient without the brace. This guy took no chances, didn't make junk, and knew his stuff.
I was helping him build that tank, and when we finished with the thing, he stepped back, surveyed his handiwork, and proclaimed "Well, that'll hold forever...but it looks really stupid..."
The only difference might be that these tanks are indeed probably made of the thinnest glass they can get away with, and probably have front-to-rear braces across the top. With the new construction, they would need an X-brace, joining each side to the opposite one.
How I pine for the good ol' days, when tanks were made of nice thick glass, and crossbraces were almost never used nor needed. The first crossbrace I ever saw was on a 6-foot tank that was 24 inches deep; I worked for the glass tank maker part-time and I remember he put it on because the customer insisted, but he felt that the glass in use...probably 3/4-inch, don't remember for sure...was more than sufficient without the brace. This guy took no chances, didn't make junk, and knew his stuff.
I was helping him build that tank, and when we finished with the thing, he stepped back, surveyed his handiwork, and proclaimed "Well, that'll hold forever...but it looks really stupid..."
