Aquarium with own hands

As you work, remember that To make an aquarium with your own hands with a volume of more than 200 liters is dangerous - in case of damage to the aquarium, your home may suffer greatly, and very often - also neighbors.

To make an aquarium with your own hands, it is best to choose the usual rectangular shape. There are two ways to assemble a rectangularthe aquarium. In the first method, the walls of the aquarium rest on the bottom, while the second - the walls are located around the bottom. If the volume of the aquarium is more than 50 liters, then the second method of assembly is strongly recommended.

The aquarium is usually made from the available glass. What should be its thickness? This depends on the height of the water column and the size of the largest glass of the aquarium on which this pillar exerts pressure. The longer the "front" wall of the aquarium and the higher the height of the aquarium, the thicker the glass should be. So, for an aquarium of 200 liters with dimensions of 100x400x500 mm, you need to take an 8-millimeter glass.

Open glass for the aquarium with your own hands is performed as follows:

• The front and rear walls are cut to the dimensions of the aquarium


• the bottom is cut in overall dimensions, reduced by double the thickness of the glass (both along the length and width) and 3-4 mm under the adhesive


• the width of the end walls is equal to the width of the bottom


• the height of the end walls is equal to the height of the facial

Open the glass for the aquarium with Roller Cutter. The glass cutter should go smoothly, without jumps, on the surface. The technique of working with a glass cutter requires great care, because glass - the material is very traumatic.

The glass must be clean and dry before cutting. Defects like bubbles, foreign inclusions are impermissible. When marking the glass under the cutting it is necessary to take into account the thickness of the glass cutter, which is usually 2.5-3 mm.

Along the planned lines, the glass cutter must be driventoo much, with pressure, otherwise the glass will be worse to break through such a line of cut. If you are driving a glass cutter without pressing it to the glass, it can "go cracked". Therefore, if you do not have an experience with glass cutters, it is better to practice on some unnecessary pieces of glass.

After you have made a glass cutter along all lines of marking, the glass should be immediately broken, otherwise it can "cool down". Glass should be put on the table or any other flat surface so thatThe fault line passed along the edge of this surface. Then, with a confident movement of the hand, break off the cut piece. The hand must be protected with cloth gloves or a piece of cloth.

After cutting the glasses for the aquarium with their own hands, it is necessary to process the received sheets. The surfaces of the glazed windows are not sanded, otherwise the glue-sealant can not reliably fix these surfaces.

As a sealant, a 100% silicone adhesive should be used. For the aquarium you need glue that is not harmful to living organisms, otherwise your aquarium will later turn into a "fish cemetery". To work with glue-sealant, you need a special "gun".

Before gluing the glass for the aquarium it is necessary to degrease. This can be done with gasoline, turpentine or white spirit, after which the glass should be wiped clean with a dry rag.

Place the bottom of the future aquarium on a table or other level surface, pre-laying a newspaper or a piece of old wallpaper. Until the drying out, the aquarium can not be moved, so choose a place in advance, on which the aquarium will not disturb you.

The face of the aquarium should be lubricated with a sealant along the line to which it will be attached to the bottom. The thickness of the extruded sealant layer must beis approximately two thirds of the thickness of the glass. When applying sealant, it is important to ensure that the layer is uniform, without voids or too thin areas - in the future such an aquarium can leak.

After applying the sealant, the front wall should be carefully placed on the bottom of the aquarium. Do not press hard, otherwise the glue will "climb out" too much on both sides. With the sealant that emerged from under the glass at this stage of making the aquarium, you do not need to do anything by yourself.

The glued front wall should be temporarily put on something and proceed to gluing the side wall. On the bottom end of the side wall and the end, onwhich the side wall will be attached to the front, apply an even layer of sealant. The side wall should be glued to the bottom and to the face wall, carefully following the uniformity of the distribution of the adhesive. With the two remaining walls, do the same procedure.

To proceed to further work on the aquarium with their own hands should be no earlier than a day - until the glue dries. The aquarium can not be moved during this time.

In aquariums with a length of the front wall of more than 50 cm stiffening rib - special glass strips to strengthen the walls of the aquarium, preventing their deflection under the influence of water pressure.

The width of the stiffeners is 2-5 cm, the length is not less than 3/4 of the length of the front wall. The stiffeners are glued perpendicular to the front and side windows on the side of the front and rear glass, at a distance of 2-3 cm from the top.

To glue the stiffeners you need to lay the aquarium on the side, grease the strips with glue on three sides - one long side and two side. First glue one edge, then the second. Leave the aquarium until completely dry for about a day or two.

After the blade has dried, remove excess sealant from the outside of the aquarium. The blade must move parallel to the glass.

After 5-7 days the aquarium can be tested. To do this, it must be placed in such a place,so that in the event of a possible leak it does not lead to a catastrophe. Fill the aquarium with water completely - as it will be with the workload. Fill in gradually.

If there are no signs of leak on the following after filling in a day, then we can assume that the aquarium with their own hands was a success - now you can start its design and settlement.

Making an aquarium with your own hands, as you can see, is not an easy task. In most cases, buying a ready-made aquarium in a specialized store is a simpler and more convenient solution. but if you need an aquarium of non-standard sizes or you can not find an aquarium suitable for the "price-quality" ratio, then make an aquarium of your own - a great chance to realize your dream.

Good luck to you!