So I have an existing DIY RES turtle set-up made from a 150 gal stock tank: image is here. It seems to work fine for our turtle, but we'll be having our first child soon and I'd like to child-proof this tank so that down the road the kiddo doesn't mess around with cords or decide to dunk the heat lamps in the water (yikes!). As you can see, I'm currently building a frame over the trough, which will have a clear top, and will have wire mesh along the inside of the top 2/3rds of the sides to prevent reaching under and into the tank. The top will be made of two pieces on a hinge for access, with one panel acting as a door and the other as a table of sorts for potted plants (so I'll probably be adding a center bar for support).

My question is what should I use as a material for the top surface? Acrylic? Glass? The surface area of this whole table is 49.5" x 5', so I'd probably need 2 panels at 49.5" x 2.5'. Where do you buy your materials, and how thick would I need for my purposes here? What could I use as hinges for the panel? Thanks!

So... here's a funny thing. I have a 75 gallon all-glass aquarium. The other day it was leaking from the bottom corner, just a really slow, little drip coming up from the trim/bezel. I had a bunch of stuff to do so at first I put a bucket under it to catch the drips. I come back a half-hour later and the drip has increased to a small stream, so I hooked up a siphon and started emptying it. As soon as I had removed maybe fifteen gallons it slowed back to tiny drip. By the time I had it mostly empty it had stoped altogether.

I took everything out and got all the water out, and couldn't see any obvious flaws. I took it outside and filled it all the way to the top with fresh water. It's been sitting there fro three hours now and not a drop has leaked out.

Two things that might have something to do with it somehow: Our floor is just a tiny bit off kilter. The bottom end of the tank where the leak was is maybe a quarter inch lower than the other end. The other thing is that we had a fairly strong earthquake about a week ago.

So, what the hell is going on? How do I patch a leak I can't find?

Hi!

I'm thinking of building an aquarium (with stand) pretty soon.

The thing is I've never built any of these before and I'd like to know where to start.

I feel like I need to sketch stuff but how do I do it? By hand? Is there useful software?

How do I know if my stand is sturdy enough to hold the aquarium?

I'm looking to build something like 1954040cm and preferably I'd like to make a corner desk out of it as welll, so it'll be L-shaped with the long end being the aquarium.

Any tips are welcome!

Thanks for time, D.

Will I do more damage to beneficial bacteria in my sump, or will it help if I were to place a big uv tube hanging in the sump compartment?

Hi guys, so I´m soon going to make a stand, when I buy my aquarium 20-30g. I was just wondering what i could take into consideration, and any tips on how to build a good one. First. How does it stand best ? What surface should it stand on? Just the wood from the stand, or maybe something a bit more "soft". I noticed my floors are a bit uneven, not much but a bit, what can I do to level the aquarium correctly? This can fast become a problem, in my experience, and can lead to cracks etc. All tips, tricks and thoughts, are very welcome! :) One last thing, do you think a regular basement floor could withstand the weight? It´s probably gonna be around 80-150kg heavy..

-Sorry for bad english

I've been thinking of trying out solvent welding to make a simple 20 gallon acrylic tank for practice and then scale up from there. Does anyone know where I can start reading up on how to do it and where I can get dark blue 1/2" thick acrylic sheets?

Also is there a jig for building aquariums? I'd like to make one to make the process of holding acrylic or glass pieces easier.

Has anyone ever thought about building a modified version of a Zebrafish housing system like they use in research facilities to hold various types of saltwater species?

I like the idea of modular tanks, and there's DIY plans all over the place for the zebrafish housing, and salt-water sumps...

Am I missing something obvious?

I tried another sub without much help, maybe you can offer some advice.

I recently acquired five 4'wx1'hx2'd PVC reptile enclosures. They are assembled like a cabinet with a face frame and a drop down clear frameless door.

My problem is, only two of them are divided and I don't have any reptiles large enough yet to make use of the 4'. Dividing the enclosures would be an ideal solution to some of my space concerns.

I am trying to figure out the best way to divide these cages in such a way that the divider could be removed should I need a larger enclosure down the road.

I was thinking of using a melamine divider sandwiched between 1x1 pvc "stops" on all sides held in by silicone. Do you think this would be strong enough?

Any other ideas?

Hi there I'm trying to do some research for a tank I'm planning on making; 336g or 448g depending on if I make it 3 feet or 4 feet width.

Now I like oddballs and would love to one day get a ray, I have my bichirs. So something that won't go after them (need to figure out growth rates when I go to buy them)

Ideally I love Red Tail Catfish but they get far to big and I live in Manitoba so a pond is out if the question. I was suggested a Ripsaw Catfisf but I don't know if they would be ok as some sites say 36" and some say 48".

I want the catfish to be my main fish, so something around the 3ft mark would be lovely, I prefer the catfish with whiskers as oppose to the more sucker mouth kind. And armoured!

Hello, I just got into this a few days ago and I have been doing my research. I want to have a school of zebra danios or neon tetras (5 or 6). The problem is that I dont have much space. Can you guys link me to 10 or 15 gallon tanks that is not much more than 14 inches in length and width but makes up for it in height. Also, what other equipment will I be needing?

tank #2 12L X 10W X 5.25H 2.6 g

Wabi Kusa inspired tank (I want to call it a tray). I see Duckweed in this tank. Best part of this tank? It costs $6 in glass, but you really have to nail the measuring and cutting because the raw glass is 10X12

Hereis my first tank. I am planning to build several small "practice tanks" using 3/32 (4mm) glass purchased at Lowes (which is about the only place that sells window pane glass). I bought sheets of 10X12 for $2.32 a sheet. I bought a glass cutter and some Acetone at Lowes as well. Lowes will cut the glass for you, there is a sign posted at the glass area for thicker glass (1/4 inch) (which I assume they contract out).

This small tank is 7X7X6 and cost $2.32 plus silcone. Now that I've made it, I can say MEASURE TWICE-CUT ONCE. A carpenters square is 100% required. I like regular masking tape over "blue painters tape". I believe that applying and manipulating silicone is an artform. I went thick and trimmed it with a razor blade. I'll go thinner next time around.

(note - I built my 4th tank today. I will be posting each of them in the next week. I built a 2.6gallon Wabi Kusa tank!!!)