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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

1000l marine tank build advice

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10 Nov 2009 23:28 #1 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
Does anyone have any experiance in large tank building.
I'm trying to find the best silicone to use. Due to the size of the tank
the silicone needs to be rated for this purpose.

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11 Nov 2009 02:26 #2 by Jaffacakehead (John McPartland)
WOW!!! 1000L:ohmy: That's bigger than my kitchen!!

I got some silicone off a guy on E-Bay that I've used for smaller tanks. It was available in clear or black and it's suitable for aquarium use.

I only bought one tube which cost 8quid as far as I can remember.

You might need a bit more :laugh: .

A step by step log with photo's from design to finished tank would be awesome!!

Best of luck with your project.

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12 Nov 2009 00:56 #3 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
After alot of searching I have settled on a brand of silicone called Dow Corning.
I haven't seen the spec but it's what Clear Seal tank builders in the UK use.

Anyone with experiance building large tanks, advice or tips would be appreciated.

Jaffacakehead,
I'll post pics of the build at some stage in the future.

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12 Nov 2009 14:01 #4 by sport fish (rihard)
have u bought glass for tank yet.

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12 Nov 2009 15:14 #5 by mossy (gavin blanchfield)
hi
built my own 1200L 3 years ago for my cichlids and catfish.i used clear builders silicone and had no leaks.make sure you build it place so you wont have to move it,only into place.you will need a roll of maskin tape for the corners and you can buy 4 long clamps and 4 hamd clamps in aldi.long clamps for the width,hand clamps for the brace rail at the top.what size glass are you useing?as the tank size will determen this?make sure you do up a list of all glass including top and bottom braces you are going to use.
if you have any problems pm me your number and i will help you out

best of luck

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12 Nov 2009 23:19 #6 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
Sport Fish,
The glass is paid for and on the way.

Mossy,
I'm using 15mm glass for the front,back and base.
I.m using 12mm everywhere else.
There'll be 80mm wide perimeter bracing around the base and around the top.
I doubled up the top brace accross the front and back.
there will be 3 cross braces.
The tank is 2400*665*710h

Does all that sound about right to you.
When you clamped the glass together did you leave 1mm to 2mm of silicone between the joints
rather than squeezing it tight.

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13 Nov 2009 09:27 #7 by sport fish (rihard)
u need minimum 3mm silicone for that size and take it easy on clamping better use hand power and tape araund.

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13 Nov 2009 09:29 #8 by mossy (gavin blanchfield)
hi glenn
when you put the clamps on just hand tighten them,you will also be putin a bead of silicone around the tank on the inside.
the glass size is perfect for the size.
when you are putin on the 80mm perimeter around the top make sure you leave as much of a square in the 4 corners for your airstone tubes and external filter pipes.
instead of puting the 80mm perimeter around the bottom what i done was put 50mmx12mm on its edge,you will need 5 of these,split them into equal segments silicone them to the front,back and bottom of the tank.by doing this you will form 50mm compartments at the bottom so when you are water testing it if you have a leak in a corner you wont have to drain out all the water only that compartment.this will also heip you when you have to clean the whole tank someday.you wont see these pieces of glass as they will be covered over your gravel or sand.
hope this helps
best of luck

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13 Nov 2009 11:27 #9 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
Sport fish,
Is the 3mm silicone filled space between the glass to allow for movement?
Would you leave the 3mm gap where the bracing meets the panels too?
Have you built a tank like this before?

Mossy,
I have holes drilled in the perimeter brace at one end.
The glass is on the way so changes to the designe can only be made if I find that they are essential.
How close are your joints pushed together.?
What are the dimentions of your tank?
I'd like to see a pic if it wasn't too much hasstle.

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13 Nov 2009 13:48 #10 by mossy (gavin blanchfield)
hi glenn
if you have the holes drilled for you filter your ok.my tank is 10x2x2ft because of the size i have 2 thermo filters going 1 at both ends.if you goto page 5 on the forum there is some pictures under MOSSYS FISH TANK
i just hand tightend the clamps and ran a bead of silicone around the whole inside of the tank

rgds

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13 Nov 2009 17:51 #11 by sport fish (rihard)
u dont have to leave 3mm silicone space for braces and yes i did build tanks to that size that is my busines.

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13 Nov 2009 22:11 - 13 Nov 2009 22:23 #12 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
Sport Fish,
Thanks for the tips. Glass arrives monday so next sat will probably be when it all happens.

Mossy,
Checked out the pics, great set up.

I'll post when I make progress.

Regards
Last edit: 13 Nov 2009 22:23 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook).

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13 Nov 2009 22:52 #13 by mossy (gavin blanchfield)
no prob glen
keep cool and calm youll get there.
best of luck,keep us posted
have a few cool beers on standby

rgds

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23 Dec 2009 17:49 - 23 Dec 2009 17:51 #14 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
I finally built the tank two weeks ago and I now have it filled with water.
There are no leaks for now at least.

I used 19 tubes of silicone for a finish. If I had more experiance in tank building 15 would probably have done the trick. I had alot of waste.
I ended up using a brand that sportfish supplied.

If I were to start again I probably would ask sportfish to build it for me as thats what he does for a living. He quoted me a price that was little more than what I paid just for the glass.

I,ll post pics over the holidays.
Last edit: 23 Dec 2009 17:51 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook).

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23 Dec 2009 18:01 #15 by mossy (gavin blanchfield)
congrats glenn
bit of hard work involved but it will more personal for you
well done you got there in the end
enjoy
rgds

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24 Dec 2009 13:29 #16 by Glenn 10 (glenn hornibrook)
Thanks Mossy,
The work has only just begun.My present tank took about 2 years to fully stabilise.
I have nothing but water in the tank and already I have an obstical to overcome.
I arrived home today to find the water has turned milkey white.
It would be no fun if it was easy.
I'll run a uv steraliser in it which I hope will clear it up.

Regards

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