Custom Aquariums Neenah WI

[Joe Glass Cages]

All good information.. I have no imperfections in my stand. I know this because I built it. Haha. And it is dead nuts level. That’s the advantage of leveling feet. And there’s 9 of them. Just for psi purposes. And there is no imperfections in the 3/4” HDPE sheet that goes on top of that. Perfectly flat. And there’s also zero deflection in the stand. The only imperfections would be from the tank builder. Lol!! Man, I wished they would warranty using your own stand like glass cages. I guarantee what I built is way more structurally sound that what they produce. That is my line of work. Anyways, I’m convinced to keep the foam with above comments. Thanks for chiming in @Joe Glass Cages.

I love your reply here @JCTReefer. Hilarious. Love the passion!

 

[piranhaman00]

What if the trim is not level

 

[nereefpat]

1) Should a rimmed tank with a floating bottom only have perimeter supports? Does it also need an aquarium pad... I say yes and yes. Lets think about this..... consider the tank size 72 x 72 x 36 Tall build with a floating bottom. Would only support this tank with a perimeter stand? No way. Tank needs to be supported completely with a flat support surface and an aquarium pad if the tank has a stacked or floating bottom. Yes/Yes to this question.

Regardless of scale, the tank still only touches the stand on the edges. The bottom panel and side panels sit on top of the rim, and the rim sits on the stand.

How much pressure is the water putting on the bottom panel? Lots. thousands of pounds of water pressing down on the bottom panel of glass without an aquarium pad is not a good thing at all. any slight imperfection in the stand cannot be absorbed by the glass but can be absorbed by an aquarium pad.

Yes, weight from the water column is pressing down on the bottom panel, but that panel is sitting on the rim. The rim is putting the weight onto the vertical panels and the rim, and transferring the weight to the edge of the stand all the way to the floor. The vertical panels of the tank and the vertical lumber can handle essentially an infinite amount of vertical pressure.

Standard aquarium manufacturers like Perfecto, All-Glass, etc used rimmed tanks with hollow stands on standard tanks up to 240 gallons forever.

Hope that helps!

It does. I was really curious to hear you and your company's thoughts. I'm sure people are laughing at me...But I disagree with your philosophy here.

 

[JCTReefer]

What if the trim is not level

That sir is a great question.
Mine wasn’t perfectly level. Really really close. I went of the glass sides. And believe it or not, those aren’t perfect. Very, very close. Put the level on one side and it’s .01 off one direction. All other side were .00 Was impossible to get it absolutely perfect because the tank wasn’t built perfect. Now you put level on the top trim and it might read .00 in the middle and .02 towards the end. But if you check it with a regular level it’s dead nuts. With a precision digital level, you can dang near breathe on those things and effect it. They’re highly accurate. I think I got it close enough to live with. Lol.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Regardless of scale, the tank still only touches the stand on the edges. The bottom panel and side panels sit on top of the rim, and the rim sits on the stand.


Yes, weight from the water column is pressing down on the bottom panel, but that panel is sitting on the rim. The rim is putting the weight onto the vertical panels and the rim, and transferring the weight to the edge of the stand all the way to the floor. The vertical panels of the tank and the vertical lumber can handle essentially an infinite amount of vertical pressure.

Standard aquarium manufacturers like Perfecto, All-Glass, etc used rimmed tanks with hollow stands on standard tanks up to 240 gallons forever.

It does. I was really curious to hear you and your company's thoughts. I'm sure people are laughing at me...But I disagree with your philosophy here.

ok... lets see here.

1) Sure the stand can handle the weight but the single pane of glass can't. I used an example of a tank 72 x 27 x 36 Tall. That bottom pane of glass will not handle the weight if only supported on its perimeter. What is holding the bottom panel of glass to the vertical panels? Silicone. Not having the tank supported completely will put too much stress on the bottom panel of glass as well as the silicone seams. We error on the side total caution of this topic.

2) Most plastic rimmed tanks can be setup with no pad. sure. In fact you can set up any tank you desire without a pad. Maybe I misunderstood your question. Are we mixing smaller framed tanks with non-framed larger tanks? possibly. We suggest using a pad for the reasons outlined. Glass will not allow for flexing. The largest the tank, use a pad.

3) Well, not a problem. We designed the warranty so the consumer has the choice of the length of the warranty they desire. If you were to get a tank, you could pick the warranty that fits you.

Thanks so much for your feedback. Not sure if I answered your questions. let me know.

 

[Murica]

I’ve had two and the quality is top notch. Unfortunately I didn’t have such top notch customer service, especially after I received the tank. The quality of the tank trumps that though imo

I would use the padding if the manufacturer recommends it. One tiny pebble or bump underneath the rim could be really bad, but the padding is designed to alleviate those types of things

 

[nereefpat]

1) Sure the stand can handle the weight but the single pane of glass can't. I used an example of a tank 72 x 27 x 36 Tall. That bottom pane of glass will not handle the weight if only supported on its perimeter. What is holding the bottom panel of glass to the vertical panels? Silicone. Not having the tank supported completely will put too much stress on the bottom panel of glass as well as the silicone seams. We error on the side total caution of this topic.

Yes, the bottom pane is held together to the sides by silicone, just like all the seams. It sounds like your concern is that the bottom panel could fall downward without support, stressing the bottom seam. My counter argument to that would be: that cannot happen, because the bottom panel is resting on the rim, and the rim is resting on the edge of the stand. So the edges of the bottom panel have nowhere to go.

Maybe I misunderstood your question. Are we mixing smaller framed tanks with non-framed larger tanks? possibly.

I'm talking about any rimmed, floating bottom, glass tank up to a reasonable size...say, about 300 gallons.

Thicker panes help. At a certain point, some things don't scale up. I understand that. It makes sense to go acrylic, for example.

 

[JCTReefer]

My confusion was that every single glass tank I’ve ever had that has a top frame and bottom frame has never had a pad or a solid piece of anything underneath it. The 60 gallon oceanic had a hollow stand. This tanks bottom panel was only in contact with it framework. My 100 gallon, same scenario. The oak stand was hollow and it too was only supported by its bottom frame work/ trim. Same thing with the 140. Floating glass bottom. Same thing on my little 54 corner tank I have setup. For the life of me, I just couldn’t understand why it would be necessary to have a solid piece of plywood and then a pad ontop of that to support my new tank. Especially when that bottom panel is only sitting on the framework anyways. Now if I had non rimmed/rimless tank “no floating bottom” and the bottom pane of glass was supported by nothing but glass, then absolutely you would want something solid underneath, plus a pad.. Just like on an acrylic tank. When I built my acrylic 240, I definitely did this. That’s a no brainer. I simply could not understand why the manufacturer was having me do this on a rimmed/framed style tank. And I never got an explanation.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

My confusion was that every single glass tank I’ve ever had that has a top frame and bottom frame has never had a pad or a solid piece of anything underneath it. The 60 gallon oceanic had a hollow stand. This tanks bottom panel was only in contact with it framework. My 100 gallon, same scenario. The oak stand was hollow and it too was only supported by its bottom frame work/ trim. Same thing with the 140. Floating glass bottom. Same thing on my little 54 corner tank I have setup. For the life of me, I just couldn’t understand why it would be necessary to have a solid piece of plywood and then a pad ontop of that to support my new tank. Especially when that bottom panel is only sitting on the framework anyways. Now if I had non rimmed/rimless tank “no floating bottom” and the bottom pane of glass was supported by nothing but glass, then absolutely you would want something solid underneath, plus a pad.. Just like on an acrylic tank. When I built my acrylic 240, I definitely did this. That’s a no brainer. I simply could not understand why the manufacturer was having me do this on a rimmed/framed style tank. And I never got an explanation.

thats it. spot on @JCTReefer. You got it. that is the difference.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Yes, the bottom pane is held together to the sides by silicone, just like all the seams. It sounds like your concern is that the bottom panel could fall downward without support, stressing the bottom seam. My counter argument to that would be: that cannot happen, because the bottom panel is resting on the rim, and the rim is resting on the edge of the stand. So the edges of the bottom panel have nowhere to go.


I'm talking about any rimmed, floating bottom, glass tank up to a reasonable size...say, about 300 gallons.

Thicker panes help. At a certain point, some things don't scale up. I understand that. It makes sense to go acrylic, for example.

ok... this is getting tough on this type of communication medium. maybe a call or conference call that everyone can join that is interested in this topic? it is a good one. So many opinions. I love this!

Plastic framed aquarium that Glass Cages makes, sure no pad needed. Prefer but not needed.

regarding your suggestion to support a 72 x 72 x 36 tall tank with only a perimeter supported stand. Water weight is almost 7000 lbs. We need not worry about the seams separating. Unsupported glass bottom will fail. Most likely I am missing something you are trying to share.

Please try your design on a 72 x 72 x 36 tall glass tank and let us know how it works for you.

Any floating bottom tank without a frame that Glass Cages makes, needs an aquarium pad or 3/4" styrofoam pad.

This is semantics. Framed tanks are not floating bottoms, they are stacked glass builds.

I am not trying to argue, counter argue, engage, challenge, be adversarial, be difficult, be confrontational, be right, be wrong or anything in between. just trying to answer your question and share our suggestions and direction.

Love the challenge. Thank you!

 

[nereefpat]

I am not trying to argue, counter argue, engage, challenge, be adversarial, be difficult, be confrontational, be right, be wrong or anything in between. just trying to answer your question and share our suggestions and direction.

Love the challenge. Thank you!

Me too. I love that you would give us your time and expertise. I think we all want the same thing. We want tanks that look good and are as structurally sound as reasonably possible...and usually at a competitive price. It is a challenge to achieve all that at once.

regarding your suggestion to support a 72 x 72 x 36 tall tank with only a perimeter supported stand. Water weight is almost 7000 lbs. We need not worry about the seams separating. Unsupported glass bottom will fail. Most likely I am missing something you are trying to share.

Please try your design on a 72 x 72 x 36 tall glass tank and let us know how it works for you.

I would not build a 6x6x3' tank from glass. I would use acrylic for clarity and weight and safety reasons. As you of course know, acrylic tanks are put together differently.

My ideal tank dimensions would be 5x2.5x2H. I would have someone (GlassCages?) put that together with glass and a rim on top and bottom.

My 125 is 3/8" panels, so you might get away with that, but I would probably go with 1/2" if I decided that I could afford it. I might also put a brace the bottom with an interior eurobrace (probably not the right term here), since this would most likely need to last me my lifetime.

I would build my own stand with 2x4s and plywood, as I always have. I would not use a foam pad or mat of any kind.

Thanks again, Joe, for giving us your thoughts. I will probably bow out now, as I feel that I have made my opinion pretty clear, and I've sort of made a mess of this thread.

 

[JCTReefer]

I've sort of made a mess of this thread.

You’ve certainly not made a mess of this thread IMO. I’m glad you voiced your opinions and questions. Because they’re the exact same as mine. And were all valid.

 

[Oldreefer44]

I had 2 framed tanks before pads became a thing;, a 180 and a 135. In both cases the tanks were perfectly level until water was added. The 135, changed a little over 3/8 inch and the 180 about an 1/4 inch. They were leveled using shims but seemingly this just put extra stress on the stand as both eventually started to fail. Last year I ordered a 180 from Custom. This stand has a metal frame and foam pad. It was put in the exact same position as the old 180 and yet when water was added stayed level. I can only surmise the there were floor support issues that only became apparent when all the extra weight was added. To me it was worth it not to have to worry about a couple hundred gallons of water pouring through the house let alone the loss of very valuable livestock.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I agree with @nereefpat

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

You’ve certainly not made a mess of this thread IMO. I’m glad you voiced your opinions and questions. Because they’re the exact same as mine. And were all valid.

Agreed. This is the great thing about this forum. Tons of support. The opportunity to share. Opportunity to learn is nurturing environment. We need more to this in these times for sure. Thanks @nereefpat and @JCTReefer for this conversation of the minds. Thank you.

 

[piranhaman00]

Well I picked up the tank this weekend. The trim is much different that I was expecting. The bottom pane floats but just barely. It is almost rimless, I can see why foam is needed here. My 180 aqueon floats much higher.

 

[JayRozzer]

How was your overall experience with custom aquariums ? I was looking at a tank from SCAquariums but I’m in WI so I might as well take a look at them. I haven’t found many people with their rimless tanks.

 

[JCTReefer]

How was your overall experience with custom aquariums ? I was looking at a tank from SCAquariums but I’m in WI so I might as well take a look at them. I haven’t found many people with their rimless tanks.

Not sure who this is directed towards, but my over all experience with them was pleasant. The overall build process went smoothly. I had several questions during this whole deal. I left no stone unturned that’s for sure. And I did my research before considering them. Of course my tanks not rimless and I didn’t want rimless. They are definitely thorough so far as the documentation to be signed and the fine details. From the Glass panel details, to the exact measurements. They also provide cad drawings of the build to be signed and to look over. I went back and forth several times with them on the height. I was kinda indecisive. They were patient and customer service was good. They were also able to make custom glass lids that I wanted also. The seams are top notch and the glass panels are beveled and polished nicely. I will say the aluminum framework they use should last for a good while. Their shipping was impressive also. They spared no expense on lumber either. That’s for sure. The only question I didn’t get a direct answer for was ???why??? the required pad is needed under the tank. Lol.

 

[JayRozzer]

Thanks. I guess that question was directed towards anyone with one of their tanks. lol

 

[JCTReefer]

This is how it was shipped.