Building a salt water aquarium is rewarding, but it does require confidence and good mechanical (and organizational) skills.
One of the first things that you should do is visit your local pet store and determine the size of tank that you wish to have in your home.
Take a measuring tape along and use the dimensions of the store tank of your choice to determine if and where it will fit in your home.
You will most likely pick a size somewhere between 30 and 55 gallons.
You will need to order five appropriate glass panes sizes from the store.
Give a glass cutting expert the appropriate height, length and depth of your aquarium, along with the thickness of glass that you need.
Make sure that your glass is thick enough, so that you don't have cracking occurring under the strain of the full tank's water pressure.
Glass that you receiver from a glass cutter will tend to have sharp edges.
The choice of materials used to smooth these edges is silicon carbide sandpaper or an emery cloth.
Both are effective in making edges safe and easier to work with.
Place the bottom glass pane on a flat surface.
Lift each side and stick two pieces of duct tape under it, with the sticky side facing up.
Also, space the two strips of tape equally apart from each other.
Each strip of tape should measure about six inches, with three of these inches being attached to the bottom pane, and the other three inches being left open and ready for its eventual attachment to a front, side or back panel.
In all you will need eight pieces of tape (two for each side).
Next, take some non-toxic silicon sealant and squeeze it along the entire edge that you determine to be the front of your tank.
Once this is done, place your front panel on the sealant and carefully fold the two appropriate pieces of tape onto the front panel to secure it.
This process is then repeated with the back and side panels, with the silicon sealant used to seal the bottom and side gaps.
All sealants should be smoothed over with your thumb or index finger and should be allowed to dry for at least twenty-four hours.
After everything is dry, you can cut away all excess sealant with a razor and test your tank for leaks.
This is done by filling your tank with fresh water and seeing if any leaks occur within twenty-four hours.
Here are a couple of additional tips.
Remember that your glass should be very clean before even beginning to assemble your aquarium.
Acetone is a great cleaning agent.
Also, the two side panels fit inside the front and back panels, and should be placed after the front panel is first put up.
As a final note, you'll need a hood.
Don't make it out of glass, as this will compromise the aeration process in your tank.
Have fun, and remember to take your time and label your glass panels with a washable marker in order to organize yourself.
One of the first things that you should do is visit your local pet store and determine the size of tank that you wish to have in your home.
Take a measuring tape along and use the dimensions of the store tank of your choice to determine if and where it will fit in your home.
You will most likely pick a size somewhere between 30 and 55 gallons.
You will need to order five appropriate glass panes sizes from the store.
Give a glass cutting expert the appropriate height, length and depth of your aquarium, along with the thickness of glass that you need.
Make sure that your glass is thick enough, so that you don't have cracking occurring under the strain of the full tank's water pressure.
Glass that you receiver from a glass cutter will tend to have sharp edges.
The choice of materials used to smooth these edges is silicon carbide sandpaper or an emery cloth.
Both are effective in making edges safe and easier to work with.
Place the bottom glass pane on a flat surface.
Lift each side and stick two pieces of duct tape under it, with the sticky side facing up.
Also, space the two strips of tape equally apart from each other.
Each strip of tape should measure about six inches, with three of these inches being attached to the bottom pane, and the other three inches being left open and ready for its eventual attachment to a front, side or back panel.
In all you will need eight pieces of tape (two for each side).
Next, take some non-toxic silicon sealant and squeeze it along the entire edge that you determine to be the front of your tank.
Once this is done, place your front panel on the sealant and carefully fold the two appropriate pieces of tape onto the front panel to secure it.
This process is then repeated with the back and side panels, with the silicon sealant used to seal the bottom and side gaps.
All sealants should be smoothed over with your thumb or index finger and should be allowed to dry for at least twenty-four hours.
After everything is dry, you can cut away all excess sealant with a razor and test your tank for leaks.
This is done by filling your tank with fresh water and seeing if any leaks occur within twenty-four hours.
Here are a couple of additional tips.
Remember that your glass should be very clean before even beginning to assemble your aquarium.
Acetone is a great cleaning agent.
Also, the two side panels fit inside the front and back panels, and should be placed after the front panel is first put up.
As a final note, you'll need a hood.
Don't make it out of glass, as this will compromise the aeration process in your tank.
Have fun, and remember to take your time and label your glass panels with a washable marker in order to organize yourself.