Theorhetical DIY tank

I'm just amusing myself with this idea and saw a few posts on it, and had some questions. Don't feel particularly oblidged to answer, as I wouldn't be doing any of this for years, should I decide to do it. I figure we might be in the mood for an upgrade right about then.

I was thinking of what an enormous sense of satisfaction I would be to build your own tank. I understand from what I've read you're not going to save a dime over buying a premade tank but as I thought about it I realized I didn't care.

Some of the items I read on this forum eluded to using glass for DIY tanks. Is there a reason that glass would be better than acrylic? Is it less prone to scratching? I also think I read somewhere that acrylic gets brittle over time, which sounds ominous. The type of glass I remember seeing is called Starfire glass. What is special about this as opposed to other glass?

I also read about needing a particular type of silicone. I don't recall reading anywhere of a specific brand or name, any info on that?

Last question I have is about stands. It'd be silly to futilely spend your own time reinventing the wheel on a tank and get a predone stand, so if one were to build a stand capable of holding a large tank... let's say 250g+, what would you use? I'm just thinking a sturdy frame of pressure treated wood would do the job but would be interested to hear other opinions.

I'm glad to know there are people around with experience. I want to make it myself as opposed to delegating it sheerly for the sense of self satisfaction, but you make a great point in taking on a smaller project first, and I think I know just the thing for it!

I have a red eared slider turtle in a half full (12-15g or so) 29g tank but he's getting a bit big for it. I could use a deeper, shallower (more deep, less high) tank of about the same size for him so that seems like a great starter project.

Oh and another question. People were saying to put a 1/16" to 1/32" spacing when siliconing the sides of a tank. I'm sure it's something obvious that I'm missing, but what's the spacing needed for? Just more surface area for the silicon to grab on to?


Edited by clubbby - January 26 2012 at 3:14pm