Ornamental Fish Production and Management

2.1.4 Construction of all glass aquarium glass tank

2.1.4 Construction of all glass aquarium tank

These are constructed with only glass sheets. Rectangular all glass tanks are made with a glass wall thickness of 5 – 10 mm. In all glass tanks, the cut glass walls are fitted together with synthetic rubbery sealent called silicone gum. Prior to fabrication of the tank, sidewalls of the tank are arranged so as to have the desired shape. The glass walls are tied with a rope in order to keep the correct shape of the tank. Then the bottom sheet of the tank is kept flat below the arranged sidewalls so as to get the desired and correct shape of the tank. A cut thermocol sheet is kept at the bottom to rest the temporarily tied glass sheets. Now the silicone sealent is evenly applied all along the inner vertical and horizontal cut ends with the help of a hand applicator. Care must be taken to see that the joining ends of the glass pieces are free of oil, moisture or stains. A good sealent compound binds the glass walls in 10 to 20 minutes. However, a curing time of about 10 hrs is required to keep the set tank in position and water should be poured only after 24 hours.

Seating the tank

Soon after curing, the tank is kept on a firm wooden or slotted iron stand. The base of the stand should be even and smooth, as irregular placing of the stands would break the tank bottom. A uniform sized thermocol is also used in between the tank and stand surface to safeguard the tank from pressure.