How to Make a Fish Tank

A fish tank is a good thing to have at home. If we make the fish tank ourselves it will be something we and our family would doubly love. And it's easy to build one. Yeah, that's right. Why go out and buy one when you can have the fun of this simple home project and do it yourself? Also the advantage of doing it yourself is that the space you want your tank in can be perfectly fit into the space when you yourself are doing the work.

We can enjoy an artificial scene of the deep sea that we ourselves have designed and made right in our homes. How? Here is how we make a fish tank. Try with a small tank first or ask the glass store attendant dimensions for a 25-gallon fish tank.

1. We begin by putting together the glass walls of the fish tank. Put two glass wall pieces together at their edges-one is flat on its back (the bottom piece), the other standing beside it at a 90 degree angle (front piece). Glue together their adjoining edges. Tape the glass pieces to the peripheries of two perfect squares standing on the bottom piece.

2. It would help to put a duct tape on the outer side of the edge where the two glass pieces meet. This would steady the edges together. The two perfect squares would help steady both glass pieces to form a 90 degree angle. Then place silicone sealant at the joint edges and have them dry up for 24 hours. With several more squares we may do the same procedure with the other glass wall piece (back piece) of the fish tank.

Now we have the bottom, front, and back walls of our fish tank glued together.

3. Next, we glue the side walls of our fish tank. We simply place enough silicone sealant at the edges where we would attach our side walls. Let the attachment dry up for another 24 hours.

4. Then, turn the fish tank upside down to put sealant at the outside edges after removing the duct tapes. Make sure all edges (bottom and sides) are sealed well and then place the plastic or rubber trims. Then allow for 6 hours for the sealant to dry.

5. Make the fish tank stand upright once more and put sealant on the rims and place plastic or rubber trims to cover sharp glass edges. Allow the sealed trims and edges to dry for another 24 hours.

6. The next day, fill the fish tank with water and observe for 12 hours. Seal-repair any leaks by first emptying and drying the fish tank and applying the sealant. Let it dry and fill with water again. On the final refilling, place our accessories and allow water temperature to equal room temperature. Then check for toxicity and pH balance with test strips.

Have the glass walls cut at the glass store and always wear gloves when handling cut glass. With the right instructions, materials, and tools making our own fish tank is quite easy.

John Grant is a the author for a how to site where he is writing articles about how to build a fish tank.