WTB: VERY thin custom tank
 

Hi, I'm new here, though I registered a month or so ago to buy a tank and stand from Jeff (Wake49).

I'm a woodworker, and for my fish tank I built a cabinet for my foods and chemicals. The top portion is a shelf, and the lower portion is a framed, backlit decorative tank with a bubble bar and frosted rear glass to diffuse the lighting. I enjoy the cabinet very much, but unfortunately after a recent move the tank I made developed a leak.

I'll admit, I'm a woodworker, not an aquarium builder. So I'm looking to have this tank made by someone who actually knows how and will use the proper materials. I contacted several custom aquarium firms, but either they don't answer their phones and emails or they outright refuse to construct the tank for me due to the rather restricitve dimensions.

The tank I need must be: 25.5"L, 2"W, 9"H. When constructing the cabinet, I realized that it would be a difficult task to make a tank cleanly when it is this thin, so the frame that surrounds the tank on the outside is 2" around on all sides. Meaning that the joints can be a little sloppy (or a lot sloppy, really) so long as the tank holds water and does not bow under the weight.

Is anyone on this forum up for the challenge? If you are, write me back with a quote.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Would it be possible to repair your leaking tank?

What kind of fish goes in a 2" wide tank? That's the oddest thing I've ever read. Have you considered buying a 20 long and re-doing the stand? You could cut the face frame off and build up the carcass a bit. Be a lot cheaper.

It's not for fish. It's a decorative feature in a cherry cabinet that I built specifically for fish food. There is no way to re-make the cabinet to fit a new size tank - it is already quite deep for a small cabinet, and the wood alone for this cabinet cost around $80. I would essentially be making a whole new cabinet that would be over a 18" deep just to accommodate a needlessly deep tank (all the tank needs to do is have room for a bubble bar). It would be positively huge, and cost around $300 in wood (the wider stock you buy, the more it costs).

A repair might be possible, but probably wouldn't be worth it. I figured that a 9" tall tank would be fine with full 1/8" plate glass. I was wrong, and the glass bows outward when filled.

Here are some pictures of the cabinet. Pardon the wires, but I have some power tools underneath the cabinet, and the wiring for the lighting and the cabinet's power are in the space where the tank would normally go.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2605/...8a1a4deb_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2512/...5f2a3956_b.jpg

Is there anyone willing to give this a try?

If nobody can do this, can anyone recommend a supplier for thicker plate glass?