Am I Crazy...

...or can I make this work?!?!

So I grabbed a leaky Marineland 55 gallon for free off of craigslist; peeling silicone and cracked plastic framing. Original dimensions: 48"W*20"H*13"D. I removed all plastic and silicone and now I just have the 5 pieces of glass:

2: 48"W* 20"H
2: 13"W* 20"H
1: 48"W* 13"H

So my sleep-deprived brain (all thanks to my 2mo old!) had this crazy idea of rebuilding the tank but with a twist:

Possible 55g alternate

• Mooresvillian
• Sep 22, 2017

Old 55g torn down; alternate possible rebuild

*Excuse the rudimentary drawing and the infant handwriting*

If I took the side walls and laid them sideways; laid the original back panel down flat as the new base; stood old base up as new back wall; and cut the front wall down to 13" tall... New tank dimensions would be 48"W*13"H*20"D! That would still be a 55 gallon tank but with a lot lower profile and a larger footprint; plus less distance for light to travel for plants or even corals. Leftover glass could be used as in-tank, top, or cross bracing since there won't be any plastic framing that would fit these dimensions. New 5 pieces of glass would be:

2: 48"W* 13"H
2: 20"W* 13"H
1: 48"W* 20"H

So, obviously, many questions:

1) Can this actually be done?

2) What would be the best way to brace this? Leftover glass will be 48"x 7" minus the width of cutting blade. If insufficient I could build a 1"- 2" tall wooden frame around base of tank and hide it with trim around top of a custom made tank stand; already built 2 stands for a standard 55 and my 20long.

3) Will that much larger of a footprint allow for larger stocking species, or if nothing else a larger quantity of stock? I've yet to own a tank that had a depth of more than 12" or 13"... I have to imagine this could be awesome hardscaping!

4) If any reefers read this post and its possible for me to pull it off; would this work well for a newbie to attempt his first reef tank?

Thank you for any and all input. If I attempt I will definitely pressure test all seals several times and check the amount of bowing that occurs... hoping to keep the latter to a minimum with proper bracing.

EDIT: Please tag anyone that may have any helpful insight. Thanks!

 

Pictures would really help. Anything is possible. I would want to use angle iron to replace the cracked frame and maybe one candy-bar across the middle under your base. Are all the pieces the same mil?

 

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work... but I've never done anything like it. Keep in mind that since you're creating a rimless tank you have to give it proper support- perfectly flat and level base and a pad between it and the tank bottom. You'll also have to choose species appropriate for a 13" deep tank, but there are plenty of those. Then, of course, you'll need to custom make a hood to keep the cat out and the fish in .

It seems like a lot of work to increase the footprint of the tank. You're only cutting the distance the light travels by 7", and I'm guessing you can get the occupants the same amount of light from the longer distance by leaving the lights on 15 minutes more per day.

 

Pictures would really help. Anything is possible. I would want to use angle to replace the cracked frame and maybe one candy-bar across the middle under your base. Are all the pieces the same mil?

I went digging through my shed earlier knowing the glass pieces are wrapped in a towel in the back... apparently my wife moved a lot of boxes in there when I wasn't looking! Would love to take some photos but it would have taken me an hour+ just to get to the pieces.

I considered some type of angle iron but was wondering if the thickness of the glass would be sufficient as a rimless? It's either 6mm or 1/4" thick. maybe just angle iron on the base?

Excuse my DIY nubie-ness but what is a "candy-bar"?

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work... but I've never done anything like it. Keep in mind that since you're creating a tank you have to give it proper support- perfectly flat and level base and a pad between it and the tank bottom. You'll also have to choose species appropriate for a 13" deep tank, but there are plenty of those. Then, of course, you'll need to custom make a hood to keep the cat out and the fish in .

It seems like a lot of work to increase the footprint of the tank. You're only cutting the distance the light travels by 7", and I'm guessing you can get the occupants the same amount of light from the longer distance by leaving the on 15 minutes more per day.

Yup definitely planned for a hood! I've turned the first 2 stands built into pieces of furniture with cabinets doors and even drawers on my standard 55 gallon stand; both with matching wood hoods. My biggest problem with trying to use the pieces in their original design is tank depth front-back... I've been diving for well over 20 years now and when I finally do my reef setup I'm going to want depth for different designs; I feel 12"-13" depth minus space for glass cleaning just severely limits my live rock placement. Lighting intensity was more of an added bonus than a reason to proceed... could always lower the light to almost surface or make a really thick substrate. The biggest bonus for me was the depth.

The other option I considered was just going a LOT bigger for my future reef and set these pieces in original design as my sump/refugium. Would a 20" tall sump work well or does the sump need to be shorter?

 

A piece of iron about the size of a candy-bar

 

A sump can be any size you want, within reason. The biggest consideration is that if anything stops working you don't want either your sump or your tank to overflow, or your tank's level to drop so low that you expose your coral.

 

A bigger foot print is always better. Sounds like you would have the footprint of a 75 which would give you a few more options of fish.

 

Thanks to everyone for the input! Probably gonna be a little while before I attempt this... but attempt it I will. Gonna try and piece it together with angle iron on the base (with a candy-bar); try it rimless at the top. I will fill test it several times and measure the total bowing (if it holds together long enough to test lol).

If it works it works; if not I'll consider other options. Thanks again!

 

other option .

 

other option .

Yes that is an option but not what I'm wanting to do... wanting a larger depth. But thanks!