Combining smaller tanks

[Beej]

Since I have gotten into aquari and become a burgeoning and proud novice aquarist(and subsequently talked endlessly about the joys of watching a feeding newt or the funny thing my plec did) I have started to amass a pretty sizable collection of small sized aquarium.

I have little to no use for these four or five (more are always on the horizon ala "oh I used to have a goldfish and it died and now I don't even use the tank...I think it's in my basement if you want it") little tanks but little to no ability to turn away a free lunch.

But I was thinking. I know it would be possible (and probably pretty easy) to fuse many of these 10 15 and 20 gal tanks together into various formations using silicones and different chemical compounds used to fuse glass to glass.

What I am thinking of would be similar to a champagne waterfall where a pyramyd of glasses can all be filled from the overflow from the first.

Now that my lengthy and probably uneeded preamble is behind me, the questions and musings I open for discussion are these:

1. Is there an effective, simple and risk-free to risk-light way to cut portions out the aqaurium walls shortenning them in order to create a path through which semi-terrestrial animals could move from one tank to another?
2.Has anyone here ever had any success or known anyone who has had any success with setups like these?
3.Does anyone have any bright and creative ideas for interesting and unique layouts involving the combination of multiple environments utilizing many smaller tanks?
4. Is this just a dopey idea I should abandon in favour of a wall shelving unit to store each seperately housing different species in each of my numorous and as yet unused beginner tanks?

 

[Abrahm]

I think that it will be awfully difficult to deconstruct tanks and then reassemble them into a bigger one. You will lose a lot of the structural stability of them by not having the plastic frame and I don't think pieces of glass joined end to end would hold under the pressure of water. And cutting pieces out of glass is very difficult.

The closest thing I have seen to your proposed idea was a series of fish tanks connected by pieces of clear PVC pipe. It would work and has worked for fish, but would be pretty awful for newts.

Personally I would think some shelving and multiple tanks is the way to go, but someone may have some other ideas.

 

[Beej]

you know that's what my girlfriend thinks too.


My only thing is I want to have some use for these little guys, but without making my apartment look like a fish store.

Any other ideas with regards to use for little tanks aside from using them as little tanks would be very appreciated. I'm still scratching my head about it

 

[Beej]

I think that it will be awfully difficult to deconstruct tanks and then reassemble them into a bigger one.

I'm not aiming at decontrustion at all. I was thinking of joinging flat sides to eachother..

You will lose a lot of the structural stability of them by not having the plastic frame and I don't think pieces of glass joined end to end would hold under the pressure of water. And cutting pieces out of glass is very difficult.

End to end.......no...I think you're picturing this differently than I intended. I'm talking about joining two surfaces together that have a surface area of 6-10 square inches. Also I'm under the understanding the plastic frames are simply decorative and uneeded due to the advent of silicone

The closest thing I have seen to your proposed idea was a series of fish tanks connected by pieces of clear PVC pipe. It would work and has worked for fish, but would be pretty awful for newts.

I wouldn't really like the look of it either to be honest, plus it lacks the multi tiered and all accessable terrestrial/aquatic break-up I'm dreaming of.

 

[Abrahm]

I don't really understand what you are trying to do here then. Do you just want to silicone a bunch of aquariums together at different heights? Then fill them so they overflow down into the next tank and run the water back up to the top? I suppose you could, but why? Is this even what you're talking about? Maybe you can explain it again because I'm being a little dense today and don't get it.

 

[Kaysie]

Also, silicone is NO match to rigid plastic when it comes to holding an aquarium together. Silicone is a great glue, but it has no structural stability. The weight of water is incredible. 8 pounds a gallon doesn't sound like a lot, but if you have more than few gallons, the pressure on the glass is enormous. That's why very large tanks have extremely thick glass.

 

[Beej]

I don't really understand what you are trying to do here then. Do you just want to silicone a bunch of aquariums together at different heights? Then fill them so they overflow down into the next tank and run the water back up to the top? I suppose you could, but why? Is this even what you're talking about? Maybe you can explain it again because I'm being a little dense today and don't get it.

No you've got it. Now imagine that the top tank in the attached pic is terrestrial with the bottom being aquatic and the middle out of the equation altogether.

Now imagine cutting a section out of the connected portions of the two tanks to match the water level in the aquatic tank and you've got it.

There would be access to the water for the terrestrial animals and access to the land for the aquatic animals and a combination aquavivarium!!!

Thinking it over I am sure it's possible and I think it would look phenominal as a finished product.

I just need to psych myself up to the work involved and the risk of losing one or both of the tanks involved.

 

[Kaysie]

That type of tank would be a nightmare to secure against escapes.

 

[Abrahm]

Now imagine cutting a section out of the connected portions of the two tanks to match the water level in the aquatic tank and you've got it.

Besides securing against escapes as Kaysie mentions, this part stands out as the limiting step. Cutting glass is very difficult and cutting out a single section like that is extremely difficult. Not knowing much about glass beyond what my girlfriend has told me and I've experienced, you would need a water cooled glass drill to make holes in the glass or you would need to deconstruct that one side and reconstruct it with a gap.

Good luck to you if you try it. I imagine it will look awfully neat but I foresee it being a very difficult, if not impossible, project.

 

[Beej]

Glass cutters are perfect for flat panes. I used to help with my dad's stained glass projects. I'd use that technique

 

[Abrahm]

Glass cutters are perfect for flat panes. I used to help with my dad's stained glass projects. I'd use that technique

I hate to constantly question you but I'm quite curious and I feel the information might be valuable to me down the line. I helped my girlfriend do stained glass for a while, also. The kind of glass cutters that scribe a line on the glass and then you break it at that point? That's still going to be problematic if the glass is siliconed to the adjacent pieces.

 

[Beej]

I hate to constantly question you but I'm quite curious and I feel the information might be valuable to me down the line. I helped my girlfriend do stained glass for a while, also. The kind of glass cutters that scribe a line on the glass and then you break it at that point? That's still going to be problematic if the glass is siliconed to the adjacent pieces.

How so?? I would do the measurements, the cuts and then the glue. The more I defend it the more confident I become it will work.

So long as I'm not banned in the next ten mins for over shooting my posting limit I'll be sure to keep you updated

 

[Abrahm]

I've checked with my friend and she confirms what I thought. Those glass cutting tools are incapable of cutting out windows or holes in the glass. You would have to remove that side panel and either use a diamond saw or diamond drill. Even these might not work because some of the components of the aquarium are tempered glass.

 

[Beej]

I've checked with my friend and she confirms what I thought. Those glass cutting tools are incapable of cutting out windows or holes in the glass. You would have to remove that side panel and either use a diamond saw or diamond drill. Even these might not work because some of the components of the aquarium are tempered glass.

Ok then I know not to waste my time with the litle guys and go straight for the big guns. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[peter81965]

It seems like a lot of hard work to do just to break one of the golden rules of caudate keeping: don't mix species.

 

[Demoniac38]

Small tanks are very useful. Cleaning, hospitalization, and quarantining come to mind.

 

[Beej]

Update!

Ok so I found a glass house that will do the cuts for $15. I've decided to leave the newts out of it entirely as I've just discovered the joys of reptile keeping.

I'm gonna use a tropical gecko of some kind(research to begin immediately) and probably keep small tropical feeders of some kind (unless I go for an herbavore species of reptile in which case I can go fancy and long-lived as I like)

The tank is probably gonna be done within the next couple of months or so(adding animals being the last step obviously) and then I'll post pictures.


This is an idea for an enclosure not an idea for a newt enclosure anymore.

I want you guys to know that every piece of advice you've given me has been heeded, but there are a few things that I feel should be addressed:

A)Guarding against escapes is as easy as 2 screen caps and one screen fitted to a custom frame mounted using suction cups or glue. Probably suction cups for easy removal when i want to prune the plants in the dry side.
B)nothing unique is easy and the goal was a unique mixed evironment enclosure, not to mix newts with kittens.
C)I already have an aquatic and semi aquatic hospital tank set up, I also have a reptile enclosure on the go currently and I still have more aquariums left with no conceivable use which are taking up space in my garage.
D)All of the "you'll never be able to pull it off" comments only make me search harder for solutions to the obstacles that are pointed out.

At this point I want the completed project less than i want to complete the project

 

[Beej]

Also, silicone is NO match to rigid plastic when it comes to holding an aquarium together. Silicone is a great glue, but it has no structural stability. The weight of water is incredible. 8 pounds a gallon doesn't sound like a lot, but if you have more than few gallons, the pressure on the glass is enormous. That's why very large tanks have extremely thick glass.

Did you know the black plastic frames around your tank are purely decorative? They are. The black frames were added to silicone secured tanks to make them appear more like the earlier tanks which used a tightened metal framing system to hold the walls of the tank together and create a water tight seal using pressure alone.