Leaky Aquariums
I wonder how many mistakes you can make, buying an aquarium. I mean, just the aquarium itself - not any of the other paraphernalia. I've had an aquarium custom madfe by my local glazier. I chose low iron, tempered glass.
The low iron glass was a good, but expensive choice. It really does make a difference to the way the corners look. I'm not too concerned about the not having rounded corners now.
Tempered may not have been so clever. First up, it makes all the pieces a little irregular, so it doesn't fit together perfectly. Second, there's something slightly odd about it optically. I've read its polarising. Its noticeable. Finally, there's the question of how vulnerable the corners are to impact. The glazier didn't explain any of this, which is a little dissapointing.
I think I won't worry about the risk of breaking the glass. It'll be spectacular, but I'll deal with it in the unlikely event. I have now finally got a quote for a 10mm acrylic aquarium, which I think would look better, and its a lot cheaper. Several companies never replied to my emails. I think the wisdom is that acrylic is uneconomic for small aquaria. Not compared to low iron glass, it isn't.
The aquarium also leaked as delivered. Rather than take it back, I decided to repair it myself. I removed all the silicon in the joint, using a specialised plastic silicon knife, and then some silicon remover. The remover was helpful, but silicon is very hard to remove completely. I used Soudal Silirub AQ, designed specifically for Aquariums. Its easy to work (I used a Fugi), but doesn't cure brilliantly clear. It says to let it cure for 4 days before filling the aquarium, which is a long time. It could be I should have used a smaller profile, but I suggest you choose a different product if you are going to try this yourself.
The low iron glass was a good, but expensive choice. It really does make a difference to the way the corners look. I'm not too concerned about the not having rounded corners now.
Tempered may not have been so clever. First up, it makes all the pieces a little irregular, so it doesn't fit together perfectly. Second, there's something slightly odd about it optically. I've read its polarising. Its noticeable. Finally, there's the question of how vulnerable the corners are to impact. The glazier didn't explain any of this, which is a little dissapointing.
I think I won't worry about the risk of breaking the glass. It'll be spectacular, but I'll deal with it in the unlikely event. I have now finally got a quote for a 10mm acrylic aquarium, which I think would look better, and its a lot cheaper. Several companies never replied to my emails. I think the wisdom is that acrylic is uneconomic for small aquaria. Not compared to low iron glass, it isn't.
The aquarium also leaked as delivered. Rather than take it back, I decided to repair it myself. I removed all the silicon in the joint, using a specialised plastic silicon knife, and then some silicon remover. The remover was helpful, but silicon is very hard to remove completely. I used Soudal Silirub AQ, designed specifically for Aquariums. Its easy to work (I used a Fugi), but doesn't cure brilliantly clear. It says to let it cure for 4 days before filling the aquarium, which is a long time. It could be I should have used a smaller profile, but I suggest you choose a different product if you are going to try this yourself.
