Livingroom system

[SimonB]

some updates to the project! the grow beds are almost completed now, some glue and hoses still required and then i can begin to attach them to the piping and to the fish tank!
The aquarium is currently dismantled, i'll take it for drilling tomorrow, hopfully there will be no problems with that and re-attaching the side to the aquarium... well, if all goes as planned i should be able to start cycling the tank next weekend or next week, going to inject it with a bacteria culture from my friends fish tank so that should give some head start to the bacteria culture.
Please find the latest photos attached below!

[JCO]

Looks good...and it looks like you have put a lot of thought and work into it thus far. Keep the photos coming

[davidstcldfl]

Looking good....

[jackalope]

I guess I got to this thread too late ...... having been a Glazier in my younger days, the best way to cut the glass away from the silicone is to use a single-edged razor blade and some dish soap for a lubricant (Spit workis better, but most people don't like the idea of spitting on the glass ). Heating silicone shouldn't make any difference, but your experience has been that it is helpful, so I won't dispute that

As some have said, drilling the glass while still mounted in the frame is much easier just by building a window-putty dam around the planned hole and filling that dam with either oil or water (linseed or motor oil is best) to keep the drill cool -- BUT it may be tempered. One way to tell if it is tempered is that one edge is usually 'hung' in the tempering furnace, which will leave very small dimples in the edge - that tells you it is tempered! This isn't always a sure-fire way to tell, but if you see the temper-marks, you'll know!

I've always repaired most of my own aquariums, so I can say I've only run up against tempered glass once or twice - the glass on the bottom and front and rear are usually thicker than the ends because of the weight they have to support.

[SimonB]

Thanks for the tips Jackalope!
Th heating was recommended by a friend that replaces glass panes in doors as it will soften up the silicone and also make the glass less prone to shatter.
Luckily enough the glass was normal 8mm thick glass and not tempered, I'll get it back with a nice hole on Wednesday morning!
Next time I'll try to get another design so I don't have to make holes in glass but I'll chalk this one up on the learning curve

[SimonB]

Some more progress, the tank is now equipped with a penetration for the overflow to the grow beds.
Below also some pics form the grow bed support table build (still needs to adjust the lengths of the legs) and also a pick of the GBs equipped with Uniseals.
Br,
Simon