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Things You'll Need
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To begin building an aquarium, you will need single-edged razor blades for cutting your materials. You also will need acetone, a non-toxic sealer made out of silicone, a roll of paper towels and some felt-tip markers, duct tape and either an emory board or some sandpaper made out of silicon carbide. Finally, you will need your pieces of glass: one piece for the bottom, two longer pieces for the front and back, and then two side pieces. Most aquariums can be built using 1/4-inch-thick glass, though ones larger than 55 gallons will need to use thicker glass.
First Stage
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You will want to take the sharpness off the edges of glass using the emory board or the sandpaper. You will also want to make many 5-inch strips of the duct tape, preferably 16 or more. Once your glass pieces are ready, lay them out and mark which edge goes where so you won't be fumbling later. Then, take the bottom piece of glass and affix two pieces of the duct tape (sticky side up) to the bottom of each of the sides (for a total of eight pieces). You will want about half of the duct tape to stick out as you will use it to help attach each side. Now place the front pane of glass into place, attaching the two overhanging pieces of duct tape to hold the panel in place. You may want to have someone hold the glass panels up while you do this. Next do the same for one of your side panels, using more of your duct tape to help affix the side panel to the front.
Second Stage
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Use the same method to attach the other side panel as well as the back. Once you have all of your glass panels in place, it is time to seal the edges. From the inside, attach a solid line of silicone sealant to each of the eight inside edges (where each panel meets the bottom panel as well as its neighboring panels). Give the silicone sealant 24 hours to cure and harden, and then test out the tank by filling it with fresh water. Allow it to sit for at least 12 hours (24 or more is better). If the tank isn't leaking by then, you are ready to add your fish.
eHow Article: Building Aquariums
