Dry aquarium in the interior of the apartment

The design of modern interior is not limited to standard materials, such as wood, concrete and plastic. The variety of forms, materials and design ideas allows you to create unique 3D images in your home. One such creative idea is a dry aquarium that is mounted in walls, furniture, floor or made as a stand-alone structure.

What is a dry aquarium

Dry aquarium in the floor orin the wall is a niche, which is covered with a sheet of glass. For the aquarium in the floor is provided a very strong coating called triplex, which is capable of withstanding heavy loads. Triplex - these are three layers of impact-resistant glass, bonded with a special technology polymer film. This multi-layer construction determines the ability of the material to withstand a weight of up to several hundred kilograms.

Another distinguishing feature of triple-pane glass, which makes it suitable for use in living quarters, is the similarity with automotive glass. If you try to break a triplex, it will not split, but only be covered with a network of cracks. According to the thickness of the glass is selected depending on the design and purpose.

The next element of the dry aquarium is its filling, which complements the whole design of the aesthetic component. Most often, this type of design is chosen, similar to a real sea view. This is not mandatory, the design is selected based on your own taste and the overall design of the room. For the decor of a dry aquarium use fine sea sand, pebbles and stones, artificial plants, various collages and elements of the microlandscape.

At selection of a composition it is necessary to take not perishable materials. If there is a desire to use natural material, it must first be dried well and applied to its surface with a special coating that will preserve its appearance and prevent the decomposition of the material.

Types of dry aquariums

As the name implies, a dry aquarium does not contain water, it only contains air and all elements of the intended composition. The depth of the niche or the size of the aquarium is selected individually, if it is an aquarium in the floor, then its depth starts from 8-10 cm. If a dry aquarium is planned to be made in the floor, then there are two options for its implementation - flooded floors or podium. In the case of a bulk floor, the niche for the aquarium is left in advance, for a deep aquarium the floor needs to be raised.

Dry aquariums on the basis of the divided into built-in and remote. Built-in aquariums are a structure of profile, glass and finishing materials, which is a part of the wall, floor or furniture elements. Built-in aquariums are mounted in the niches of cabinets, countertops, pedestals, steps and any other elements of the interior. By manufacturing technology, they are significantly different from the remote ones.

Remote aquariums are structures that are installed separately and are a common aquarium in which a decorative composition is created. It is allowed to use an aquarium of any shape - round, rectangular or angular. Internal filling is limited only by the availability of materials and own imagination.

General rules for the manufacture of a dry aquarium

1. For the manufacture of a dry aquarium, a glass panel is made to order according to the required dimensions. The niche is prepared by framing the perimeter with a metal or decorative profile. The frame is fixed with screws so that on the upper side of the profile there is a gap in the main floor for the thickness of the glass and sealant. From the inside, all surfaces of the aquarium are covered with finishing materials to choose from.

2. When installing a dry aquarium with their own hands, it is necessary to provide niches for the wires of illumination, as well as their wiring to the nearest source of electric current. A dry aquarium in the floor or wall will not look spectacular without backlight elements. Top on the main cover spread the selected composition, the entire product is covered with glass, the seams are filled with sealant.

3. For a dry aquarium, the best option for lighting will be LED, neon or luminescent. It will not only illuminate the entire composition, but will also be additional lighting in the room. To create an additional effect, a tinted triplex is chosen, which suits its tone to the whole tone of the interior. Another little trick that will make a dry aquarium more practical is rubber gaskets. The triplex is laid on them tightly, without letting dust or moisture into the interior space, and to lift the composition in the aquarium it is enough to raise it with the help of ordinary rubber suckers.

How to make an aquarium with your own hands

If you plan to create a remote aquarium, then the core of the glass structure is bought or manufactured independently. When making an aquarium for water with your own hands, you need to consider all the rules that allow it to withstand a constant water pressure. In the absence of certain skills, self-manufacturing is not recommended. As for the dry aquarium, this design does not require such a scrupulous approach and is easily implemented independently. The only exceptions are round aquariums that can not be made at home, without the use of specialized equipment.

To make an aquarium with your own hands you will need glass, cut to the required size. The cutting of glass is ordered in the company that provides such services, or it is carried out independently with the help of a glass cutter. The gluing of the glass is done with the help of silicone glue. The collection is made in two ways - installation of walls on the bottom or around the bottom. The order of assembling the aquarium is as follows:

• , 10-15 cm of water is poured into the tub, a towel is placed on the bottom, on which glass is placed;
• is wetted with a grinding stone, all glass edges are threaded to it, further processed and dried glass is treated with acetone or alcohol to eliminate the fat layer;
• the bottom of the aquarium is put on paper;
• on the end, with which the wall is put on the bottom, applied evenly hermetic, the wall is gently placed on the bottom;
• when gluing glass parts with silicone, do not apply excessive force, as in this case a large part of the silicone will come out of the seam and the strength of the joint will decrease. The trick of working with silicone - the thicker the layer left, the stronger the bonding of parts;
• is allowed a small release of the adhesive from the seam on both sides, the bottom installed on the wall is propped at a right angle and left to dry;

• further installs a side wall, glues the lower end, which is put on the bottom, and the lateral face, which is pressed against the already installed glass;
• the side window is installed in the space reserved for it, supported and left to dry;
• should check the quality of the crushed silicone layer, after installing all the walls of the aquarium can not be moved, it is left to dry in one position, otherwise there will be deformation of the glass;
• when all the seams have dried out, the edge is cut off by excess glue on the seams outside and inside, the seams from the inside are not removed from the inside, since the silicone is not visible in the water, but in the "dry" design it breaks the beauty of the whole composition;
• the next step - the design of the aquarium, which is carried out to your taste.

How to make a dry aquarium on the floor with your own hands

To perform a dry aquarium in the floor, all the same operations are carried out, which involves laying the floor. It is allowed to perform the composition in any type of coating, the only and basic requirement is a sufficient thickness of the overlap to perform such work. In some cases, the floors for a dry aquarium are raised in order to make it possible for the aquarium to be of sufficient thickness. Shows how to mount a dry aquarium, the photo-schematic below, and in stages this process looks like this:

• carefully level the roughing floor;
• waterproofing is laid, a threshold is left all along the perimeter, which rises 10-15 cm above the surface of the finish coat;
• the concrete screed is formed, on the scheme this element is designated "С", its thickness is calculated taking into account that 10-15 cm will remain under the aquarium, on the scheme the bottom of the screed is the bottom of the aquarium;
• leaves a recess for the bottom of the aquarium;
• the niche is trimmed, the screed is ground;
• on the screed is laid the substrate - the layer of waterproofing and insulation, element "D" in the diagram;
• element "I" on the scheme - the finish coat, which is laid on the heater;

• on the whole area on the niche the aluminum corner fits - on the scheme "F" and "H", at this stage the frame to taste is chosen;
• in the aquarium illuminated - element "E" on the scheme, it should be possible to turn on and off the light in the composition, it is also possible to partially turn off the light, install blinking lights and much more, which is enough for imagination;
• if necessary, silicone shock absorbers are installed - on the circuit element "B";
• element "G" is a triplex that closes and ends the whole structure, it is selected in the necessary color scheme;
• triplex must be ordered for a specific size, there should not be any errors, since it will not be possible to fit it into place for an already prepared niche;
• triplex is selected according to the thickness, based on the load that will affect it;
• if the aquarium is mounted in a place with large cross-country capacity, it is advisable to use one more cover glass, which is put on triplex. This coating is easy to replace, when it appears a lot of scratches and erasures.

Ideas for dry aquarium

1. Dry aquarium in the interior is used not only as an ornament, it is well suited for zoning the room. For example, a glass partition in the studio room, which separates the main room from the kitchen. Such aquariums are also used in a combined bathroom to separate the area. Optimal choice will be a dry aquarium in places where access to it is limited, since a normal aquarium with live fish requires care, and therefore, it needs constant access.

2. One of the simplest ideas for equipping a dry aquarium house with your own hands is to create a composition in a small round tank. Such containers are sold in the stores of goods for animals, as a rule, in such stores capacity of any shape and volume is represented. In a portable aquarium, the composition is created from any improvised materials.

3. The most budgetary option is to use seashells brought from a vacation. To clean shells of plaque and get rid of unpleasant odor, they boil in water or vinegar. To clean white shells, a solution of whiteness with water in a ratio of 1: 1 is suitable, seashells are held for several hours. Also for giving shine, marine finds are covered with acrylic lacquer or paints. Create a seascape in an aquarium of these shells is simple enough - to come up with a composition, process seashells, fill the aquarium with colored sand or pebbles, lay out seashells. It is advisable to equip the aquarium with a leakproof lid to prevent dust from entering it. This will prolong the beauty and freshness of the entire composition.

4. Various accessories are also suitable for equipping aquariums. Used artificial algae and corals, which are sold in pet stores and points of sale of goods for aquarists. Suitable for this purpose plastic fish, to give the composition a more natural look, fish are hung on a fishing line. Miraculously complement the composition of a starfish or dried crab, such "inhabitants" of the aquarium will revive it, but will not require careful care.

5. When decorating a dry aquarium it is desirable to adhere to two basic rules - to select a composition for the interior and adhere to the marine theme. Even if you do not use artificial fish in the aquarium design, its themes will be sustained with the help of shells, sea stones, corals, plastic algae and other elements. Also much attention should be given to highlighting the composition.