Anyone need anything made out of pyrex?

[BigJay]

I am a general contractor by day and a glass blower at night. I made a bunch of stands and glass jacks for propping the live rock in my tank out of labratory grade pyrex of which I then sandblasted to give them lots of surface area.
Got to thinking maybe somebody else might have a need for glass if you do hit me up. I'd definetly be into trading speciality made products for frags or what not.
Ever wanted a 2' long eye dropper out of labratory grade glass?? No problem... Need stirrers?? Maybe you want an overflow tube out of glass?? Let me know.


One caveat.... For tank safety everything must be done out of clear. Colorants in glass can contain copper, chromiam etc etc.

 

[Woodstock]

Interesting!
Can you post a few pics of items you've made for your tank?

 

[Stacef]

Big Jay I would LOVE to see some pics. I have plenty of corals I could frag if anything strikes me. Thanks for sharing your talent!

 

[BigJay]

yup. I am in my office right now so look for pics around 5 pm. I'll bust out a really long eye dropper too since I figured some of you guys with huge tanks would be of real interest in that for spot feeding corals.
Nice thing about lab grade pyrex is , its extremely heat and chemical resistant.. its not to be confused with cookware pyrex which in itself is durable its not as much so as lab grade.

 

[BigJay]

For the time being I'll show you part of my studio... You can see some of the larger pyrex tubes between the kiln and the torch..All the glass on the stand below the table on the right is the colored glass. Its so unfortunate we can't use it aquariums. I could completely encase it in clear but if it would ever develop a crack I am not sure what the chance for leakage would be.

 

[BigAl07]

Man this is a great idea! I'll have to bookmark this thread

 

[BigJay]

Hey AL I plan on doing a replica of those reef balls your making out of concrete with pyrex. Once sand blasted they will more surface area then the rock will with no chance of leeching. I wanted to make one last night but I just ran out of time. The material cost won't be high but the downside is it will be bloody time consuming making them probably too expensive for a commerical market.

ok misread that you were making them not that you were purchasing them. When I get one made maybe I'll send you one to demo.

 

[BigJay]

ok heres some pics. These are just a first run in this stuff. But I'll make anything to your specifications as long as its in my scope of abilities. If your wanting stirrers I can make them a more reasonable size. If your wanting something a little more artistic just ask. I'll give you a value based on how long it takes me to make it. And since this is just a friendly community thing I'll even send out first before payment or trade to make sure you like it, unless its something that really takes a ton of my time.

The stirrer is a double sided about 17.5 inches long .ball one end paddle the other
the eye dropper is 15" 's long and 9mm in diameter. If you see the end is sandblasted to make a very secure fit for the bulb. The bulb is just something I pulled off one of my daughters medicine droppers.
the jacks are just random pieces I put together so once I got into the tank I wouldn't say dern I wish it was this size or this shape. But they'll do a good job of keeping my rock out of the substrate.

(ignore the marble in the background, I made it yes but nothing to do with the aquarium)

heres a piece of coral thats been painted red that was for a hotel. These are made out of clear and sandblasted so they would do well in a tank. Its just propped up in a vase its about 9 inches tall.

heres something that you fraggers might be interested in. I can cut sections of any diameter of these tubes for putting your frags in. I see a lot of PVC ones done and while it works I don't think it looks very nice. My stock tube is 9mm to 50mm but we can get it in any size. I can cut it into disks and flame polish both ends and then sandblast it.

heres some of our glass rod and tube stock on hand so you can see most anything you'd want I should have the stuff ready to make it.

 

[AndtheBonus]

Wow. looks good. I'm sure a lot of people will be interested...maybe even myself but not until later down the road.

 

[Stacef]

Hello,
I am interested in the dropper. It is long enough so I don't have to take my lights off each time to get my arm in the tank.

How much would you be looking for from it? I am not a pro on shipping frags, or even fragging... let me know. Thanks!

 

[funkpolice]

Nothing to do with my aqarium, but do you do any art pieces. My wife and I love Chihuli, and go all over to see his work exhibited. If you could do something that is similar to his work, but still original and your own, I would be very interested. It looks like a pretty cool hobby. I'm a custom metal worker, too bad metal and reefs don't work so well together.
bill

 

[plecosword]

thats really cool

 

[BigJay]

Nothing to do with my aqarium, but do you do any art pieces. My wife and I love Chihuli, and go all over to see his work exhibited. If you could do something that is similar to his work, but still original and your own, I would be very interested. It looks like a pretty cool hobby. I'm a custom metal worker, too bad metal and reefs don't work so well together.
bill

Thats our day to day is art. I'm just doing this for fun and because I know these things aren't readily available. Mostly due to the production costs are high. The other guy in my studio is featured in quite a few galleries and published in magazines. This weekend is going to be very hectic but I'll send you some info around the middle of next week.
I understand you frustration. I want to make a pyrex fish tank but with the number of seals theres no way you could melt all the corners fast enough to keep it from cracking.

 

[Hornet]

Real nice skill you have there BigJay

 

[panmanmatt]

Any chance of making another one of those corals but a little taller, say 12-13 inches, and with a few more branches as a free standing piece? I have a bunch of glass seahorses I'd like to hang on it as a display.

 

[Stacef]

Matt I bet that would be gorgeous!!

Great thinking..

 

[Frankie]

Pretty cool stuff your into there Bigjay! I am sure i will fine a use for you sooner or later

 

[BigJay]

absolutely. Are you wanting clear , colored , sandblasted or painted? How are you going to mount the seahorses exactly? Try to give me any exact parameters you'll need.

 

[Gina]

Wow! Nice hobby!

 

[panmanmatt]

absolutely. Are you wanting clear , colored , sandblasted or painted? How are you going to mount the seahorses exactly? Try to give me any exact parameters you'll need.

Sand blasted would be great as it would really make the seahorses stand out. Each one is about 1.5-2" in size and will be hung like Xmas ornaments using monofilament fishing line. I have about 6-8 of them for now, if I could find the darn box I put them in that would be great.