building a glass tank

[supernareg]

as u have heard, i want to make a weird looking tank. L shaped to go into the corner of my room on my desk, plumbed down to a 20 gal sump. the tank should be about 2-3 feet in length per side , 6-7 inches wide and about 7 inches tall. open top.

how much would it cost to buy the glass pieces seperately and silicon them together?

does anyone have any experience doing something like this?

 

[bassnman11]

Draw the thing up with dimensions and try several glass shops for quotes on cutting the pieces. The tricky part will be the L shaped bottom Since it is low, 1/4 should be heavy enough. When you go thinner, it is harder to get good joints. Explain to the glass people what you are doing and stress that the pieces must be square and straight. Have them sand what will be the top edges. Acrylic might be easier if you have the tools.

 

[fish590a]

I work for aluminum and steel window manufacturer 1/4" annealed glass should cost no more than $1.3 per sq./ft. have them cut the bottom piece to "L" shape should be about $15 for pattern cut. You're gonna need some type of top bracing. I've built one before for freshwater the bottom piece cracked after a month.

 

[jjirsa78]

The real challenge will be the inside corner of the L, which creates a stress point and likely point of fracture in glass. Talk to a glass shop, but they'll probably want to round that spot on the bottom panel to avoid problems later.

I'd definitely recommend acrylic, anyway - for that shape, it should be MUCH easier/cheaper/safer.

 

[fish590a]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7915378#post7915378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjirsa78
The real challenge will be the inside corner of the L, which creates a stress point and likely point of fracture in glass. Talk to a glass shop, but they'll probably want to round that spot on the bottom panel to avoid problems later.

I'd definitely recommend acrylic, anyway - for that shape, it should be MUCH easier/cheaper/safer.

I agree acrylic is the way to go. Have them cut to size for you and you can probably get all the pieces in one sheet.

 

[supernareg]

but acrylic scratches easily and IMO, isnt as clear as glass... this is from personal exp. so acrylic is outta the question. the bottom panel of glass would be 2 rectangular pieces... one longer than the other, and the other touching it at the end, forming an L shape.

 

[fish590a]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7917064#post7917064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by supernareg
but acrylic scratches easily and IMO, isnt as clear as glass... this is from personal exp. so acrylic is outta the question. the bottom panel of glass would be 2 rectangular pieces... one longer than the other, and the other touching it at the end, forming an L shape.

You mean glass is not as clear as acrylic?

 

[jjirsa78]

You can't make the bottom out of two pieces, it will certainly leak. If you make one piece that's cut to form the inner corner of the L, it will eventually break (inside square cuts = very very weak).

The only way that's going to be a workable design is to use acrylic.

 

[supernareg]

yes, all the acrylic tanks i've seen are not as clear as glass

 

[mnguyen878]

I always thought that acrylic was clearer than glass.