Casting entire aquarium form glass instead of using panels?

[Aquavaj]

I've seen smaller tanks with the front and 2 sides as a single sheet of glass but never the entire tank. What are the problems with "casting" the entire tank compared to using individual panels?

 

[Quantized]

Probably just cost prohibitive - you need a new mold for each tank. Also, non-uniformities in the cast could make the tank unstable.

 

[Gorgok]

Unless you have the ... foundry? right next door or churn out your own glass, raw material costs will suck. Compared to ordering pallet loads of 20 x 48" and 20 x 24" sheets (or 40 x 48" if you cut your own sheets) to make 24 x 48 x 20" tanks you could maybe load up 4 on one pallet as cast (maybe only 2).

I don't think its any stronger (in fact i sort of imagine it being more brittle) to have an as cast tank than a glued together one.

 

[rgulrich]

A number of years ago while I was looking for a larger chunk of glass I stumbled across a company that produced molded glass aquariums - seamless at least for the front corners (remember when those were popular?) - but they also produced some unusual shapes and designs. I'm not really into naming vendors in public forums, but if you're interested drop me a PM and I'll send you a link to their website.
They used to publish videos of their construction process, moving to and from the oven, etc., but not sure if they still have those available online anywhere.
Oh, they aren't cheap, either.
Cheers,
Ray