Looking for glass buying advice

[HarlequinTusk]

In an attempt to kick off my plywood aquarium build, I've started sourcing 3/4" glass panels. I used glasscages.com as my starting point. For example, they quote $32 /sq ft for the more desirable Starphire glass. I need 130" x 36" x 3/4" sheet. Doing the math, I come up with $1056...which I consider reasonable. Then I started calling around to local glass shops and they are quoting double that price for less expensive "non-Starphire" glass. I'm not sure what exactly is causing the huge discrepancy. I wonder if when you buy it locally, they charge you for the whole sheet even though I'm using less than half of it. I know the obvious choice is to buy from glasscages, but they are located 700 miles away. Looking for advice from people that might have some extra insight.

 

[billdogg]

I would guess that GlassCages buys in bulk. Your local glass place will carry 1/8 and 1/4 in bulk, but will probably have to special order 3/4.

 

[uncleof6]

Billdogg has it nailed. It is about volume purchasing. The less the supplier buys the more it costs them, and consequently the more it is going to cost you. Glass shops will have the highest prices. They don't have a need for 19mm glass. You will find the price quite a bit lower with a glass fabrication shop, that uses glass for things such as shower doors, and table tops, though most of that is 12mm. You could always do your fabrication and have 12mm tempered for a plywood tank front... I would not want to bounce a billiard ball off it however... ...I did that once. ONCE. For a non-wholesale purchase, however, I do believe it will be hard to beat GC's glass price. What is going to kill you is the shipping cost for large panels of thick glass... So before you reject a quote as being too high, figure the total cost of the glass delivered to your front door. (I know you are aware of the shipping, you mentioned the distance.)

 

[HarlequinTusk]

What is going to kill you is the shipping cost for large panels of thick glass..

I checked my email and remembered that I had actually requested a quote from them back in March. At that time I was looking for 130" x 24" x 3/4" (therefore a sheet that's 2/3 the size of the one I'm requesting now). They had quoted me $704 for the Starphire glass. The freight for an extra long package to my zip code was going to be $680! OUCH!

However, if I could meet their truck along the I-90, they could deliver it for $240. The only bad side there is I have to build an a-frame carrier to put on my rental truck as they warned against lying the glass flat.

I think that's my best option. Time to research how to build an a-frame carrier.

 

[muttley000]

Is there a build thread for this tank yet?

 

[HarlequinTusk]

Is there a build thread for this tank yet?

No, I'm still in research mode.

 

[HarlequinTusk]

Is there a build thread for this tank yet?

Not to revive an old thread....but to answer your question, I ended up deciding that I didn't want to spend the money to maintain a 500 gal tank. I've recently started a 210g build.

 

[FullBoreReefer]

Glass cages also uses a lower quality glass from China, fyi