# 130 Gallon Glass Tank Bottom is Showing as NOT tempered?



## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

Hey all! It's been a while since I have been here. With school and stuff I haven't had much time and money, but now I am able to get back into this again and am totally excited to go all out now with my upcoming project. Just bought a used 130 gallon tank made of glass off of someone through Craigslist. It measures 72" long (side to side), 18" wide (front to back), and 23" tall (top to bottom). The thickness of the front, back, and side glass panels look to measure just between 3/8" and 7/16", which is just a hair under half an inch thick and the center brace is 1/4" thick. Note: I don't know the thickness of the bottom piece. The guy I bought it from was unsure if the glass was tempered. He said the tank is fairly new (whatever that means) and from Aquaclear, but there are so many brands that start with 'aqua...' that I am skeptical of this.

So here is the thing- I tried the laptop and polarized sunglasses trick to check if it was tempered because I want to drill it. I tried it without glass, with the lid, with the side panels, the front/back, and the bottom. I don't know if it makes a difference (I'll try it the other way around tomorrow I guess, which cannot hurt) but I had the laptop outside of the tank when trying the sides and bottom and on the inside when looking at the front/back panel. Everything blacked out pretty much, on all panels. Because it sounds like _nearly_ all bottom panels on glass tanks are tempered, I became skeptical that I wasn't doing it right. I tried it on my truck's driver side window and it was clear as day (metaphorically speaking) that the glass was tempered because I saw the little line thing going on there. It was an "Ahhhh so that's what it looks like!!" moment. Surely knowing what it looked like now, I tried it on the tank several more times again. Everything including the bottom of the tank is showing up as NOT tempered.

With all that being said, am I safe to drill this tank? I saw for myself, everything checked out here. But I just don't want to find this out the hard way if it is a given that nearly all glass tank bottoms are tempered. I know some are not. I don't have a problem at all with drilling a tank (I have done it before) but I am just unsure on this. What is everyone's thoughts on this? Should I be in the safe here?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Do you see any paper tags on the bottom of the tank that may be a clue to the manufacturer?

I've never tried to check for tempered glass so can't offer real world experience, sorry!


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## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

Deeda said:


> Do you see any paper tags on the bottom of the tank that may be a clue to the manufacturer?
> 
> I've never tried to check for tempered glass so can't offer real world experience, sorry!


Unfortunately no, there is absolutely no labeling anywhere that I can see. Thank you for your input though, I appreciate it!


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

You could determine the thickness of the bottom piece which may or may not help. One of the reasons for using tempered glass is it allows for thinner glass.


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## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

BillD said:


> You could determine the thickness of the bottom piece which may or may not help. One of the reasons for using tempered glass is it allows for thinner glass.


Yes, that is my understanding too. Tempered glass is used on bottoms often due to its strength to weight ratio. Often times from what I hear is some manufactures will do this to cut down on shipping costs but I've also heard that at times standard glass is used (heavier) to provide more stability. I'll see what I can do as far as figuring out the thickness of the bottom piece and maybe it will clue us in.


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## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

After spending countless hours reading, I have determined that it'd be best if I did not drill the bottom of my tank. If it was acrylic, I'd most certainly drill the bottom. But because of the rocks and pressure points that will be in that area, I feel it is best if I drill the back instead. Thank you for those of you that gave some input. I am still open to hearing from those of you that have drilled the bottom of a glass tank that is not tempered and if you've had any issue.


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