# DIY glass tank...???



## Boomr99 (Dec 19, 2007)

I recently aqcuired some free glass. Several sheets about 18" by 36" or so that I'm gonna guess is 3/16" thick. And I also have an old mirror that i think is the same thickness. (I'll take exact measurements of thickness with digital calipers later today).
I was thinking of using the mirror for the back and bottom of the tank, and the other glass for the front, sides and lid.

I have never built my own tank before. How hard is it? I have a very solid knowledge of building things out of wood.
Also, the clear glass is beveled on the edges, I assume I will need to cut the bevels off with a glass cutter?
Does anyone have a link of a walkthrough on how to build a tank?

Any idea how large the tank can be with 3/16" glass? Would 36"x18"x18" be ok?

Thanks.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Refer to the book the Living Aquarium by Peter Hunnam for its clear directions and glass thickness chart.

There would be no reason other than appearance to cut off any bevels since they add to the seam's surface area, making a slightly stronger bond. If you can, find out if your glass is tempered or not. Tempered glass cannot be cut and the tank dimensions would have to be "built" around the current sizes. I know someone who built some neat but bizzare tanks out of tempered glass shelving ten feet long and a foot wide that was free. He used three shelves for a tank and bought small squares of regular glass for the ends.


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## Boomr99 (Dec 19, 2007)

So I checked with my digital calipers, the glass is actually 1/4" thick. And it is definitely no tempered as thetre are already holes drilled in parts of it. I will cut those parts off (they're near the ends anyway).

I don't like books. Can anyone point me to an internet link of how to build a glass tank?
How hard is it to do? Some more help please....


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Boomr99 said:


> So I checked with my digital calipers, the glass is actually 1/4" thick. And it is definitely no tempered as thetre are already holes drilled in parts of it. I will cut those parts off (they're near the ends anyway).
> 
> I don't like books. Can anyone point me to an internet link of how to build a glass tank?
> How hard is it to do? Some more help please....


With eurobracing top and bottom, you should be OK to build your tank dimensions with 1/4".

Why would you say your glass is definitely not tempered because there are holes in it? I picked up some free glass a long time ago that had holes drilled in in it for latches and locks since the glass had been the front of a display case. Tempered. There is nothing to stop someone from drilling holes, then tempering the glass afterwards. Pretty smart, actually, since it restores the strength lost by making holes and then some.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthr ... allon+tank

http://www.unlikelymoose.com/more/macqu ... sis02.html

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/diytan ... _Plans.htm

http://www.fao.com.au/build-aqua-2.asp

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/man ... arium.html


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

Mcdaphnia said:


> There is nothing to stop someone from drilling holes, then tempering the glass afterwards.


This is very true. I worked in a glass shop for a while and had to order several pieces of 1/2" tempered glass with speaker holes and passways cut into them for a county building. The holes and cuts are oversized a bit to make up for shrinkage during the tempering process. They are supposed to be marked as tempered but you can fill out some forms to have the baked in label left off.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Since the glass is 1/4", you shouldn't need any bracing for that length, since 36" is the length of a standard 35, which has no bracing. Macdaphnia is correct about holes not an indicator of untempered glass, as sliding panes for sashless windows had holes for the latches but were tempered. I have a big pile of them in my garage.


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