Few questions about glass

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psariandras

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May 18, 2007
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I have a spare 20 and 15 gallon tank and am considering using one as a refugium. I was thinking about trying to cut some glass pieces to make baffles. (I am torn between trying to make something from rubbermaid bins or using one of my extra tanks)

I have a pistol grip glass cutter than I use for cutting glass(I'm also into working with glass and title for stained glass and mosiacs) although I am not so sure that would work so well if I need to cut glass for an aquarium project. My cutter seems to work pretty well so far though. Whats the best way to cut glass?

As long as the glass is thick enough, can I use glass that is used in large picture frames? Sometimes at thrift stores they have large prints with nice wood and glass frames for a few $.
 

zkt

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Aug 24, 2005
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Ordinary single strength glass as for windows, pictures etc isnt suitable for aquariums mostly because you have no idea what the tensile strenght is of any particular piece. There are no standards so maybe it will crack under load and maybe not. Same goes for thicker. If you knew the manufacturer of a piece they might be able to tell you something. Tempered glass is another story. There is a defined tensile strength for a given thickness and it MUCH stronger. ( problem is you cant cut it)Somewhere on this site is a formula for calculating the thichness rewuired for a tank size. Some of my posts from a couple years ago contain this formula, I think. It was either here or at reefs.org. I once built a 10x10x56 from 3/16 untempered. Most tanks have a 100 % safety factor built in. See formula
 

Aries

"Umm...., what is that!!??"
Jan 19, 2003
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This is a little different but...I got glass baffles from Lowes (Home Depot and Ace have similiar) and got the cheapest glass. I had them cut it and it worked just fine. All I did additionally was sand down the edges from the cut...just in case.

It is strong enough.

Also, I use plexiglass for other baffle like uses and they work too. They bend a lot more, but they have not broken and neither has the seal of silicone. Just a reference. Acrylic works wonders too.

Good Luck

Aries
 
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