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toxic111
05-06-2011, 02:00 AM
Well after some waiting & some pricing I will be building my own tank. I picked up a bunch of Starfire glass for $0! (some off colour, broken panes from a construction site) The largest piece is 48"X60".

I am hoping to build a 120gal (48x24x24) tank, but probably building something between 90 & 120 as the glass thickness is only 6mm. With Eurobracing & a centre brace I should be fine with it.

Now I just have to seperate the dual pane glass & figure out the colour (see if it is too green or nice & clear) then figure out the sizes I have to build with.

Wish me luck

cordeiro
05-06-2011, 03:56 AM
Lol... Good luck

plutoniumJoe
05-06-2011, 04:35 AM
What a great find. I wish you the best of luck. I know that many may give you advice and it is always up to you to disregard or not but my only 2cents is I might reduce the height to 18"-20" if you are going with 6mm.

When I built mine I used this chart as a guideline.

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/planasystem/ig/Guide-Charts--Tables--Diagrams/Glass-Thickness-Calculator.htm

But it is up to you. Have fun and keep us posted.

Joe

toxic111
05-06-2011, 04:51 AM
reducing the height has been something I have been thinking about... esp with only 6mm.... I will be measuring the glass once I have them seperated to confirm the thickness...

lastlight
05-06-2011, 05:53 AM
Is it laminated glass? How the heck can you separate it? Especially without scratching it (unless I'm missing something here...)

sphelps
05-06-2011, 01:02 PM
Diddo on the thickness issue, way too big for 6mm. The biggest tank you can make with 6mm is a 55 gallon which is 48 x 20 but that glass is always tempered for added strength. Personally unless it was really shallow, I wouldn't build anything longer than 36" with 6mm.

Also glass used in commercial or residential applications these days is usually always tempered for safety. Make sure this is not the case before wasting your time, you cannot cut tempered glass.

toxic111
05-06-2011, 02:21 PM
it is not laminated glass, nor is it tempered. Finding tempered glass in the building industry is not that common, it is usually only used near doors or where it is low. Tempered glass would explode, not crack. I got this glass because of cracks from shipping, or pressure cracks on site. The very large piece was rejected because of staining.

As for the size, I have checked several calculator & build information, 6mm is fine for 18" tanks, even if it is 48" long. Height makes more difference than length. I would be water testing the tank for several days to check for any problems prior to setting up.

The glass is dual pane with an argon filled air space, that is why I need to seperate it.

sphelps
05-06-2011, 02:33 PM
Just friendly advice man, but I wouldn't do those dimensions, any tank builder will tell you the same and no tank exists with those dimensions unless it's tempered, 16" is the tallest for that length. Also starphire is softer than standard and will bow more.