Glass supplier says i can't use arrised glass for an unframed aquarium.

[Blisco]

Hi.

I have encountered certain restriction on glass size with polished edges. Anything over 3/4 inch thick cannot be supplied polished without radius corners. They also won't polish anything less than 4" wide [bracing]. That throws me a lot of restrictions unless i use arrised glass.

I spoke to the glass supplier and he said that it is basically cut and given a light sanding to take away any sharp edges. He also said glass is never truly square without polishing because of the way it breaks when cut., so if i use it i would have to have it framed to strengthen the joint. He relayed this from his supplier and couldn't expand on what was meant by framed.

Thing is, i figure that may make sense on paper, but people seem to be cutting their own glass and making tanks. Also, my current tank seems to have the edges sanded flat and square without a truly polished edge so it has tidy square/straight visible corners/edges. Framing sounds a bit extreme, but i figure that could simply mean a piece of aluminium corner trim to strengthen the joint opposed to a truly structural frame.

Basically i am left wondering:

Can i used arrised glass?
Will it need a frame/trim or extra DIY edge work to either give it proper structure or make it more presentable?
Just how straight / square are the edges of arrised glass?
Can glass edges be rough sanded to be more level/square without specialist industrial gear?

Cheers

 

[Blisco]

Now the main suppliers are dragging their heels further and saying they won't even supply 15mm+ arrised because 'it will be a pig to do'. They will only supply it clean cut, or polished with radius corners. The local supplier said it was easy to tidy the edges but there might be a bit of shelling along the edges if they don't cut it cleanly.

I get the impression that the main supplier just wants an easy sale with no faffing on the machines. I can see other people are both getting thicker glass without radius corners, and getting arrised or clean cut glass supplied with fairly tidy edges. I guess they might be tidying them themselves though.

Can someone confirm if it is normal for clean cut or arrised glass to need significant work to be usable, and whether it will need extra support at the seams for a rimless build? In other words, will it at least be square and make for a structurally sound rimless build?

I am pretty much at a road block, because if i can't use it i will either have to downsize the tank so i can use 12mm polished/square edged glass, or, pay a significant figure for polished/radius cornered 15mm and have to cover it in trim to hide the radius corners.

 

[HumanBean]

I am assuming the glass will be used to buold an aquarium. Can you please shed some more light on the intended purpose ?

 

[Blisco]

Yea it's for an aquarium, or rather a tall palludarium. At most i can add some corner trim to tidy rough edges, but, if it could be avoided it would be better.

Since it's going to be a braceless build with a 6'x3' footprint and likely around 2' water level i am concerned about the silicon joint holding up if the edge is bad. They have made it sound to me like it is pot luck whether it will even be straight or somewhat square on thick glass and implied it would need additional structural support if cut this way.

Polishing is very expensive on the thicker glass, around £250-£300 extra for the sized panels i need (the land area is going to be tall), and would need to be trimmed anyway because of the radius corners. It is potentially a big waste of money.

So if i can use arrised/clean cut and save 250-300, great. If i can tidy the edges of clean cut/arrised glass myself to avoid the need for extra trim, even better.

 

[henria86]

i would check out another glass supplier

 

[windsor]

i would check out another glass supplier

I've used glass up to 1in thick for aquariums with only the sharp edges removed by hand, using an emery-type paper, without any issues. I don't think you need worry about the silicone failing if it's properly applied, with or without polished edges, the seams are probably the strongest part of the tank.

 

[joe jaskot]

You can polish the edges by hand. It takes time, but can be done. Lots of you tube videos.

 

[Blisco]

Would change supplier but i live in the a*se end of nowhere and would have to travel to get optifloat glass, the other spots just sell greenhouse panels and thin stuff. Sounds like it wont be an issue though.

Windsor, is it always good enough to just debur before use? I was expecting it would need fully levelling and squaring off by the way they where speaking. If it can be tidied with emery paper it surely isn't that bad.

Also, would shelling pose much of a problem if it happens or is it usually minor and cosmetic?

Thanks

 

[windsor]

Would change supplier but i live in the a*se end of nowhere and would have to travel to get optifloat glass, the other spots just sell greenhouse panels and thin stuff. Sounds like it wont be an issue though.

Windsor, is it always good enough to just debur before use? I was expecting it would need fully levelling and squaring off by the way they where speaking. If it can be tidied with emery paper it surely isn't that bad.

Also, would shelling pose much of a problem if it happens or is it usually minor and cosmetic?

Thanks

I think the glass company is just trying to extract as much money as possible from you! Emery paper will remove any sharp edges, and they don't necessarily need to be perfectly square to make a tank, the silicone will compensate for that. Any shelling that occurs, although it my look unsightly, will not materially affect the structural strength o the aquarium, but there should be little or any if cut by an experienced glass company.

 

[gzeiger]

I just bought some half inch panels (34x38 inches) - just a little smaller than you're talking about. They came with edges just sanded to remove sharp spots. I can definitely see where the cuts are not fully square. In my case they went into a wood frame and I didn't give it another thought.

I don't know enough to comment on whether that matters. Windsor may well be correct that the seam will be fine. I would at least put a frame around the bottom if I were building it.