Will the glass fit?

[Night Ranger]

I got the 3/4" glass moved into my home and I will be installing it into my aquarium after I assemble it. Question is will the glass fit through the opening or will I have to go over the top? The glass took 4 people to safely move at 230 lbs. I have 8 heavy duty glass suction cups for 4 men to move it which made it fairly easy but lifting the glass up 64" and into the aquarium would be at best scary and someone could get hurt . I'm
not a math wizard and I need someone to do some calculation to see if the glass will fit through the opening. The aquarium is 8ft long, 4ft from front to back with a (2 inch wall thickness). The opening for the glass is 87 inches x 30 inches and the glass has a 2 inch overlap all the way around.
I know the glass will have to be tilted to get it through but will it be to long to get it into the aquarium? If nobody can give me a answer I will have to make a cardboard template of the glass and see if it will fit through the opening once the aquarium is assembled. Things like this keep me up at night and that's why I'm asking. I'm a person that thinks about my project and does research before making a costly move that I've never done before. Any help will allow me to get some decent sleep. Thanks in advance.

 

[jjohnwm]

If you plan on tipping the tank so that the front is facing downwards (by far the easiest method), you can slip the glass through the "top" opening...which is now facing forwards...and easily lay it in place. Its own weight in this case is likely enough to ensure a nice seat into the silicone; after you get it in place, you add more weight evenly all across the surface. And if this is the plan, you'd need to know the dimensions of the top opening. I'd guess that a width of 4 feet would give you plenty of room, but of course the size of the Euro-bracing you probably have all the way around the top opening must be known to say for sure. This of course assumes that you have installed no front-to-back braces across the top and are waiting until after the glass installation to do so....right...?

If you are planning to finagle that glass through the front opening...which I've never even considered with my builds, because it is much more finicky....then Pythagoreas is your friend...but he doesn't know how thick the glass is so you need to account for that as well. But if you are entering the tank through the front opening, i.e. the eventual window...you still need to spin and manhandle that heavy slab of glass inside the tank to lay flat against the window frame; the glass will be vertical, and it has all those sharp corners that will be trying to dig into and possibly damage your interior surfaces while you are waving it around in that confined space. You also need a system of jacks or braces or other widgets on hand to apply even pressure to the glass as it is seated into the silicone, and to maintain that even pressure until the silicone cures. Those widgets need to be installed very quickly and efficiently once the glass is seated, no monkeying around or wasting time. Once the glass hits the silicone, it needs to be pressed into place without allowing it to pull back; if you touch the silicone with the glass, and then let it slip off, you will turn a beautiful continuous perfect seal into a bubble-ridden ugly mess that will never allow you to sleep soundly again.

Can this all be calculated on paper? Undoubtedly...but lots of folks...like me!...are way too lazy to do those calculations for somebody else's tank. And likely nobody will do them and then guarantee you that they are correct. Nobody wants to feel guilty if you suffer some disaster, and nobody knows how carefully and skillfully you will be handling the actual manipulation of the glass.

Build the template and test it out for yourself. Remember that the cardboard has essentially zero thickness, whereas the glass is 3/4-inch thick. The cardboard is also weightless; the glass...isn't.

If you haven't already, then take the time before the install to polish and slightly bevel all the glass edges. It will be hard enough to manipulate this weight without having it festooned with razor-sharp edges all over while doing so. It's impossible to over-emphasize the importance of this step.

I hope it works out for you; following along with interest.

 

[Night Ranger]

If you plan on tipping the tank so that the front is facing downwards (by far the easiest method), you can slip the glass through the "top" opening...which is now facing forwards...and easily lay it in place. Its own weight in this case is likely enough to ensure a nice seat into the silicone; after you get it in place, you add more weight evenly all across the surface. And if this is the plan, you'd need to know the dimensions of the top opening. I'd guess that a width of 4 feet would give you plenty of room, but of course the size of the Euro-bracing you probably have all the way around the top opening must be known to say for sure. This of course assumes that you have installed no front-to-back braces across the top and are waiting until after the glass installation to do so....right...?

If you are planning to finagle that glass through the front opening...which I've never even considered with my builds, because it is much more finicky....then Pythagoreas is your friend...but he doesn't know how thick the glass is so you need to account for that as well. But if you are entering the tank through the front opening, i.e. the eventual window...you still need to spin and manhandle that heavy slab of glass inside the tank to lay flat against the window frame; the glass will be vertical, and it has all those sharp corners that will be trying to dig into and possibly damage your interior surfaces while you are waving it around in that confined space. You also need a system of jacks or braces or other widgets on hand to apply even pressure to the glass as it is seated into the silicone, and to maintain that even pressure until the silicone cures. Those widgets need to be installed very quickly and efficiently once the glass is seated, no monkeying around or wasting time. Once the glass hits the silicone, it needs to be pressed into place without allowing it to pull back; if you touch the silicone with the glass, and then let it slip off, you will turn a beautiful continuous perfect seal into a bubble-ridden ugly mess that will never allow you to sleep soundly again.

Can this all be calculated on paper? Undoubtedly...but lots of folks...like me!...are way too lazy to do those calculations for somebody else's tank. And likely nobody will do them and then guarantee you that they are correct. Nobody wants to feel guilty if you suffer some disaster, and nobody knows how carefully and skillfully you will be handling the actual manipulation of the glass.

Build the template and test it out for yourself. Remember that the cardboard has essentially zero thickness, whereas the glass is 3/4-inch thick. The cardboard is also weightless; the glass...isn't.

If you haven't already, then take the time before the install to polish and slightly bevel all the glass edges. It will be hard enough to manipulate this weight without having it festooned with razor-sharp edges all over while doing so. It's impossible to over-emphasize the importance of this step.

I hope it works out for you; following along with interest.

Thanks for the reply! The glass has ground and polished edges so that's not a issue. I was also thinking about doing the glass install with the face of the tank against the stand. By the way the stand is already built, leveled and has a 4x8 piece of 3/4" sealed plywood on top. I've been trying to figure how to support the glass while the silicone is being applied. While 4 men with suction cups would probably be able to set the glass into place I don't believe the turn out would be very good. That would be 60 lbs that the men would have to curl and be super steady to get it into place.

I'm going to make a 3/4" x 7/8" shelf that will be under the entire bottom edge of the glass and maybe I could set the glass on that shelf prior to applying the silicone then I can lower the glass onto the silicone. There would be a 1/8" lip for the glass to rest on while tilting the glass. The only other way I could think of is to put a 2x4 through the handles of the suction cups and build a block and tackle to lower the glass into place. I'm going to call my rental place and see if they have something similar to support and lower the glass into place.

 

[jjohnwm]

Thanks for the reply! The glass has ground and polished edges so that's not a issue. I was also thinking about doing the glass install with the face of the tank against the stand. By the way the stand is already built, leveled and has a 4x8 piece of 3/4" sealed plywood on top. I've been trying to figure how to support the glass while the silicone is being applied. While 4 men with suction cups would probably be able to set the glass into place I don't believe the turn out would be very good. That would be 60 lbs that the men would have to curl and be super steady to get it into place.

I'm going to make a 3/4" x 7/8" shelf that will be under the entire bottom edge of the glass and maybe I could set the glass on that shelf prior to applying the silicone then I can lower the glass onto the silicone. There would be a 1/8" lip for the glass to rest on while tilting the glass. The only other way I could think of is to put a 2x4 through the handles of the suction cups and build a block and tackle to lower the glass into place. I'm going to call my rental place and see if they have something similar to support and lower the glass into place.

I think you are needlessly overcomplicating this. The shelf under the bottom edge of the glass is good because it also helps bear the weight of the glass after assembly and tipping the tank into its final position, rather than relying strictly upon the silicone to to do so.

I've built almost all my tanks completely without assistance, including a bunch of tanks using 90 x 22 inch sheets of 1/2-inch glass. Not as big as yours, but still much heavier than 60 pounds. Instead of sitting the tank face down on the stand, you simply slide the tank backwards a couple of inches on the stand, and then tip it forward onto a couple of temporary supports that are placed in front of the stand and are the same height as it is. This allows you to reach up through the open front to support the weight of the glass and smoothly lower it into place. Angle the glass, slip it into the tank and stand it up so that it is leaning backwards against what will eventually be the bottom of the tank. Apply silicone to the inside of the front frame, then just tip that glass forward and down onto the silicone. Very easy to lower it halfway and then reach up through the window opening to finish lowering it.

Make sure that the front of the glass is spotlessly clean, and that all handling is done wearing clean gloves. It's much easier and faster to do it than to describe it, even if working alone. With four guys...two of them can drink beer and watch while the other two do it, even faster and easier.

 

[Night Ranger]

I believe I'm getting ahead of myself. Since the panels are pre drilled, fiberglassed and epoxied I could lay out the glass on the front panel and when the silicone cures I can assemble the panels.

 

[jjohnwm]

Wow...that is some serious overkill.

I admire overkill.

 

[Night Ranger]

Wow...that is some serious overkill.

I admire overkill.

600 gallons of water on the carpet is some serious over spill. LOL just kidding.

 

[Trouser Bark]

I could lay out the glass on the front panel and when the silicone cures I can assemble the panels.

Much mo betta.

Any other way will require uncomfortable positions and harsh language.

 

[Night Ranger]

Much mo betta.

Any other way will require uncomfortable positions and harsh language.

I like how you have been involved with this build of mine from the beginning and you have given me good advice along the way.
I believe I will assemble the the front panel and glass with the panel laying flat on the stand then after the cure I can proceed with the assembly. It surely seems to be the easiest way. Unless you have actually lifted a 3/4"x92"x34" piece of glass out of a truck and into your house you can't really appreciate what it takes to move it. That's why I'm asking for the best and easiest way to assemble it. Here's a pick of the stand which I will assemble it on. The area behind the stand is where the pumps and filter will sit and the door swings up and open so I can service them from outside. I did take out the window I installed years ago and framed it out just for the pumps and filters. The door is insulated weighs 95 lbs and is triple locked.