Commercial storefront glass for a tank?

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Anchovie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2012
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Jersey Shore
Alright so as some of you know, I'm a commercial developer/contractor. We recently started doing our own glazing on the job and I was wondering what you guys thought about using commercial storefront glass for a tank? It's 1 1/4" thick, double pane, tempered. Argon filled for insulation. It also has a steel bead running all the way around each piece for rigidity. This glass can take a swing from a hammer without a scratch. This would easily be the most insulated tank ever, and definitely the strongest. Only downside, it would also be the heaviest tank ever built. But it would sure help you sleep at night knowing that this tank could most likely fall off its stand and not break. What are your thoughts?


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If you have extra laying around then yea I would use it. My only concern would be building a strong enough stand to support that kind of weight and being able to seal it properly with silicone.
 
You say is double pane 1 1/4 inch, but how thick is each pane?

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Marineland commercial lobster tanks are made from double paned, gas-filled, tempered glass. I have one and it has a fiberglass tub as a bottom and stainless trim. I think it would work.
 
GBHammbone said:
You say is double pane 1 1/4 inch, but how thick is each pane?

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Each pane is only 3/8, but since its filled with compressed gas and wrapped with steel you really have to flex the entire 1 1/4" to get it to deform. I wouldn't even think twice about it supporting the water column. My main concern would be how to seal it. They are also made with "low-e" coating on the outside, so the outside is uv resistant, much like a windshield. I would think that if you glazed the tank with the coating on the inside, you could grow plants with much less wattage since the whole tank would act like a reflector.


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