Glass for 1500 gallon build

[Hoop]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 300 gallon glass aquarium that I want to disassemble to reuse the 2 96 x 30 inch .5 inch tempered glass panels on a new 1500 gallon aquarium.

My question is does anyone know if it is as simple as just removing the top and bottom plastic braces and cutting out the silicone with a razor blade to take the tank apart? or are the glass panels also glued directly together?

Appreciate any experience or advice anyone has with this...will go a long way towards getting me started on the new tank to be able and reuse this glass.

Thanks!

 

[amazonfishman]

It's not that simple, you won't be able to use those glass panels because they will be way to thin to support the pressure provided by 1500 gallons of water. You need 1" probably for a window that size to hold that amount of water pressure.

 

[redtailcatfreak]

I just took apart a 29 and its not an easy task. Take the razor and cut around the plastic braces then pull them off. Then cut off as much siliscone as you can from the tank. Then ull need a strong thin wire to seperate the glass. Theres not enough room between the pieces of glass to use a razor thats why u need the wirre to do so.

 

[Hoop]

It's not that simple, you won't be able to use those glass panels because they will be way to thin to support the pressure provided by 1500 gallons of water. You need 1" probably for a window that size to hold that amount of water pressure.

From what I have read thus far I was under the impression that what mattered was the depth (top to bottom) of the aquarium as far as pressure and glass thickness is concerned. In my case the 1500 gallon will also be 30 inches tall just like the 300 gallon, but it will be 9' x 9' x 30" so the glass panels from the 300 will give a view of all but 6" on each side. Please let me know if I am off with this..would hate to under build and have the thing fail.

I just took apart a 29 and its not an easy task. Take the razor and cut around the plastic braces then pull them off. Then cut off as much siliscone as you can from the tank. Then ull need a strong thin wire to seperate the glass. Theres not enough room between the pieces of glass to use a razor thats why u need the wirre to do so.

Thanks a lot for this advice! So is it correct to say that there is no glue..just silicone connecting the glass? Is there any type of wire you recommend that works well for this?

 

[Pharaoh]

I just took apart a 29 and its not an easy task. Take the razor and cut around the plastic braces then pull them off. Then cut off as much siliscone as you can from the tank. Then ull need a strong thin wire to seperate the glass. Theres not enough room between the pieces of glass to use a razor thats why u need the wirre to do so.

Guitar string works well for this.

From what I have read thus far I was under the impression that what mattered was the depth (top to bottom) of the aquarium as far as pressure and glass thickness is concerned. In my case the 1500 gallon will also be 30 inches tall just like the 300 gallon, but it will be 9' x 9' x 30" so the glass panels from the 300 will give a view of all but 6" on each side. Please let me know if I am off with this..would hate to under build and have the thing fail.

Pretty much nailed it. 1/2" is on the low side of what should be used, but that's not saying it won't work. I think you would be OK if you are cutting 6" worth of glass off each side because of mounting the glass, i.e. overlapping the tank.

 

[Hoop]

Guitar string works well for this.



Pretty much nailed it. 1/2" is on the low side of what should be used, but that's not saying it won't work. I think you would be OK if you are cutting 6" worth of glass off each side because of mounting the glass, i.e. overlapping the tank.

Do you think making the tank 28 inches or 26 inches would make a significant difference on the pressure put on the glass vs. it being 30 inches tall?

 

[Egon]

Do you think making the tank 28 inches or 26 inches would make a significant difference on the pressure put on the glass vs. it being 30 inches tall?

Yes it will make a difference but not that much. So if your going from 30 inches deep down to 28 or 26 you will have less pressure of course. If the 30 inch piece of glass was already being used as a fish tank then it will be strong enough for your application.

It doesn't matter how much water the tank is holding. The pressure is determined by how deep the water is. So if your tank is 30" deep and holds 10,000 gallons it's the same exact pressure on the glass panel as your 300 gallon that is 30" deep.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; One note from personal experience. I tried to cut a piece of tempered and it exploded into thousands of small pieces. You will have to use the panel as it is.

Also wear eye protection when using the wire to separete the panels with a wire. When tempered glass lets go , it does so with force and a loud bang. I would wear gloves and long sleeves as well.

 

[Hoop]

Yes it will make a difference but not that much. So if your going from 30 inches deep down to 28 or 26 you will have less pressure of course. If the 30 inch piece of glass was already being used as a fish tank then it will be strong enough for your application.

It doesn't matter how much water the tank is holding. The pressure is determined by how deep the water is. So if your tank is 30" deep and holds 10,000 gallons it's the same exact pressure on the glass panel as your 300 gallon that is 30" deep.

Thanks a lot for your reply, tank will be exactly the same height as my 300...just deeper from front to back.

Hello; One note from personal experience. I tried to cut a piece of tempered and it exploded into thousands of small pieces. You will have to use the panel as it is.

Also wear eye protection when using the wire to separete the panels with a wire. When tempered glass lets go , it does so with force and a loud bang. I would wear gloves and long sleeves as well.

Definitely will not be cutting the glass, I know that you cannot cut tempered glass. Just want to separate the glass from each other by removing the silicone and then using 2 of the panels for the two viewing sides of the new tank.

Thanks a lot everyone for the helpful replies.

 

[Egon]

Thanks a lot for posting this monster tank!