Glass Thickness

zladson · Jul 19, 2013

I am going to be build my own sump from scratch. I recently found out that glass is much cheaper then acrylic (which kind of blew my mind hole) but was wondering what the recommend thickness of the glass would be. My tank has a thickness of .25 inches and I was thinking about going that direction but I couldn't find it online at my local hardware store so I thought I would check here. The thickest they showed was 1/8 inch. What do yo guys think?

Eric B · Jul 19, 2013

I would go by a local glass shop and have them cut and sand it for you to your exact sizes for the baffles. That is what I do for all my sumps and you can use 1/8" but just be careful as my friend owns a glass shop and he says that the thinner the glass the easier you will get cut or break the piece. Usually glass shops will have 1/4" in stock as that is what I use for most all my sumps, but if you can't find it I would just use the 1/8".

zladson · Jul 19, 2013

I planned on having the baffles cut to exact specifications, but I am building the entire thing (outside and bottom) as well.

Eric B · Jul 19, 2013

Then yes as long as the sump is not a huge tank I would go with 1/4" for the main sump (bottom/sides) and 1/8" or 1/4" for the baffles. Good luck and post some pictures of progress!

Planedoc · Jul 19, 2013

Most glass companies charge same price for 3/16 and 1/4 inch. Once you call and get prices you will see it's cheaper to buy a tank at pet Co dollar per gallon sale than build one. You still need to have custom baffles cut.

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SeymourDuncan · Jul 19, 2013

It cost me 160 to build 2 14g cubes with 3 baffles in each of them. Was a waste of money lol. I could have done the same with regular tanks. Its fun to do though which makes up for the cost.

zladson · Jul 19, 2013

a 24"x36", 1/8th thick piece is $8 at lowes. Why did it cost so much?

Planedoc · Jul 19, 2013

zladson said:
a 24"x36", 1/8th thick piece is $8 at lowes. Why did it cost so much?

What are you going to do with that piece of glass?

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SeymourDuncan · Jul 19, 2013

Places charge per cut in some areas, including mine. I could have bought a huge piece and cut it myself but ugh that's a pain without the right tools :)