To cut or not to cut--that is the question

[wooden_reefer]

I am going to pickup a sheet of glass to make one or two plywood tanks. The deal fell thru but came back.

It measures 48" x78" and is 3/4" thick.

I think I can cut it to make two 24x78 pieces and make two tanks or don't cut it and make one 48" very deep tank .

I am leaning toward cutting it because a 48" deep tank is difficult to maintain; however such depth has special effect and I think the glass is thick enough if I brace the top. I won't be for reef but FO I think; might even be freshwater. Haven't decided yet.

I woud wet cut it with a diamond blade (continuous rim I think rather than segmented) mounted on a portable tile saw or just a circular saw with ground fault interrupt. many passes; 1/8" per pass guided by a straight edge. Wet with water. I may reduce the rpm with a router speed control.

Any suggestion?

[Donw]

Come on go for the full 48" That would be one great tank. My buddy cut 1/2" with a skill saw and it turned out fine.

Don

[hebygb]

I am not sure, but is 3/4" thick enough for 48" deep? I seem to recall reading on Garf that you need to go considerably thicker.

[coralnut99]

There was a thread here not too long ago where a guy built a really deep plywood tank and used that foam stuff to do the rock work, etc. That one was 4 feet deep. If I find the thread, I'll pass it along.

[coralnut99]

Here ya go. Long thread. I'm not sure if he mentions glass thickness:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1145958

[wooden_reefer]

If I am really to build a 48" deep tank with 3/4" glass, I 'll for sure brace it well with a wood structure on top, kind of like a euro-brace with both a wide strip spanning the front and a center piece in the middle spanning front to back.

One possibility is a semi-natural biotype ecological approach, with 900-1000 gallon. Apart from filtration and aeration, the livestock will be left to their own. No interference. Of course QT thoroughly, but life and death, including reproduction and predation with be natural. Semi-natural pond setup. It will have its charm I think.

Another possibility is a saltwater FO tank, but I have to drain down 2/3 of the water to catch fish etc. A lot of containers to hold the hundreds of gallons of SW may be a real hassle. A 48" FO tank will be very nice to look at, however. Certain, QT will be ever more critical.