DIY Glass Sump with two 55 gallon tanks

[Reefer James]

I am looking at using the glass from two 55g tanks on craigslist into one sump 48 x 21 x 21. my concern is glass thickness and strength. I am thinking we should be good since the sump wont be completely filled. The highest water level would only be the fuge section which will probably 17 or 18 inches high and the rest of the sump would only have a 10-15 inch high water level. I have not purchased the tanks so I honestly don't know for sure the glass thickness but I assume .375.

Thoughts, concerns, suggestions???.....

thanks

 

[Hitman]

Almost all 55 gallon tanks sides and the bottoms are tempered glass which make them undrillable. So if you where thinking about drilling them to connect the two you will have a huge pile of glass shards and no tank.

 

[Reefer James]

no i'm not looking to connect them. I plan to break them down and utilize the glass to make one single sump. not drilling anything.

 

[jjflounder1]

Can you leave 1 intact and use the glass from the other one for your baffles ?

 

[don_chuwish]

I'd love to see the design. As long as you don't plan on cutting or drilling any of the panes you'd be OK. But I wonder if the effort involved is worth the money saved.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Yep....tempered glass is not drill-able or cut-able. And as stated, most 55's are tempered glass. However, that said, you can check temper with a pair of polarized sunglasses and your phone. Get as white a screen you can get on your phone, and while wearing the polarized sunglasses, put the phone on the other side of the glass and start to turn the phone. At some point the screen will go black. If it's solid black, it's not tempered. If you see streaks of gray or blotchy gray, it's tempered.

 

[Reefer James]

I'd love to see the design. As long as you don't plan on cutting or drilling any of the panes you'd be OK. But I wonder if the effort involved is worth the money saved.

thank you, still working out the design. yes may not worth the money saved but this is more of curiosity kind of project and if i can make a high quality sump for the least cost. I already have a decent sump now. I am just looking for a project as we go into the winter months.

 

[Rcpilot]

I've heard of people buying smaller tanks and taking them apart to make baffles for a 55g sump. Just never heard of taking 2 tanks apart to rebuild into something totally different. Interesting project for sure. Please post a design and some build pics if you decide to move forward. I'd love to see it.