# Glass Thickness



## UrbanJungle (Mar 28, 2012)

Hey, building a glass vivarium and wondering about glass thickness, no idea what thickness i should make it? 5mm? its a 2ft GTP orchid cube. 
Thanks .

Also egg crate gold coast? where?


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## junglepython2 (Mar 28, 2012)

5mm is fine as is 4mm.


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## SA_Goannas (Mar 28, 2012)

I use 6mm glass in all my enclosures, costs about $110m2 finished, the track to suit costs about $12L/M.


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## Erebos (Mar 28, 2012)

SA_Goannas said:


> I use 6mm glass in all my enclosures, costs about $110m2 finished, the track to suit costs about $12L/M.



Sorry to say this mate but you need to find another supplier. Those prices are outrages! I think I pay about $40 a square max!


Cheers Brenton


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## UrbanJungle (Mar 28, 2012)

The whole tanks going to be glass if that makes a difference? Its getting built for a display in the lounge room. hopefully i can do a neat silicone job :S


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## Kc_read (Mar 28, 2012)

Id say laminated which is 6.38mm thick would be the best option especialy if alot of the support is coming from the glass itself. 

And the trick to silicon is to put a backing of masking tape then run the silicon down the join, spray with a mix of detergent and water and spray you hands for good measure and run your finger down the join(obviously dont use ur fingers if the edges arent rounded),
After that remove the tape and spray again being carefull not to push the silicon out when you touch up the tape side

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


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## CaptainRatbag (Mar 29, 2012)

I would reccomend 5mm float glass. Cheap, strong, available. If it breaks, it cracks and stays in place, not explode like toughened glass. Laminated glass will always have the film showing between the 2 layers of glass, so will be rough and wear your tracks if you are using sliding doors. Laminated glass needs a frame for best results.

I purchased 2 pieces of float glass, 484x560mm for $35 (for the pair) from a local glass place. The price included stoning (sanding) the edges to remove sharp edge, or you can get it polished edges at extra cost (not worth it imo)


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## UrbanJungle (Mar 29, 2012)

Got my quote back.
Supply only 6mm Starphire glass with flat polished edges.
1 - 0580 x 0580 
3- 0590 x 0590 
2 - 0290 x 0520
1 - 0070 x 0590
=$368.50


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## Erebos (Mar 29, 2012)

UrbanJungle said:


> Got my quote back.
> Supply only 6mm Starphire glass with flat polished edges.
> 1 - 0580 x 0580
> 3- 0590 x 0590
> ...



Hunt around get 10 quotes. 


Cheers Brenton


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## UrbanJungle (Mar 29, 2012)

Sent out some more, all coming back more pricey. Where did you get your acrylic hinges?
Thanks


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## Red-Ink (Mar 29, 2012)

UrbanJungle said:


> Got my quote back.
> Supply only 6mm Starphire glass with flat polished edges.
> 1 - 0580 x 0580
> 3- 0590 x 0590
> ...



Would you not be able to buy a ready made tank at that price?


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## Virides (Mar 29, 2012)

5mm best suits our sliding glass track system


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## CentralianKing (Mar 29, 2012)

5mm is a common glass thickness and suppliers most of the time have it on hand, 6mm is generally not stocked as readily as 5mm hence the significant price difference!!


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## CaptainRatbag (Mar 29, 2012)

Just do what makes you happy, is close to you and available. The polished edges will be costing a fair bit (labour) think about if you can get away with just the sharp edge stoned, especially if you are glueing anyway, will prolly knock that figure in half.

With the price of petrol these days, not worth driving long distances to save a few bucks 

5mm will be plenty strong enough. Bunnings has those screw/clamp on hinges and magnetic push/click latches like for TV cabinets

Maybe if you grovel a bit at the glass place, they might give you a discount for cash?

Post some pics when you are finished, it sounds like it will be good


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## Erebos (Mar 29, 2012)

I get them from any PVC supplier. 



Cheers Brenton


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## DanNG (Mar 29, 2012)

Starphire (low iron) glass always has a premium on normal float, pricing looks ok... And it is much clearer. Great for marine fish tanks


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## UrbanJungle (Mar 30, 2012)

Yeah, got a 2ft marine cube on one side of my bed this is for the other side  
Got a cheeper quote today $220. Hope there open on the weekend


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## Killer_rabbit (Mar 30, 2012)

4mm will be strong enough for a tank that size and alot cheaper to. another idea for when you silicone it use some detergent or window cleaner and get a paddle pop stick to run up the join it will give it an even curved edge if thats something you want. or have a look around for some uv glue it dries in no time and is a lot stronger than silicone. dont use if you want your tank to ghold any water though


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## thomasssss (Mar 30, 2012)

i worked as a glazier and was always taught that the weakest spot on glass is the edges so id advise you to go and check out the different types of aluminium framing that they use for shower screens im sure there will be one that would you could use to sort of frame each piece of glass also just for safety id use at least 6mm laminate (pretty sure thats what thickness has to be used for any windows that are at ground level so they cant be broken by little kids rolling around on the ground and then fall out ) any good glazier shouldn't have to order in standard 6mm lam they should have in on hand to fix emergency breaks


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## UrbanJungle (Mar 30, 2012)

thomasssss said:


> i worked as a glazier and was always taught that the weakest spot on glass is the edges so id advise you to go and check out the different types of aluminium framing that they use for shower screens im sure there will be one that would you could use to sort of frame each piece of glass also just for safety id use at least 6mm laminate (pretty sure thats what thickness has to be used for any windows that are at ground level so they cant be broken by little kids rolling around on the ground and then fall out ) any good glazier shouldn't have to order in standard 6mm lam they should have in on hand to fix emergency breaks



Thanks for the paddle pop stick idea, sounds better then fingers. Think ill be going with the tape next to the silcone and rip away idea.Going with 5mm as it was easy to measure up on the stand its going on.
Thinking 5mm acrylic for the lid, Should be good for drilling.

so iv been looking up pictorials about building vivariums out of glass and they all glue it on top of the base, i measured it to glue onto the sides of the base. should i change it or will it be fine?


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## Killer_rabbit (Mar 31, 2012)

UrbanJungle said:


> Thanks for the paddle pop stick idea, sounds better then fingers. Think ill be going with the tape next to the silcone and rip away idea.Going with 5mm as it was easy to measure up on the stand its going on.
> Thinking 5mm acrylic for the lid, Should be good for drilling.
> 
> so iv been looking up pictorials about building vivariums out of glass and they all glue it on top of the base, i measured it to glue onto the sides of the base. should i change it or will it be fine?



thats fine it shouldnt affected it at all. if you want to make it stronger you can always just put some angle around the bottom and sides to stiffen it up. keep the edges hidden.


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