My First Foam-Backed Upright

[KingCam]

The normal aquarium silicone adheres fantastically to glass, but not as well to plexi. I know I've read not to use silicone for repairing plexiglass aquariums, but your application will be a relatively small amount of water and pressure so it might be ok- I'm honestly not sure. I am much more familiar glass so that's the direction I steer towards. A basic glass cutter can also be had for under $10 if you wanted to learn a new vivarium construction skill.

Oh, I didn't know that. I'll get glass for sure. $10? That's not bad at all! What exactly does a glass cutter look like? How is it used? Is it difficult? Because I don't want to go through 10 sheets of glass trying to get a good cut :P

Do you have specific inhabitants in mind for this tank?

If all goes as planned I'll be using it as a temporary enclosure for some grey tree froglets. After I find homes for them I don't know. I might keep a few of the baby greys, if I do this will likely become their enclosure. I'd like to have a couple of hardy decorative fish in the bottom. Other than that I don't have anything really in mind, just trying to salvage a broken aquarium.

[UncleChester]

Here's the basics of glass cutting: How to Cut Glass: 8 steps (with pictures) - wikiHow (lots more tutorials to be had on google as well)

I'd add:

-Wearing gloves is a good idea. Safety googles don't hurt either..
-You can also run the score by lining the score up with the edge of a table and pressing down.
-You can also run the score by gently tapping it from below with something hard. This doesn't leave as even an edge but works for curved cuts or very large pieces.
-Sandpaper will scratch the glass when smoothing the edge, so make sure not to sand the face.
-I've cut up to 1/4" plate glass this way with no problems.
-Be sure to read the warnings on that page.
-I found this pretty easy and my failure rate was not at all high even at the beginning. My biggest mistake was cutting the glass just slightly the wrong size, you can't really shave it down easily. Silicone can make up a small gap, so a little small can be better to aim for than a snug fit depending on where your piece is going.

Here's a basic glass cutter:

Home Hardware - CUTTER, GLASS 1WHEEL STRAIGHT END

This kind has a wheel on the cutting end. There are also diamond tipped ones that are just a point to scratch the surface of the glass. I prefer the wheeled ones. Fancier ones will have things like a pivoting head for cutting curves and an oil reservoir inside for self lubrication.

Like they said in the tutorial page, you can usually get scraps at a glass shop for pretty cheap for practice and you only need a small piece so you can probably get that very cheap too. Keep in mind to make the cut you need a couple of inches on either side so be able to run the score.

I'm a grey treefrog fan.

[J Teezy]

yeah make sure you cut it the right size, a tad smaller is better than a tad too big

[helm96]

Thanks for the link and the advice Brian! I have been thinking about about glass but was leaning toward Plexi cause I have worked with it before but never with glass. I may have to give it a shot.

[KingCam]

Here's the basics of glass cutting: How to Cut Glass: 8 steps (with pictures) - wikiHow (lots more tutorials to be had on google as well)

Excellent, I will spend some time looking over that tonight!

I'd add:

-Wearing gloves is a good idea. Safety googles don't hurt either..
-You can also run the score by lining the score up with the edge of a table and pressing down.
-You can also run the score by gently tapping it from below with something hard. This doesn't leave as even an edge but works for curved cuts or very large pieces.
-Sandpaper will scratch the glass when smoothing the edge, so make sure not to sand the face.
-I've cut up to 1/4" plate glass this way with no problems.
-Be sure to read the warnings on that page.
-I found this pretty easy and my failure rate was not at all high even at the beginning. My biggest mistake was cutting the glass just slightly the wrong size, you can't really shave it down easily. Silicone can make up a small gap, so a little small can be better to aim for than a snug fit depending on where your piece is going.

Awesome, thanks! 1/4"? That's a decent piece of glass!

Here's a basic glass cutter:

Home Hardware - CUTTER, GLASS 1WHEEL STRAIGHT END

This kind has a wheel on the cutting end. There are also diamond tipped ones that are just a point to scratch the surface of the glass. I prefer the wheeled ones. Fancier ones will have things like a pivoting head for cutting curves and an oil reservoir inside for self lubrication.

Looks like I'll be making a(nother) trip to my local Home Depot tonight :P

Like they said in the tutorial page, you can usually get scraps at a glass shop for pretty cheap for practice and you only need a small piece so you can probably get that very cheap too. Keep in mind to make the cut you need a couple of inches on either side so be able to run the score.

Hmmm, okay! I have no idea where to find one of those, but I'm sure there is one around. I'll give the yellowpages a look.

I'm a grey treefrog fan.

It's hard not to be

yeah make sure you cut it the right size, a tad smaller is better than a tad too big

That's a good thing to keep in mind. Kinda the opposite of how things would be done with most building materials.

[J Teezy]

the reason you don't want your cut to be too big is because you're not really cutting glass when you do it, what you are actually doing is scoring it and then snapping it off, so it is very very hard to score and snap a very thin cut

[KingCam]

the reason you don't want your cut to be too big is because you're not really cutting glass when you do it, what you are actually doing is scoring it and then snapping it off, so it is very very hard to score and snap a very thin cut

Makes perfect sense.

[helm96]

You could check Lowes for some scraps as well, they do glass cutting there at least the one in my area does. I just cant say whether the would charge you for the scraps or not.

[UncleChester]

Yea, glass is quite different from wood where you can fit tight pieces together with a hammer and loose pieces with a powerful screwdriver. You can grind glass down with sandpaper if you cut it too big, but trust me it's not worth it.

You can also try someone who installs windows- they take the old ones out and that glass has to go somewhere. All my vertical tanks are made from glass out of slider windows and a few pieces from thermals I've disassembled. It has to be cleaned but I'm lucky and have found a free source of glass this way, plus it's recycling.