Glass and Plywood

I know some ppl build plywood tanks and incorperate glass for the window to save money. But has anyone every built a plywood frame and lined the whole thing with glass. Reasoning: can build a super large tank out of glass without the fear of stressing out the glass by reinforcing for strength with the plywood. Im thinking of building a 1200 gallon or larger reef tank out of glass(easier to clean, ect.). But no manufactureer likes to build over certain dimensions. So I figure build a heavily reinforced plywood frame and then insert glass pannels inside of frame and then silicone it. What do you guys think? Also I want it to be as rimless as possible.

 

That is an intriguing idea. A glass tank without all of the weight. I would guess you might be able to use glass of half the usual thickness on all sides but the front.

 

I guess it could work. You would have to be very exacting on the fit so the inside glass doesn't crack. I am not sure if the extra plywood cost would make up for the cheaper glass though. If you decide to give it a shot, don't forget the build thread.

 

You could. I made mine only 1 side viewable,but I nearly made it 2 sides viewable with one 30" end to go along with the front glass. I hope you have read at least some of my plywood tank build if you ahve any inkling of making your own tank.

There are numerous 3 or 4 side viewable wood epoxy hybrid tanks out there. Many only used plywood for the bottom, and back, and made the frame for the "windows" out of straight lumber and epoxied it.