Plywood/acrylic 8'L x 26W x 36"H Build

[Meep]

Looks like it should work well, be very aware to leave plenty of tolerance for the brushed on epoxy sealer in the window cut outs so that the glass fits properly... Better to have extra space then not enough as you can easily fill 1/8" gaps with silicone and still make it look nice if needed...

[Warfie]

Just thinking out loud... I get the 1/2" top and bottom, makes a little sturdier and "smooth", but why not run the glass into each other on the sides for the seal? You can still have the plywood on the outside if you'd like.

[ThomasC4]

Just thinking out loud... I get the 1/2" top and bottom, makes a little sturdier and "smooth", but why not run the glass into each other on the sides for the seal? You can still have the plywood on the outside if you'd like.

Warfie, Meep, Thanks for the reply and suggestions.

Don't know why not. Never entered my mind to do it that way it would eliminate a little gluing and screwing.

I like this design as the biggest piece of glass will only weigh 101 lbs so I can handle it much better than an 8' 156 lb piece.


Do I need the 4 inches of vertical bracing or can I go to 3 inches to get more viewing horizontally or will that be pushing it to much.

Also could I eliminate the vertical bracing altogether like glass tanks do and just silicone the ends of the glass together to create the seal. On the 90º corner that would be easy I guess but what about the 135º corners, will they be to weak and leak because you can't get the tight end to end surface seal.


Also for the top bracing, I would like to go with a piece of acrylic, ¾" one piece that is cut to match the tank exactly, I would have it about ¼" big and route it to the perfect edge match. Will that be enough bracing? then I can have as much light as possible going in the tank and the acrylic is already water proof. I can cut and router for the lids right in the acrylic I want this to have a very clean look since it will be in the living room.



Thanks,
Later