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11-16-2007, 06:39 PM
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#1
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Reefer and proud of it!!!
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Moore, Ok
Posts: 826
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Tempered or not tempered glass???????
Ok I have a 55 gal that I would like to drill. the tank doesn't say if it is tempered or not. I am wondering if the fact that the tank has some chips in the corners that the tank is not tempered and that i can drill it. Am i right or wrong about the chips in the corner proving that the tank is not tempered????
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11-16-2007, 07:28 PM
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#2
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Plankton
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 31
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Usually the sides of a 55 are not tempered, but the bottoms are. Do you know the maker? Chips on the side is a good sign its okay to drill
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Silicon is the duct tape of reefkeeping!!
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11-16-2007, 09:50 PM
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#3
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Reefer and proud of it!!!
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Moore, Ok
Posts: 826
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Any body else have any idea about the chips in the corner of the tank. if that really means if the tank is tempered or not. because i would tend to think that if it was tempered, then instead of just chipping that it should of shatered it right.
Oh and I do not know the maker of this tank.
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11-17-2007, 12:21 AM
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#4
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Shark
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Ontario, CA
Posts: 1,028
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I don't think you can chip the edge of tempered glass without shattering it, but I could be wrong.
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11-17-2007, 06:39 AM
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#5
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I've got the REEF rash!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 25,608
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Quote:
Originally Posted by seasalt dreams
I don't think you can chip the edge of tempered glass without shattering it, but I could be wrong.
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I was thinking the smae thing ,but not sure either.
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11-17-2007, 06:43 AM
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#6
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Carpe Noctem
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Western Colorado
Posts: 5,275
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I have some great pics of my AGA 55 that I tried to drill a couple years ago. I can tell you that the front and rear glass were tempered... But it made sweeping the little pieces of glass so much easier 
The years for AGA tanks that used tempered glass seem to be rather random...
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11-17-2007, 07:29 AM
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#7
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It can be rebuilt.
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 19,158
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the chip would indicate to me that that pane is not tempered. like has been said he bottoms were almost always tempered.
G~
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Think Tanker
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11-19-2007, 11:18 AM
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#8
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Reefer and proud of it!!!
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Moore, Ok
Posts: 826
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Thanks guys for your input. I really appreciate all of your thoughts on the glass stuff.
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11-19-2007, 11:26 AM
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#9
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Enjoy it now
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Posts: 4,087
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I contacted AGA ( aqueon ) a week ago and they said that the AGA tanks do NOT have tempered sides but the bottom MIGHT be depending on the tank....That conflicts what you experienced Hop :/
From my limited knowledge about tempering...you have to actually hit it in a stress point just right for it to shatter. I don't THINK a small chip would necessarily indicate that glass being NOT tempered.
I have a 65G and a 125G I'm faced with drilling and am actually scared that the sides are tempered now that Hop says his AGA shattered :/
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11-19-2007, 11:39 AM
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#10
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Reefer and proud of it!!!
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Moore, Ok
Posts: 826
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DarthOcellaris
From my limited knowledge about tempering...you have to actually hit it in a stress point just right for it to shatter. I don't THINK a small chip would necessarily indicate that glass being NOT tempered.
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Well I thought the sides were a stress point. One of the weakest spots in a paine of glass. I could be wrong but thats just what i always thought.
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11-19-2007, 12:13 PM
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#11
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Enjoy it now
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Posts: 4,087
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Orient Master
Well I thought the sides were a stress point. One of the weakest spots in a paine of glass. I could be wrong but thats just what i always thought.
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hmm..that's a good question.
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11-19-2007, 12:57 PM
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#12
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: spartanburg, south carolina
Posts: 4,675
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Orient Master
I am wondering if the fact that the tank has some chips in the corners that the tank is not tempered and that i can drill it. Am i right or wrong about the chips in the corner proving that the tank is not tempered????
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Unfortunately, I wouldn't use that to determine if the glass was tempered or not. Here is the problem, you don't know when the chips occured. To make these tanks, the manufacturers will take regular glass and drill whatever holes they need and THEN temper the glass (in case you ever wondered how they got the holes into reef ready tanks with tempered glass bottoms). So, if the chips in the glass occured BEFORE the glass was tempered, then it will shatter if you try to drill it. If the glass was chipped AFTER the tank was already put together, then it is not tempered. I think I recall another way to determine if glass is tempered using a polarizing filter. Google it and see if you can find it.
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