# Glass under tank????



## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

Ok I bought a hutch for my fish tank stand knowing it was an antique. Because my tank is planted I continuously get water on the top surface, now the finish on the hutch is chipping away. I was told by a few to get the tank off, but then I have no room to store it and have another stand for the tank.
I phoned an Antique repair shop and he told me to put a piece of glass on the hutch under the tank. 
My question is what thickness of glass would I need and do you think it would not crack under the weight of the tank?? Does anyone forsee problems with this or have a better suggestion??
Tank is a 33 gallon 
Thank you in advance


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

go with plexi-glass. Less chance of breaking or cracking it


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## Adz1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> go with plexi-glass. Less chance of breaking or cracking it


+1 on the plexi glass.


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

Ok just spoke to a glass shop. They said at 47 x 18 10mm thick glass cut and polished edges is going to be 105.00 without tax. 
Where would be a place to look at plexi glass.


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## budahrox (Apr 21, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> go with plexi-glass. Less chance of breaking or cracking it


Ditto X2 
Cheers!!


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

And would plexi glass alter the color on the top of the hutch over time. Or is it the same kinda thing as glass??? I have to do as little further damage as possible to the hutch.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Put styrofoam on it. It's impervious to water and the colour won't come off (especially if you use white styrofoam).


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

The only thing with Styrofoam is i would like it to look nice lol.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Ok, then it's not an option.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

not sure of the best place for plexi-glass other than home depot of one of those places should have it.
As for Gary's suggestion of the styrofoam...you could always paint or or cover it with something like contact/shelf paper. I used it to cover the top of my 50 gal stand that had water damage, nice cheap solution and water doesn't go thru it. A buck or two carries rolls of it with a decent selection to choose from.


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

Acrylic would be the way to go, and is just as effective as glass, if not moreso. What's the footprint you're looking to cover? How picky are you about the colour of acrylic?


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## Adz1 (Apr 21, 2010)

i would try home depot or rona for plexi glass.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The other option is to put some contact tape on the hutch like they use to protect the floors during home renos, or maybe a sheet of painted plywood.


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

O.C.D Fishies said:


> Ok just spoke to a glass shop. They said at 47 x 18 10mm thick glass cut and polished edges is going to be 105.00 without tax.
> Where would be a place to look at plexi glass.


Are those the dimensions of the piece required? Would that cover the entire top of the hutch, or just the footprint of the tank? Home Depot is a rip-off when it comes to acrylic, they mark up their acrylic 300% on average


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Grete_J said:


> Are those the dimensions of the piece required? Would that cover the entire top of the hutch, or just the footprint of the tank? Home Depot is a rip-off when it comes to acrylic, they mark up their acrylic 300% on average


I would say those are the dimensions of the hutch. She said it was a 33 gallon and my 33 footprint is 36x12


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

hey yah that is the foot print of the top of the hutch. Grete J. I am not t o sure if colored plexi would affect the color of the wood over time though.


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

I can't ever see that happening, since even when flame polished or bending with a bending wire doesn't cause it to seep any colour. We've never had a problem with any of our coloured acrylic....

Anyways, if you're interested and on a budget, I've got several sheets of different colours of acrylic. Mostly yellow, red, a nicer blue, etc...


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

Ok sounds good thank you I will let you know what happens.


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## shelltoes (Oct 11, 2010)

I'd have a look in the salvation army or a couple thrift shops. those old glass coffee and end tables are a dime a dozen.. I had the same Dilemma and bought one for the glass and threw away the table.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Another suggestion go to Canadian tire and buy your self 3/8" black close cell gym matt cut it to fit your tank with 1" past edges of the tank, it's waterproof and being black it looks ok as well. It cuts very well with a box cutter. I have it under all my tanks and it works great it also takes up any uneven surface that you are sitting on.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

O.C.D Fishies said:


> The only thing with Styrofoam is i would like it to look nice lol.


You could spraypaint the styrofoam? Just a thought .

Stuart


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