Aquarium repair/thoughts

Question
Hi Craig,

I have a 55 gal. aquarium that has a broken bottom.  I've searched high and low to find some answers on how I might go about replacing/fixing the bottom, but haven't found anything useful.

I know this isn't exactly your field of expertise, but was hoping you might have some thoughts on where I might look, or know of somewhere that does aquarium repairs that I might ping.

Yes, I could buy a new aquarium, but I'd really prefer to fix it, if possible.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or help you could provide.

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Kim,

I've done my fair share of tank repair over the years and the one thing I've learned is it can be a real pain to find a place that can give you the correct type of glass. First off 55 gal tanks use tempered glass, this is a stronger glass then normal and isn't pron to shattering when broken, the problem is that its very expensive glass for your local glass store to keep and its hard to cut so by the time you get the correct glass cut to the correct size (it needs to be exact!) your paying twice to 3 times what a new aquarium would cost you.  All I can suggest is to check with local glass shops and tell them you need a piece of tempered glass about 1/2" thick and give them the dimensions, keep in mind if the cut glass is off even a fraction of an inch you more then likely will not be able to effect repairs.

Good luck,
Craig.