OK mojo I will go to OBD tomorrow again (thurs) to submit my glass specs, I will go with a L shaped based cut a bit oversized and without polished edges since all vert. panes will be put on top of the base and the base edges will be hidden in the rim on the tank stand. for all vert. panes, I will have 3 of 4 edges milled to 0 tolerance but leave 1 edge unmilled (the top edge since that will be covered with the acrylic rim. I will put a few acrylic beams across the top of the tank (from front acrylic rim to back acrylic rim) to minimize glass pane bowing. I promise to wear gloves so I don't cut my hands on the unpolished edge so don't worry!
I will set up all the pieces with 1/16 inch spacers and brace all pieces so they cannot move, corner braces on top corners, wood beams on the inside so vert. panels cannot move toward center of tank and even a few braces on the outside bottom of the vert. panes so they cannot move away from tank center, so basically all panes cannot move up/down and sidewase. I will set up all panes at the same time, taking as much time as I need to get everything square and held in place, then squirt in the black Momentive 100 series RTV into the gaps in one go (I will practice first on a few pieces of throw away glass), then let it dry for 1 week, razor blade off the excess silicone on inside and outside of tank, then do a water test. Oh one more question, does the silicone run in the gaps from top to bottom of tank under the influence gravity or does it hold on its own? If this is a problem I guess every seam that gets the goop has to be set on horizontal first but I can't imagine people do this. Sounds good mojo? make sure I did not forget anything since this will be a go, I am actually gonna do this, help me now or I am in big trouble.... I am reading up on coral biology. thanks for lesson 1.