[Scooterman]

1/2" for what size tank?
Most tanks up to 100g 1/2" should be fine; my old 100g was 3/8" glass & was fairly solid. Sorry to hear about the bad luck, if you get a RR you may look into used set-up in your local paper, sometimes you can get an entire set-up @ a super price. Last, if you go new get if you can one with two internal overflows, it helps skim the water surface better.