Glass thickness on tank

[Spartanman22]

Ok let's just say hypothetically I were to acquire 10-5'x3' sheets of .25" glass. Ideally I would construct a 4'x2'x2' tank but .25" is definitely not thick enough from what I understand. So if I were to euro race could I get away with a 2x2x2' or 30"x30"x24" if I were to brace the bottom and top? Basically what would you say is the largest cubish sized tank I could get away with with .25 glass?

 

[elmatth1]

My 34 gallon Solana rimless tank has 1/4 inch glass and it is a 20x20x20 cube. I would like to think that they would include some sort of safety factor in their tank building and go larger than is actually needed, but that is just a guess.

Good luck with the build. I am thinking about doing a diy tank myself. If/when you build the tank, post a build thread. I'm always interested in seeing other tank builds to get ideas.

 

[Spartanman22]

I definitely plan on doing a tank build thread and I've done some research and seen lots of 2x2x2 cubes rimless with 1/4" glass so I would think I could get away with a 3x3x3 with euro racing and bracing along the inside bottom. I used to have a 30x24x18 tank that was 1/4" with euro and bottom bracing and it held fine.

 

[aaronpentz]

My tank is 72 x 12 x 18 and its 1/4 inch glass. It does have two cross braces though

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[calbert0]

experience and practice is what really matters in this sort of situation...

Sure everyone has, or has seen a tank that is built with very thin glass and thin seams... Whoever built that tank; well lets just say it wasn't their first attempt...

Get scrap glass, gain experience by making perfectly square clean seams and dimensions with RTV -108/103 silicone which starts skinning in 5 minutes or less...

dont order all of your expensive glass and use your show tank as the guinea pig.

You can only learn so much from research, getting hands on and practicing is the only way to learn what actually works, and more specifically what works for you and you skills/style/assembly process/ patience...

Good luck, PM me if you need a helping hand. I am in the process of starting a custom glass aquarium fabrication business. I already know alot, but with each build i gain further insight. No price tag, but pizza and beer at the end of the job is always appreciated.......

 

[calbert0]

also - i would not use 1/4'' glass on anything over 18'' H. The tank dimensions you are discussing especially the ones that are 2'H and 3'H are definitely out of the question for 1/4'' glass, no matter how much bracing you do.

go for 3/8''.

Also - who are you having cut the glass to specs, or are you planning to cut, sand, and polish the edges for each pane by yourself?

 

[Spartanman22]

Calbert thanks for the offer. I haven't really gotten that far into the thought process yet. I definitely would practice before I attempted anything on a larger scale. I just may potentially have 10 sheets of 5x3' 1/4" glass fall into my lap so I was just trying to see what my options were for it

 

[calbert0]

Let me know if/when you end up getting that glass... If you dont use it I will buy it from you... If you do use it, I will help you with any project you have.

Like i said experience is the true teacher, and i am always interested in getting in on a glass build of any size or type. Keep me posted, Thanks again,

 

[Spartanman22]

Will do thanks for the help!

 

[Rod Buehler]

height is the key. With 1/4 thick glass, 16-18 is as tall as I would go. I built many tanks out of 1/4.. The biggest was a 36x36x16. It had 1/2 glass on the bottom

 

[badazztealcobra]

Everything is based on height with safety factors (the numbers in parenthesis. the higher the better, so you see when you go to say 9mm glass with the same height the safety factor rises)... As you can see with a height of 15-18" you can build a tank with up to 8' panels... Once you go above that the size shrinks more and more.

Like Rod said, you can also use a thicker pane for the bottom, eurobrace the bottom and top, etc to help with the safety factor.

If it were me, I would stick to an 18" height MAX and call it a day.