How much "bow" does your rimless 180g 1/2" GLASS tank have?

[mortonl]

I just built a 72 x 20 in wide X 27 tall out of tempered Starfire glass ans I am surprised to see about 5/16's of "bow" (difference in measurement between the ends and the middle). I am curious about those of you with 72x24x24 or other similarly proportioned tanks.

Thanks for your response.

 

[143gadgets]

I think you should have went with 3/4" glass on a 6ft tank that 27" tall. JMO I've never worked with glass though. I have a 4ft rimless made of .5" and it's only 18" tall. I just think it's a little thin for 6ft.

 

[mortonl]

I had the glass tempered, which supposedly makes it 5-7x's stronger? Also, from what I can see, Lemar and AGA use 1/2" on this size tank, so I hope it is OK! That is why I am now curious about the actual experience of other rimless tanks.

 

[143gadgets]

Not sure about leemar, but AGA uses it but it is braced

 

[khoile]

I have a calulator that I posted here, you can use if you want.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1310132&highlight=calculator

The deflection is quite a bit off compare to what you observed, but.. the point is that to make sure your safety factor is > 3.8. It doesn't factor in tempered glass though.

 

[glassbox-design]

FWIW, our 90g rimless is 1/2 in starphire (non-tempered) with a 1in floating bottom. I'd suggest bracing with that type of bow. JMO.

 

[mortonl]

measurements above were 3/4 full. When i completed the fill deflection went to 1/2 in. At this point I have no alternative except to do a center brace. Oh Well, there are worse things in the world. In hind-sight, 143 gadgets is right, I should have used 3/4 in.