Tempered or non tempered glass?

[shakeel.may03]

Hey guys! I'm gonna built 200G tank with in stand sump and canopy wiill be on. Tank dimensions will be 6f L, 2f W, 2.5f H. I'm looking for a 12mm glass. Need suggestions if 12mm will be suitable and should I go for tempered or non tempered glass? Thanks

 

[sleepydoc]

A few comments-
The fact that you are asking this question tells me you do not have experience building tanks. If you are not experienced building tanks, you really shouldn't start with a 200 gallon tank.

Second, tempered glass is likely not an option, and if it is, it will be very expensive.

 

[ryeguyy84]

I have to agree, maybe start with a 20G tank. a 200G tank not put together properly is like a giant water bomb with glass pieces in it.

 

[shakeel.may03]

I already have 100G tank and I'm in hobby for many years But I'm confused to decide whether glass should be tempered or not. Tempered glass is strong but have weak edges which makes me confused if it would be suitable or not.

 

[aclinville]

Tempered should only be on the bottom. I'm not going to razz you about you being qualified enough to do the job. Good luck

 

[bobbychullo]

this is what everyone is basically trying to tell you. the way tempered glass reacts to being "injured" is not very good when holding a bunch of livestock. if a rock or anything hits your glass, the entire tank will explode and your fish will be on your floor in short order.

 

[Outlaw843]

Tempered on the bottom, non-tempered everywhere else is the most common way to go. In all honesty if I was building a tank that size Id probably look into acrylic.

 

[sleepydoc]

Yes, but it depends on the glass thickness, tank dimensions, whether the tank is framed or not and how big of a safety factor you use. Beyond generals, I'm not qualified to say whether 12mm tempered is adequate or not.

 

[salty joe]

A few years ago, an expert from PPG told me that a scratch can cause sudden complete failure in tempered glass if it's under pressure. IMO, that more than offsets the gain in strength.

But why is tempered generally used for the bottom? It can get scratched, bumped, etc.

Great pic bobbychullo!

 

[CuzzA]

There is absolutely no reason to temper glass for an aquarium. Period. The only reason you see commercial production tanks tempered is because they want to cut cost down as much as possible, so they use insufficient glass thickness on the bottom of their tanks and then temper it to make it strong enough to hopefully not break.

No custom tank builders use tempered glass. They use the correct thickness for the correct safety factor based on the height of the tank. The safety factor should be no less than 3.8 (minimum)

For the op, there are calculators out there you can determine what thickness. 17mm glass would be the actual correct safety factor, but I doubt that size is very common, so 19mm glass is what you would use. If you want to use thinner glass you're going to need to reduce the height of the tank.

http://www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium

 

[shakeel.may03]

Thanks to all. I'd consider non tempered glass to avoid a complete sudden failure, only bottom will be tempered. I was browsing for glass thickness charts. With 6f L and 2.5f H, there are 2 groups i.e. 12mm & 15mm. Almost 60% charts say 12mm and 40% are at 15mm. So again, glass thickness?

 

[shakeel.may03]

Nice pic bobby

 

[ghatter]

only bottom will be tempered.

I wouldn't... I'd go with what CuzzA said and use the correct thickness glass on the bottom, too:

There is absolutely no reason to temper glass for an aquarium. Period.

 

[shakeel.may03]

That can be considered and I can go with non tempered glass. But what's the correct thickness? Will 12mm do the job?

 

[CuzzA]

17mm glass would be the actual correct safety factor, but I doubt that size is very common, so 19mm glass is what you would use. If you want to use thinner glass you're going to need to reduce the height of the tank.

http://www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium

 

[shakeel.may03]

Thanks CuzzA. Do I need to use both i.e. trim and braces? Or only euro braces would be sufficient?

 

[davidgnome]

This is a very old post, however no one else is talking about this specific topic. I acquired 4 sheets of what seems to be tempered glass. The measurements are 41" x 19.25" that are 1/2" thick. I want to use these to create a cube and special order the bottom panel and euro bracing. Is the only conceivable issue with using tempered glass that is could be hit and burst? If i keep a minimalist aquascape with low rocks that have zero chance of falling would this solve my issue and make the glass usable? Thanks for any help.

Also, perhaps using the injection method so that the tension on the actual glass panels are lessened and more fluid due the silicone in between each pane?