New tank build.

[Newbie tanker]

Hi everyone... i am looking for advice about the thickness of glass i should use for my 4foot tank. Is 6mm too thin? Here is what the tank demstions are..

46 inch long
17 inch wide
22 inch high.

I have also been in touch with my local glass dealer and they suggested toughened glass? Whats everyones thoughs on here, i dont want to go ahead and waste money if its too thin. Thanks in advance.

 

[extremebunny]

Glass Thickness Calculations chart

 

[54seaweed]

looking at my 4 ft 90g it has 1/2inch glass
looking at my 3 ft 40b it has 1/4inch glass
both of these tanks are manufactured tanks not home built like your doing but should give you a idea for glass thickness .

maybe this chart can help you
Calculate Aquarium Glass Thickness - Custom tanks are great investments | Aquarium Tools

looking at your dimensions I have a couple of questions .

46 inch long did you know your 2 inch shy of 4ft?

17 inch wide why a odd number ? why so narrow ? to give yourself some room I'd do 24inch wide

22 inch high.

I'm also going to assume your building your own stand

please post your progress of your build once you begin your build

 

[Newbie tanker]

looking at my 4 ft 90g it has 1/2inch glass
looking at my 3 ft 40b it has 1/4inch glass
both of these tanks are manufactured tanks not home built like your doing but should give you a idea for glass thickness .

maybe this chart can help you
Calculate Aquarium Glass Thickness - Custom tanks are great investments | Aquarium Tools

looking at your dimensions I have a couple of questions .

46 inch long did you know your 2 inch shy of 4ft?

17 inch wide why a odd number ? why so narrow ? to give yourself some room I'd do 24inch wide

22 inch high.

I'm also going to assume your building your own stand

please post your progress of your build once you begin your build

These are the demstions of the current tank i have, it is old and got chips out of it as i got it second hand.

I was going to use the same stand but build my own hood for the light out. I was also going to get metal bars to install inside the doors of the stand to give it extra support.

 

[Newbie tanker]

These are the quotes i got and how thick they will go.


So to supply only the 5 pieces (I Piece to have 2 Cut outs) in 6mm Toughened Glass with polished edges is £240.00 Including VAT if you wanted un polished edges cost would be £197.00 Including VAT



So to supply only the 5 pieces (I Piece to have 2 Cut outs) in 8mm Toughened Glass with polished edges is £308.00 Including VAT if you wanted un polished edges cost would be £210.00 Including VAT



So to supply only the 5 pieces (I Piece to have 2 Cut outs) in 10mm Toughened Glass with polished edges is £378.00 Including VAT if you wanted un polished edges cost would be £260.00 Including VAT

 

[54seaweed]

looking at the cost it may just be easier to buy another tank you can find a nice used one for penny's on the dollar . I bought a new 90g 2 years ago for $320.00 . and $40.00 to build the stand
so weigh your options before you commit because there are many good deals out there.

 

[Newbie tanker]

Yeah i ha e been searching around for awhile now, but people here are asking too much for 2nd hand tanks.. hence the reason why i decided to look into building one. Am around the same price to build one as buying a second hand one here. At least i know my £200 odd tank will be new. Its just the thickness of glass am unsure about and what type of glas is best, was looking for some advice about that.

 

[coralbandit]

Is Tempered Glass Better for Aquariums? | eHow

 

[Newbie tanker]

Toughened glass is tempered glass??

 

[Ironworker161]

The thickness of glass you need will greatly depend on your method of construction. 8mm toughened glass should be fine if your going to have a center support at the top of the side panels, I would definitely build some sort of rim for the top, which could also include the center support...also polished glass is a must, you don't want to cut yourself moving this thing around. I hope this was some help. Good luck.

 

[Newbie tanker]

Yeah i will be making a support in the middle of the tank from back to front. Also i will be making a hood to fit over the top of the tank. So its a tight fit. So if i get 8mm thick that should be ok? Am new to this tank building, but kept tanks most of my life

 

[Ironworker161]

Hey tanker,
I did some calculations for you. Using the dimensions you gave above, your looking at having a 74 gallon capacity, and a weight of 518 lbs of water. The load capacity of 1/4 inch ( 8mm) glass is 347.56 pounds when supported every 2 foot. ( remember the center support you talked about.) so using those numbers, you can see that we are over the limits of 8mm glass. I would increase the glass thickness to 3/8, which will support 916 lbs. at those dimensions. I would still use the center support on the top to give it some support. Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Newbie tanker]

Thanks mate. Am going for acrylic at 2inch thickness. I got in touch with ATM (tanked tv show). He told me no less than 1/2 inch thickness for my tank size. I will still put in the centre brace. See how things go from there. Thanks again mate