Tarl
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hey all,
I'm looking into building a 55 gallon tank (mostly as practice for larger tanks in future). I've looked at several sites that give glass thickness to use for different dimensions of the tank (including GARF's calculator).
I've compared these "recommendations" to the glass thickness of 2 store bought tanks that I have access to. One is a 10 gallon tank with dimensions 20"L x 12"H x 10"W and the other is a 55 gallon tank with dimensions 48"L x 20"H x 13"W.
The thickness of the glass for these 2 tanks is 1/8" glass for the 10 gal tank and 1/4" glass for the 55 gal. However, the recommended thickness by GARF's site (and 2 other sources I've found) is 1/4" glass for the 10 gal and 3/8" glass for the 55 gal.
So, I'm wondering what the reason for this discrepancy is. Both of these tanks have tempered bottom plates, and in the case of the 10 gallon tank, I know the sides are plain, untempered sheet glass (I called the manufacturer). I'm assuming the same for the 55 gal tank.
Does it have to do with the plastic bands around all the seams of the tank (and the plastic cross brace in the case of the 55 gal tank)?
If so, can someone give me a hint as to what calculations to use to determine glass thickness WITH the braces around the seam and the cross brace? Would I be safe using the same thickness of glass as the store bought tanks?
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Tarl
I'm looking into building a 55 gallon tank (mostly as practice for larger tanks in future). I've looked at several sites that give glass thickness to use for different dimensions of the tank (including GARF's calculator).
I've compared these "recommendations" to the glass thickness of 2 store bought tanks that I have access to. One is a 10 gallon tank with dimensions 20"L x 12"H x 10"W and the other is a 55 gallon tank with dimensions 48"L x 20"H x 13"W.
The thickness of the glass for these 2 tanks is 1/8" glass for the 10 gal tank and 1/4" glass for the 55 gal. However, the recommended thickness by GARF's site (and 2 other sources I've found) is 1/4" glass for the 10 gal and 3/8" glass for the 55 gal.
So, I'm wondering what the reason for this discrepancy is. Both of these tanks have tempered bottom plates, and in the case of the 10 gallon tank, I know the sides are plain, untempered sheet glass (I called the manufacturer). I'm assuming the same for the 55 gal tank.
Does it have to do with the plastic bands around all the seams of the tank (and the plastic cross brace in the case of the 55 gal tank)?
If so, can someone give me a hint as to what calculations to use to determine glass thickness WITH the braces around the seam and the cross brace? Would I be safe using the same thickness of glass as the store bought tanks?
Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Tarl