How strong is your tank? any way to find out?

[joedarat]

with all the horror stories of late about tanks busting unexpectedly, I was hoping to get some info / start a thread on how to periodically test the integrity of your tank. I'm talking mainly glass tanks since acrylic is almost unbreakable (i read 17 times stronger than glass) So here's my 2 cents:

I sometimes put a level to each side of the tank and look for any changes from the last time i checked.. so far nothing to stress about

also something to help prevent bowing/stress before you add water/decor/fish is to make sure your tank stand is level, then check the tank once it's on the stand. (this is extremely important with larger tanks)

I hope to go with an acrylic tank in the future, but for now I'll just keep crossing my fingers with the glass

 

[DeFeKt]

yea, besides checking level.
keep it full of water. if it breaks, it's not strong enough
I don't think there really is anyway to check the integrity of the glass.

all i know is any tank that is above 18" tall needs to be no less then 10mm glass.
12mm recommended.

 

[greenmaji]

Great thread idea!! (I asked something similar a while back)

Checking to make sure the stand and tank are level is a great idea..

If you wanted to take it one step further you could check to make sure the stand is square(measureing diagonaly on all sides to make sure they measure the same distance) you could do this with the tank as well but Im pretty sure its unlikely that a tank would be out of square but you never know when manifacturing might be poor...

I would also inspect the silicone to make sure there isnt any discoloration or bubbling going on that doesnt look normal.. (the silicone starts looking more white when it starts to seperate from the glass)
Hope This Helps..

 

[Andos99]

I took an old 45 gal tank out to the boonies and shot it up with a 1000 fps pellet rifle. It took a good 5-6 shots to initially crack the glass.....I was impressed.

 

[jrp1588]

Wow, pretty strong glass.

 

[BillD]

Glass is extremely strong, just not terribly flexible. When under stress, it is obviously more prone to breakage. If you take a tank and support it only on the ends, it should still hold water, but it would take little to break it comparred to a tank that has a wholey supported bottom and is of heavy enough glass or well enough braced. For this reason, my preference is for fully supporting the bottom with styrofoam.