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Glass/Acrylic Thickness Calculations

I imagine that someone has probably asked this already, but if I couldn't find 1.25" glass, would a .75" and a .5" sandwiched together work instead?

Thx,
AZR
 
It appears some of the original calculator sites are not being maintained, which is unfortunate. The GARF site (www.garf.org) has changed so their tank calculator, which provides glass thickness, is a bit harder to find (http://www.garf.org/navagation.html).

Here's a bit of a technical site on aquarium glass thickness calculations, however it's in the UK so the specs are all metric. A basic metric converter utility can deal with this of course.

http://www.aquarium-glass.co.uk
 
So
mfreader said:
It appears some of the original calculator sites are not being maintained, which is unfortunate. The GARF site (www.garf.org) has changed so their tank calculator, which provides glass thickness, is a bit harder to find (http://www.garf.org/navagation.html).

Here's a bit of a technical site on aquarium glass thickness calculations, however it's in the UK so the specs are all metric. A basic metric converter utility can deal with this of course.

http://www.aquarium-glass.co.uk
Click to expand...

So for a larger tank I should use Laminated Annealed Glass
 
spencer0t said:
So

So for a larger tank I should use Laminated Annealed Glass
Click to expand...

I'm no glass engineer/expert. The info at that UK site seems to recommend laminated glass for large panels. I think laminated glass is what you see in car windshields, so instead of blowing apart, it is supposed to fracture as a sheet and therefore leak if stressed. His analogy for tempered (toughened) glass is pretty graphic--with water pressure behind the little shattered bits--would be like a shotgun blast.

It appears, based on your suggested tank size (10x5x5 ft), the approx. force along the bottom seam of a 10 foot by 5 foot window may be a bit over 3,000 lbs (@ 2.17 lbs/sq in), but you need to do the calculations or get a qualified engineer to do them.
 
It seems to me the calculator only works for tanks with lengths longer than their height. I'm considering a 20x11x 26tall tank and it suggests 3/4" thick which makes no sense. I figure 3/8 would be more than sufficient. Am I wrong?
 
it is good to have an idea on how thick of glass to get when making your own aquarium
 
I got a sweet deal on 2 sheets of half 1/2 inch acrylic measuring 48x48 i am wondering if anyone can tell me the maximum width I can make the tank that it will be safe without Bowing Out because I would rather not cut them and it will be a plywood tank
 
Im having a hard time inputing numbers on the calculator, maybe due to cell pgone and not computer?? Lookong to build a 72x36x36 closed top tank
 
I want to build and tank, size 8'Lx2'wx2'h
My local acrylic provider has 2 piece of Acrylic 8x4 at a thickness of 1/4 inch. I dont think thats enough, so what thickness you guys think is safe for that set up.
(Sorry the calculator app is not working for me =( it says error )
 
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