Glass thickness and other physical aspects of building a fish tank

[Rishab]

I recently saw a fish tank of dimensions 4'x15"x15" built outta 5mm glass but it was not in use .. i was wondering if 5mm could handle the water pressure or impact of the fish if there are fishes like midas or red devils which are known to break the glass. Can someone post a link to learn the physics behind making a safe, glass fish fish tank please?

 

[BIG-G]

There are several on line calculators to plug in you data and get glass thickness and safety factors.
Some tanks can get by with thinner glass because of hight and bracing.
Tempered glass may also allow for thinner glass.
The hight of the tank place the largest roll in pressure and glass thickness.
As far as I know the actual fish that may be kept isn’t factored in but the additional safety factor will allow for some minor impacts and protection against some types of stress on the glass.

look through the DIY section here on MFK

Glass/Acrylic Thickness Calculations

This is a bit of a research compilation for building your own glass or acrylic tank. Please feel free to post up another great site or thread that discusses the same topic. The more we have listed, the better we can compare all of them and come up with some solid guidelines. Thanks

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Here is one I found on line.

Aquarium Glass Thickness Calculator

Given below is the online aquarium glass thickness calculator which helps you to calculate a volume of an aquarium, glass area, glass thickness, weight of glass and weight of water in a glass based on the length, width, height, and safety factor.

www.easycalculation.com

 

[Rocksor]

Also, use the correct silicone adhesive. The GE 1 Silicone from Home Depot/Lowes, is rated by GE as not being as strong as the GE RTV 1000, for instance.

 

[Rishab]

There are several on line calculators to plug in you data and get glass thickness and safety factors.
Some tanks can get by with thinner glass because of hight and bracing.
Tempered glass may also allow for thinner glass.
The hight of the tank place the largest roll in pressure and glass thickness.
As far as I know the actual fish that may be kept isn’t factored in but the additional safety factor will allow for some minor impacts and protection against some types of stress on the glass.

look through the DIY section here on MFK

Glass/Acrylic Thickness Calculations

This is a bit of a research compilation for building your own glass or acrylic tank. Please feel free to post up another great site or thread that discusses the same topic. The more we have listed, the better we can compare all of them and come up with some solid guidelines. Thanks

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Here is one I found on line.

Aquarium Glass Thickness Calculator

Given below is the online aquarium glass thickness calculator which helps you to calculate a volume of an aquarium, glass area, glass thickness, weight of glass and weight of water in a glass based on the length, width, height, and safety factor.

www.easycalculation.com

Greetings, Mr. Big G.. what height place are you talking about sir? The depth of the tank? Also do you think it is possible to build a 4ftx15x15 inch glass tank with 5mm glass if safety is a big concern ?

 

[esoxlucius]

Greetings, Mr. Big G.. what height place are you talking about sir? The depth of the tank? Also do you think it is possible to build a 4ftx15x15 inch glass tank with 5mm glass if safety is a big concern ?

According to the info that BIG-G kindly linked, the closest tank size to your 48x15x15 is one of 48x15x18, and it's recommended that 6mm glass is used on those dimensions. Bearing in mind your tank is 3" shorter heightwise, meaning slightly less pressure, then theoretically, according to the list, you could get away with 5mm.

Personally though, because i'm a better safe than sorry type guy, I wouldn't feel confident that the tank would last long term and so i wouldn't do it. But that's just me.

Is the tank going to be suitably braced? Is it going in an area where there's a lot of "boisterous" traffic, as in children? Are you indeed, as you alluded to, planning on stocking it with a breed of fish that may eventually end up butting the tank, potentially breaking the 5mm glass?

It's your call, read the info provided and you decide.