Glass thickness

[DarthOcellaris]

Is 1/8" glass thick enough to construct a rimless 10 gallon tank or should I go with 1/4"? or is THAT still too thin?

[Geoff]

gallons mens nothing, height of tank means everything when dealing with tanks. it is the pressure on the glass. as you go deeper the more pressure. the pressure is the same regardless of the gallonage at that depth. this is why pumps have head pressure ratings. there is just as much pressure on the glass of a 12" tall tank if it has 10g or 1000g in it.

as for the question, i can not remember the glass thickness per height of the tank formula. sorry.

G~

[jrpdriver]

Originally Posted by Geoff

gallons mens nothing, height of tank means everything when dealing with tanks. it is the pressure on the glass. as you go deeper the more pressure. the pressure is the same regardless of the gallonage at that depth. this is why pumps have head pressure ratings. there is just as much pressure on the glass of a 12" tall tank if it has 10g or 1000g in it.

as for the question, i can not remember the glass thickness per height of the tank formula. sorry.

G~

If it is perfectly level, if it is not perfectly level than the amount of water makes a huge difference on the pressure on the glass

[DarthOcellaris]

thanks geof..I actualy knew that but thought it was easier to state '10 gallons' for reference

I went ahead and ordered 1/4" thick glass. Here's a diagram of what I'm building so I think 1/4" SHOULD be sufficient. the height is only 12 inches and I checked the petstore an hour ago and their 10 gallon tanks, which use 1/8" glass , are also 12" high.



as you can see, there is to be a wall 4 inches in so that should also add strength

Thanks again Geoff!

[Loverotties]

That sounds good.

[Wiskey]

Ya, I think 1/4" glass should be plenty,.. I think my 50G uses that size glass.

I agree with you Geoff, to a point,.. as the gallonage gets larger the length of the pain gets longer in your example, which means that there is more area for the pressure to push agenst,.. this could cause the pain to flex to the point of failure. Of course center braces stop this from occuring.

Whiskey

[Geoff]

i should have stated to just go with the 1/4" anyway. 1/8" is super easy to break by accident. just setting an 1/8" glass tank down a bit hard on its corner will crack it.

G~

[DarthOcellaris]

Originally Posted by Geoff

i should have stated to just go with the 1/4" anyway. 1/8" is super easy to break by accident. just setting an 1/8" glass tank down a bit hard on its corner will crack it.

G~

true that. I broke a piece of glass recently in the same manner and ...long story short...my daughters leg got sliced by the sharp edge.

[slant77]

Iam going with 1/4 and a similar tank to the one you have drawn. Maybe one day Ill get the glass and get going on the project. Looks like you have a good plan.

[DarthOcellaris]

Originally Posted by slant77

Iam going with 1/4 and a similar tank to the one you have drawn. Maybe one day Ill get the glass and get going on the project. Looks like you have a good plan.

Hope to see your project develop Thanks for the kind words