View Full Version : Appropriate glass thickness for 1000gal*
peaches
02-10-2006, 6:56 PM
Hello, I am asking for a friend here about her huge aquarium.
She is planning on building a 1000 gallon aquarium devoted to goldfish. But she has a simple question that I don't know the answer for, and was hoping you smart people could help. How thick should the glass be in inches? I've heard 1/2 inch is sufficient but anybody who has owned or built an aquarium of at least 1000 gallons before--any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you very much!
Peach~ ;) (please reply soon!!!!!) thanks!
fishyboi
02-10-2006, 7:00 PM
Im sure it has to be thick maybe 3-5 inches not sure though
rallysman
02-10-2006, 7:10 PM
did a quick search and came up with this. I hope it helps
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/aquariumdiy/l/blcustomtank.htm
There are better calculators out there, but I cant find them right now:)
andy123
02-10-2006, 8:37 PM
from what I was told. 1/4 glass is good up to 2 feet high. it doesn't matter how wide the tank is, it matters on how high the tank is. for some reason the higher the tank the thicker the glass. I think it has to do with the pressure of the weight of water. I see this in acrylic tanks as well as glass tanks. it seems you can have 2 tanks of equal gallons of water, one a high tank and the other standard, the high tank will have thinker glass. I checked out the site above, and I liked it. it is a good resource, everybody building a tank should use it. the only thing I can say is tell your friend to check into tempered glass. 1/4 temp. glass is = to 1 inch plate. 1/4 might be more expensive of equal size. but to buy a 1" think piece of plate will cost you a fortune. plus the plate glass would be very heavy, compared to the tempered glass. when your friend builds the tank you have to post pics of it... would like to see them....
andy
michael
02-10-2006, 8:43 PM
my 300g is 3/4" glass. 2 ft high
rook45
02-10-2006, 11:19 PM
not sure but like andy said it does depend on height
RowingMunkeyCU
02-11-2006, 5:51 PM
Hello, I am asking for a friend here about her huge aquarium.
She is planning on building a 1000 gallon aquarium devoted to goldfish. But she has a simple question that I don't know the answer for, and was hoping you smart people could help. How thick should the glass be in inches? I've heard 1/2 inch is sufficient but anybody who has owned or built an aquarium of at least 1000 gallons before--any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you very much!
Peach~ ;) (please reply soon!!!!!) thanks!
How about some tenative dimensions on the tank? It's impossible to say how thick it needs to be without them.
Mourinho18
02-11-2006, 5:55 PM
I think what you should worry about first is getting your friend off of goldfish :ROFL:
:uhoh:
andy123
02-11-2006, 7:46 PM
just think 1000 gal. aquarium, with no heater. what could be better.
another thing about the tank though, if your going to be putting goldfish in there. I would suggest that you build an indoor pond. 1000 gallons would be easier. and if you really wanted to go wild and crazy, I would add a water fall to it. most of the time gold fish are viewed from up above, unless there like a lion head or something along those lines. that's why I say a pond..
andy
peaches
02-12-2006, 12:42 PM
The aquarium's dimensions are---
-8 feet long BY
-4.1 BY 4 feet high
Sorry I didn't mention this before. (Stupid me!) :screwy:
Thanks for all the input! It's very helpful.
Appreciate all your advice/suggestions greatly!
Peaches~
is it plywood with a glass front or all glass id say 1 inch either way but for gold fish a pond would be the best bet
25mm is the minimum recommended thickness for a 4' tall tank.
peaches
02-12-2006, 8:14 PM
Hi everyone!
Ok, she said she used the calculator I emailed to her and said she figured about 1 inch too like NIC said. That just sounds very wrong. I guess it's not though. I mean, I have a 100-hundred gallon aquarium with a glass thickness of 1/2 a inch!
And this is 1,000 gals! Anymore input on this from anybody else's wisdom I will be glad to read and respond to.
Meanwhile.... She has only had experience with goldfish--so that's why she has decided to put goldfish only in there!!!!!!!!! I think it's sort of crazy not to keep an Arapaima or a school of pacus or anything other than Goldfish in 1,000gals!!!! lol!
Which brings me to two more questions and then I'll stop bugging everyone---
She wants to know what 'other' fish she might try out in this size of aquarium...
And she also wants to know about what live plants she should keep. I don't even know what kind of lighting system you would have on that size aquarium. Should I just tell her to contact professional aquarium builders like Living Color??
At least they'll have much experience and know what thickness of glass they need!
We wouldn't want 1,000 gallons on the floor to clean up the next day.... (Or I guess she could pratice doing the backstroke in her living room also! lol!)
What easy to care for fish would be good in a 1,000 gallons? Especially for someone who has only had experience in goldfish. Maybe a school of Oscars, or a big school of large cichlids---Tinfoil barbs would be easy....And you could easily keep a dozen/two-dozen school in that size with some other fish.
Thank you all!!!!!!!!
Wooten_PE
02-13-2006, 11:42 AM
water wieghs 62.4 lbs per cubic foot, sot he pressure at the bottom of a 4 foot deep tank is 249.6 lbs per square foot. If you can convert pressures into equivalent force and know the strength of glass, then the required thickness can be determined. I will try to remember to work something up after I get off work at 5.