Multiple viewing windows - glass thicknessl

Q

Quo Vadis

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2014
912
21
18
Wisconsin
I am currently planning my plywood tank build, and I am trying to find a busted large aquarium to recycle the glass from. The footprint will be ~78'x40", and I'd like it to be somewhat tall so I can have a greater volume. Would it be possible to do two viewing windows, one on top of each other (obviously with a strip of plywood between them), and if so how thick would the glass have to be if it is two separate windows? It would look kind of like this:
____________________________________
l ______________________________ l
l l l l
l l l l
l l_____________________________ l l
l ______________________________ l
l l l l
l l l l
l l_____________________________ l l
l___________________________________l

EDIT: That picture did not turn out when I posted the post that way it is supposed to look, but I think you can still tell what I mean.
 
Drstrangelove

Drstrangelove

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Oct 21, 2012
2,693
1,227
164
San Francisco
You didn't post the height, or I missed it.

The bottom piece will have to be thick enough to withstand the pressure at the bottom. Making it two pieces (both shorter than one single piece) might help a little as the top piece can be thinner, but it might not reduce the thickness needed on the bottom panel by much (as compared one single piece.)

Interesting idea though. I haven't seen any calculators that work exactly the way this is designed and I don't know glass structural integrity well enough to estimate the effect. It still is interesting as a tall tank (e.g., 4 feet) could in theory be covered by a thicker 2 foot panel on the bottom and a thinner 2 foot panel on the top. Saves a lot of cash.

E.g., let's say the tank is 4 feet tall. I would suggest calculating the thickness of the bottom piece as if it was one piece (4 feet from top to bottom) and then calculate the top piece as if it was for a tank that was 2 feet tall. I think that would be spot on for the top piece, but too thick on the bottom, but I don't know how to adjust for that.
 
B

brich999

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2010
4,312
11
38
New Hampshire
If you are planning to tear apart tanks for the viewing windows, you will probably be limited to about 25-30" tall. Even on say a 150g tank with front pane being 72x27 it is 1/2" glass which is ok for that height but if you wanted another panel below it you would probably need about double the thickness. Height is the determining factor on glass thickness so going double high is scary and makes maintenance a pain if you go much over 30" deep
 
Q

Quo Vadis

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 12, 2014
912
21
18
Wisconsin
Hmm, ok, thanks for the feedback. I was just curious. I suppose a better way to add extra volume (I am limited for footprint to the measurements I stated, 78"x 40") is to add a decent sized sump underneath. I am think I will use a 75g tank for it... or maybe I'll make the sump as part of the build. Is there any good info on building cheap sumps?
 
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