What is a good viewing panel size for a 96 x 35 x 36 plywood aquarium? I can't seem to get a large sheet of thick glass for under $1500.
Viewing Panel size for 475 Gallon Plywood Aquarium?
- Thread starter Aro9465
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Honestly I could work with something like a 72x24 on that size tank, 1/2" glass which would probably run you about half that 1500 delivered to your home. As long as your fish aren't very reclusive you should be able to see plenty of constant action.
Glass has gotten pretty stupid lately, it's about 4x the price of what I was paying 5-6 years ago to deliver plate glass.
Glass has gotten pretty stupid lately, it's about 4x the price of what I was paying 5-6 years ago to deliver plate glass.
Thanks so much for your response! Been really quiet out here and I haven't been able to find out more info. Seems the hobby is a bit slow lately I guess.
And so a tank at that height (say 36") and with dimensions 96L and 35W would be fine with 12mm or 1/2" glass if I made the glass that 72x24 you mentioned? I'd assume going taller on the glass would require thicker glass to save from blowouts?
I've been hearing a lot of people mention 3/4" and 19mm glass as seemingly my only option given that the taller the glass, the deeper the water - and therefore thicker glass is required. But I don't really know how to calculate the safety of it - and didn't know whether the size of the glass mentioned in relation to the volume of water was a factor. As in - was it the volume of water that required thickness or the volume along with the height of the panel. (IE - could I get away with thinner glass if the viewing panel was smaller)
Like I said - that 19mm does NOT come cheap. And it seems in Canada at least - glass prices are just out of this world too. Most places won;t even go above 12mm either in my area. Building plywood was to save money, and I preferred glass due to the lack of bracing it requires vs acrylic. I'm not much a builder but wanted to give this a shot so the easier the better.
And yes I've noticed that. I was going to have an acrylic tank built 5 or so years ago and now the prices on them are almost doubled so figured I'd build myself and make it a project.
I understand your concerns perfectly. A 72x24 in 1/2" would be fine if I was building this tank for myself. What i often find is that with custom, DIY projects like this the builder has a certain thing in mind and is unwilling to compromise on what's outside there vision. I've found through my own trial and error that a slightly smaller window is perfectly acceptable and some fish even appreciate the more limited exposure. If you think about it you would still see about 95% of that tank through a 72x24 window.
Remember that the hydrostatic force on the front panel is highest at the very bottom and center of the tank directly under the window, so design the front window/frame/panel in such a way that it's reinforced...I don't think a single panel of ply would hold at 36" height even with the stiffness of the glass window.
As in reinforced along all of the edges or that bottom center portion of the viewing window? What kind of bracing would you recommend in a case like this? I was thinking of doing something similar to what The KingofDYI did in his build guide. He had built the box portion and then just sat the glass down with epoxy or whatever it was. But I may need / want to do more than that.
And are there any calculations I can do to calculate the hydrostatic force and thickness etc? So I can better understand - the smaller the viewing panel - generally the thinner you can get away with correct? So it's more to do with the height of the glass itself exposed to a volume of water vs the total volume being contained?