120" tank question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
lehrscott4;3659751; said:
If it went by strictly height, i could build a 60"x60"x15" out of 1/4 inch glass but we know that wouldnt work.


It probably would actually. Pressure = density X gravity X depth. Nowhere in the equation does width or length come in. If it did then everyone ship in the ocean would end up with crushed hulls.

There are practical concerns in my opinion though. With a 55 gallon mess I am more likely to take the risk of 1/4 glass. If I was gonna put 300 or 400 gallons in my living room though I would want a better safety factor.
 
ARE U KIDDING ME
A few silver arowanas will outgrow that tank in 4 months
due to the width!
 
^^^agreed that tank isnt good for any monster...dont waste your time....save some money, order thicker glass and build a wider tank.
 
Arrowanas like to swim. They will have 10 feet in lenght to swim back and forth. ive kept them before in a 55 and they seemed comfortable until reaching around 15 inches (about 18 months) when i moved it into an 800 gallon tank where they live today. So do you guys think that the glass would be ok? My cost for the tank in 1/4 inch glass is $57 in materials. 3/8" jumps up to $375 and 1/2" would be $425. So you can see why i want to stick with 1/4 inch glass. Im not for sure about what im stocking it with, i just thought id do a few silvers while i work on their 400.
 
Also, its quite common for an Oscar or headbanger to be kept in a standard 55, so why wouldnt one 2 1/2 times as long be that much better?
 
lehrscott4;3659911; said:
Arrowanas like to swim. They will have 10 feet in lenght to swim back and forth. ive kept them before in a 55 and they seemed comfortable until reaching around 15 inches (about 18 months) when i moved it into an 800 gallon tank where they live today. So do you guys think that the glass would be ok? My cost for the tank in 1/4 inch glass is $57 in materials. 3/8" jumps up to $375 and 1/2" would be $425. So you can see why i want to stick with 1/4 inch glass. Im not for sure about what im stocking it with, i just thought id do a few silvers while i work on their 400.

Seems your experience with silver aros is lacking. No matter how your past aro was 15 years ago I would imagine that it's growth was stunted do to lack of water changes. Average growth for a silver aro is 1-1.5" per month, if heaivly fed likely to see even 2-3" per month.
 
I always change 50% water each week on all 56 of my tanks. Ive never had a problem with any of the arrowanas i have kept, andd our local zoo even has one of mine in their amazon display tank. I never feed live food because i dont want the fish becoming dependant on it, usually pellets and ocassional treats. Most anyone would agree that 1" per month is about the fastest growth rate of any fish.
 
lehrscott4;3659950; said:
I always change 50% water each week on all 56 of my tanks. Ive never had a problem with any of the arrowanas i have kept, andd our local zoo even has one of mine in their amazon display tank. I never feed live food because i dont want the fish becoming dependant on it, usually pellets and ocassional treats. Most anyone would agree that 1" per month is about the fastest growth rate of any fish.[/QUOTE]

There are quite a few silver arowana owners that will tell you different. But I guess you know better considering you have an aro that now lives at a zoo. Another that is at one of your local bar and grill and the fact that you professionally build tanks for a living.
 
Wow, there are a lot of misconceptions about glass thickness and pressure being thrown around in this thread. Let's see if I can help clear things up.

Length and depth both have to be considered when building an aquarium. The wider the tank, the more directed pressure on the front viewing pane. The very center of that pane will receive the greatest stress. Bracing does help with this in that it reduces the pressure in essence by dividing the tank in half or 3rds or whatever depending on the number of braces. The pressure on the ends does not increase by any significant amount due to length, the outward pressure is static on all panes, volume does not affect this, depth does.

Your design is 135 gallons, it has a safety factor of 1.6 without bracing. With bracing similar to what you are calling for it should have a 3+ safety factor.

As for the reason everyone is saying that the tank is small for your fish is that they don't have a wide enough area to comfortably turn around in. Widening your tank will not reduce your safety factor. You could easilly build it 120*20*20 with the bracing you plan to implement. A word of caution however, bracing does not support the entire pane, only the top. This means that although it does help with structural integrity, it cannot overcome the pressures of depth. Be wary of that when you build.

I'm not sure where you are getting strange numbers from when it comes to calculators, though if you used some of the broken ones like the calcs based off of the New Zealand calculator you could get false readings on a few things... I'm pretty sure that the calcs on the sticky all use basically the same formula, and it is correct.
 
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