16ft plywood tank questions

[Lukemitchell]

hi everyone
I’m thinking of doing a plywood tank in my garage, I have space to build a 16ft by 5ft by 2.5ft, would I be able to build it with just one piece of glass ? If so what sort of bracing would I need and what type of glass would need to get?
If I couldn’t do it in one piece what’s the smallest centre bracing I could get away with and what size glass would I need for that?
I’ve tried to find a similar thread but had no luck really, if someone could shed some light on it I will be much appreciative.
Thanks

 

[wannadivesteve]

Finding a 16 foot piece of glass might be some work or at a minimum quite expensive. I’ve been looking to make a longer tank and found glass to 130 inches in my area by special order without going crazy on a per sqft price.

My thinking is I don’t care for the idea of a brace smack-dab in the middle, so I’ve been thinking about putting the longer pane in the middle between two vertical braces then having shorter panes on either side of the center window, at which point I could use a readily found 8 foot length between two 4 foot lengths. Two vertical braces will potentially have more issues bracing-wise than one but I think it might end up looking better in the long run.

In my case I’ve got a 38 foot wall available so I could in theory have a really long tank, but we’re thinking of putting in a double wide patio door centered on that wall some time down the line. I’ve had to revise my aquarium length downward so I won’t have to destroy it to build the patio door. Probably wii end up at 12-13 feet in length.

As far as smallest (thinnest) vertical brace goes, I’m thinking of it needing to be a minimum of around 3.5 inches so you’ve got 1.5 to 1.75 inches of caulking area for each sheet of glass, and that brace better be double or triple thick (if using plywood) and well braced across the top at the same point. There are a few builds if seen on this website using 4x4s that look solid as a rock. I’m thinking if I do mine the plywood will probably be doubled up and eurobraced and crossbraced as well, and likely fiberglassed inside and out. I’m worried that the longer the length and more ljoints” involved, the more it’s going to flex.

If you’re feeling adventurous you could try joining two lengths of acrylic into one. The acrylic build thread that hit the top of the page recently mentions it but really doesn’t give clear specific step by step instructions.

 

[Lukemitchell]

Finding a 16 foot piece of glass might be some work or at a minimum quite expensive. I’ve been looking to make a longer tank and found glass to 130 inches in my area by special order without going crazy on a per sqft price.

My thinking is I don’t care for the idea of a brace smack-dab in the middle, so I’ve been thinking about putting the longer pane in the middle between two vertical braces then having shorter panes on either side of the center window, at which point I could use a readily found 8 foot length between two 4 foot lengths. Two vertical braces will potentially have more issues bracing-wise than one but I think it might end up looking better in the long run.

In my case I’ve got a 38 foot wall available so I could in theory have a really long tank, but we’re thinking of putting in a double wide patio door centered on that wall some time down the line. I’ve had to revise my aquarium length downward so I won’t have to destroy it to build the patio door. Probably wii end up at 12-13 feet in length.

As far as smallest (thinnest) vertical brace goes, I’m thinking of it needing to be a minimum of around 3.5 inches so you’ve got 1.5 to 1.75 inches of caulking area for each sheet of glass, and that brace better be double or triple thick (if using plywood) and well braced across the top at the same point. There are a few builds if seen on this website using 4x4s that look solid as a rock. I’m thinking if I do mine the plywood will probably be doubled up and eurobraced and crossbraced as well, and likely fiberglassed inside and out. I’m worried that the longer the length and more ljoints” involved, the more it’s going to flex.

If you’re feeling adventurous you could try joining two lengths of acrylic into one. The acrylic build thread that hit the top of the page recently mentions it but really doesn’t give clear specific step by step instructions.

Thanks for the reply,

I can see what you mean with the 2 side braces instead of the centre brace bang in the middle, but I’m looking to try get it without a brace and I’ve spoke to a few people and ones suggested building the tank out of breeze blocks and with 19mm glass I could get away without a brace.