Acrylic thickness?

[Cichlas]

What thickness of acrylic would you guys recommend for 9ft front panel for a water depth of 30"-36"?

 

[robkob]

1.25" minimum. 1.5" would be my preference, but it's expensive material.

 

[stingrayguy]

2inch

 

[Cichlas]

Thanks folks.

So, I have 1.25 upto 2" so far, that is a big difference in price between the two. Any solid info available anywhere?

Just to fill in a bit more detail in case it makes any difference, there would be a stainless steel angle frame with the acrylic front panel within that, so it would be supported all the way around. I'll also fix the height to 30" rather than 36" if that helps.

 

[wlecount]

There's a pet store by me that has a 96"X48"X48" acrylic tank that used 1" or 1.25" acrylic. I think you could get away with 1", but 1.25" or even 1.5" would be best. The price difference from the site i looked at shows that jump from 1 to 1.25 costing almost a grand more.

 

[rallysman]

I have a 300 that is 30" tall and 8 feet wide that uses 1/2". I would recommend thicker though. It does bow a bit.

 

[robkob]

I'd still prefer 1.5"; there's too many horror stores out there with people building tanks out of 1/2" - 1" material that are too large for glass that thin.

And don't let anyone talk you into using thinner material for the other 5 pieces. Huge tanks exploding tanks can kill.

 

[Cichlas]

Thanks for info guys. Gives me something better to go on. The other sides will be ply linings straight up against brick walls.