And it has Begun(muahahahaha)

[spiff]

dang everyone else here told me 3/8" was the minimum for a 8' tank

I mis-read, you're right: 3/8 for minimum safety, .50 would be ideal.

So it would be pushing it to use that on another 20% length. All this data also probably presumes support around the pane as well.

 

[basslover34]

You can Google "aquarium glass thickness calculator" and find a bunch of useful sites on this. Most will say .50 as the minimum for a 8ft tank at that depth.

they don't consider the bracing on the top of the tank that takes away from the deflection of the glass

 

[Nic]

1/2" be strong enough for 24" depth at any length.. but 96" would be alot easier to build

 

[AndrewMack]

would it be worth all the trouble for a extra 2'?

 

[basslover34]

definetly if you have the space

 

[AndrewMack]

i have exactly 10' to work with, i was thinking 10'x 26"tall but only full to 24" and 40" front to back

 

[The1and only]

I am a big fan of bigger is always better but that 2' might end up doubling the cost of this build. When I priced out a similar build going over 8' really added to the price. Due to the fact most readily available lumber and plywood comes in 8' lengths. Most 10' boards are expensive and harder to find straight. So that and the fact most wood sold in So Cal is pure crap I abandoned the idea all together. If you have the room and the extra bucks basslover is right the extra water = lots of goodness.

 

[AndrewMack]

im going to use 8' plywood but im using a REALLY good 2part epoxy so im not really worried about that part

 

[spiff]

1/2" be strong enough for 24" depth at any length.. but 96" would be alot easier to build

That's not true. The longer the span, the more stress it'll be under and the thicker it will need to be.

 

[AndrewMack]

3/8" was good enough for my 8' so im sure 1/2" will be good, 3/8" is what i was recommended to use but im going with 1/2