Aquarium Depth Glass/Acrylic Thickness Question?

[Michael Populus]

Something Ive always wondered and Im about to start a new build and figured this would be a good place to ask. Ive looked through questions similar and havent seen this asked ( While im sure it has been ).

I know thickness is based on depth but what if i was to do a 40 foot deep but only had a viewing of the top 2 foot. Could I use 1/2 glass because im still within 2 foot of depth?

I would be doing a (Plywood) 15 foot long, 4 foot wide, and 6 foot deep in wall tank but I was going to only have the top 2-3 foot visible in terms of viewing. I have some leftover 3/4 in acrylic right now which is more than i need for 2 foot deep tank but technically its a 6 foot deep tank. If I keep the viewing panel at the top of the water column could i not use a thinner acrylic because there isnt as much outward pressure?

 

[wannadivesteve]

As long as it's well braced below in theory you are fine with glass or acrylic for a two foot high aquarium if placed in those top two feet.

Get yourself a ginormous school of hatchet fish and you're set. Anything other than top swimmers like arrowanas and I'd be worried about my fish staying in the bottom four feet and rarely seeing them.

 

[Michael Populus]

Its not gonna be a tank for viewing so much as a holding tank for some rather large fish that are outgrowing my 500. Im trying to do it cheap so im using a lot of stuff that left over but I didnt want to go out and buy more glass or acrylic if i can use what i have.

 

[Michael Populus]

Does the width of the tank make a difference. So Say I take a 75 gallon tank and took the front panel off. Did the same 4x2 but made it 5 foot deep. Would that panel still hold up?

 

[TwoHedWlf]

Does the width of the tank make a difference. So Say I take a 75 gallon tank and took the front panel off. Did the same 4x2 but made it 5 foot deep. Would that panel still hold up?

The tank's dimensions are irrelevant, it's the pane's dimensions that matter. So a 4X2 pane needs to be about 10mm+ regardless of if the water extends 2 feet behind it or 2 miles.

 

[Michael Populus]

The tank's dimensions are irrelevant, it's the pane's dimensions that matter. So a 4X2 pane needs to be about 10mm+ regardless of if the water extends 2 feet behind it or 2 miles.

I was almost positive thats how it worked, just wanted to hear it from someone else to solidify haha. Thanks!

 

[Michael Populus]

Since I have people answering, add another thing to this,

How would I calculate this

Tank is 12 foot long 4 foot wide and 6 foot deep. Viewing window is going to be 8x2 and its a plywood tank. Now what if i want to take that same size but move it all the way to the bottom. So in this case you would have 4 foot of water on top of the viewing window. How would you calculate the thickness?

 

[wannadivesteve]

If you put the glass at the bottom you’d need to treat it as though it’s a six foot tall pane. Length probably has some bearing on thickness required due to longer lengths bending more readily if not braced well, but for the most part depth is the big determining factor on water pressure.