Buttom support for tank

[william.peeters]

Hi,

I recently went to visit a friend fish breeder and he had his tanks set up without a full buttom support, only 2, 5-6 cm bars on the outside of the buttom of the tank where supported. the tanks where 100 (length)x50x50.

Is this a common thing? And are there calculators for the tickness of the buttom plate, I think it was the same as the walls for him; 8 mm. He said he never had any issues with it.

Here a photo to make it all more clear.

 

[Drstrangelove]

8mm is the proper thickness for a 100x50x50 tank (assuming those are metric) to obtain a decent safety factor (3+.) Note of course that he appears to have none of the tanks actually full which increases the safety factor.

Regardless, as long as the supports are level, the tanks are fine as they appear to be supported. Many people support glass along all of it's edges. Certainly it doesn't hurt to do so, might indeed be recommended if one purchases an old tank of dubious quality, and naturally provides a great deal of peace of mind, but is not typically needed (as your friend can attest.)


Related thread below, although this has been discussed many times.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...uarium-support-under-the-corners-only.353909/

 

[william.peeters]

thanks, I want to make a stand of 80lx40wx40h (cm), would 6mm glass be sufficient? Considering i only want to support them along its sides?
Is the bottom plate the most stressed? Should i make a 8mm out of this one?

 

[Drstrangelove]

Assuming good plate glass, 6 mm equates to ~ 3.0 - 3.8 safety factor for a 80 cm x 40 cm x40 cm tank. So, yes that would be a good size for that tank.

I don't know if the bottom plate is the most stressed (not a structural or materials engineer) although if I had to guess, I might guess so. Using a thicker glass on the bottom doesn't hurt, but even 7mm glass would be much safer. If the cost difference of 6 to 7 to 8 mm was small, and I wanted to feel safer, sure, I'd consider going a little thicker on the bottom.

But that's me. I don't mind spending a little more to raise my "peace of mind."

If the glass wasn't new and of good quality, I would definitely consider using thicker glass.