Glass/acrylic thickness for a plywood tank
- Thread starter Alexp08
- Start date
check out the stickies above here is the link.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/glass-acrylic-thickness-calculations.287989/
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/glass-acrylic-thickness-calculations.287989/
Just so you are aware, many people would find many (most/ all) of those thicknesses (identified for glass) in the OP as too thin for the height given. It's not "too thin" to hold water, but too thin to reach the type of safety factor (reduced risk of failure) that people generally want.
I won't debate the reason why since it falls squarely within the confines of how risky one is willing to be or how expert one is at building and designing a tank. Everyone has a unique and personal level of risk that they prefer, and we all have different skill levels.
A person who is risk averse (or has a large tank in a living room overlooking a $2,000 carpet on a wood floor with several expensive fish) and no building skill might opt for a safety factor of at least 3.8. A person who is a risk taker (or who has a small tank in his garage with inexpensive live bearers) and lots of experience might opt for thin glass and a safety factor around 2.0.
Much like any choice that has a risk, no one can tell you what's right. That's the owner's decision. But I think it's fair to say that everyone agrees that the thinner the glass and less well built the tank, the higher the chance of a failure.
My suggestion is to decide on what you want and then ask for input on that choice. Certainly isn't going to hurt the process.
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