Glass Thickness Calculator (Guide, not Gospel)
- Thread starter Rivermud
- Start date
I suppose people need some examples.
Example 1: My last project tank.
The tank is a simple plywood box made from 3/4 A/C plywood. The max water depth is 22 inches. The inside dimensions with max water depth are 46.5 x 22.5 x 22. The calculator tells me that the tank is 99.64 gallons (not bad considering i was just guessing at 100). It also tells me that the water required to fill the tank will approximately weigh 832.02lbs. The biggest thing it tells me is that with a safety factor of 3 i should use 3/8's glass. I also checked what 5/16's glass would be rated at and found a safety factor of 2.
Example 2: Greenterras tank
Dimensions as provided by Greenterra earlier in this thread 92x45x31. The calculator tells us that it will be about 555 gallons. I chose a 3.0 safety factor which showed that the optimum glass thickness would be 11/16's. I then checked what the more common 3/4" glass would rate and found 3.9.
Example 3: Cvermeulens' 600
His stated dimension are 96x48x30. I am going to subtract 1.5 from both the length and width assuming the inside dimension are cut down by 3/4's on each side (the general construction practice) I am also going to assume he's not filling it to 30 inches but probably closer to 27. So, for the calculator I am using 94.5x46.5x27. It tells us that at that level the tank is around 525 gallons. He could be filling it higher, it could be built different.. i dunno. This is purely conjecture. However it seems to be very accurate as the calculator shows that .54 inch glass gives a safety factor of 3. His build is using half inch glass salvaged from a 135.
Hopefully this will shed some light on the calculator and its uses. It is a very good tool to assist you with your tank design. I am happy to answer questions and take suggestions.
Example 1: My last project tank.
The tank is a simple plywood box made from 3/4 A/C plywood. The max water depth is 22 inches. The inside dimensions with max water depth are 46.5 x 22.5 x 22. The calculator tells me that the tank is 99.64 gallons (not bad considering i was just guessing at 100). It also tells me that the water required to fill the tank will approximately weigh 832.02lbs. The biggest thing it tells me is that with a safety factor of 3 i should use 3/8's glass. I also checked what 5/16's glass would be rated at and found a safety factor of 2.
Example 2: Greenterras tank
Dimensions as provided by Greenterra earlier in this thread 92x45x31. The calculator tells us that it will be about 555 gallons. I chose a 3.0 safety factor which showed that the optimum glass thickness would be 11/16's. I then checked what the more common 3/4" glass would rate and found 3.9.
Example 3: Cvermeulens' 600
His stated dimension are 96x48x30. I am going to subtract 1.5 from both the length and width assuming the inside dimension are cut down by 3/4's on each side (the general construction practice) I am also going to assume he's not filling it to 30 inches but probably closer to 27. So, for the calculator I am using 94.5x46.5x27. It tells us that at that level the tank is around 525 gallons. He could be filling it higher, it could be built different.. i dunno. This is purely conjecture. However it seems to be very accurate as the calculator shows that .54 inch glass gives a safety factor of 3. His build is using half inch glass salvaged from a 135.
Hopefully this will shed some light on the calculator and its uses. It is a very good tool to assist you with your tank design. I am happy to answer questions and take suggestions.
Well due to a lack of feedback and a lot of boredom the calculator has been modified one more time. I have added a section to calculate the weight of your glass. It uses the formula for silica glass. If thats not the correct formula, please someone let me know so that I can fix it.
The link is the same... simply click any of the links you see in this topic and it will load the most current version.
Version 1.something or another
The link is the same... simply click any of the links you see in this topic and it will load the most current version.
Version 1.something or another
I think this is a great tool. To be honest I think this should be a sticky over the current glass sticky. That thread is just one huge flame war about how wrong everyone is. When I first came here and started reading into it I didn't trust anything in that thread because everyone had a different opinion on who was right and wrong and at the time I had no real understanding of what should be appropriate.
Thanks Brian, I'm thinking about working the calculator into a new sheet that would allow users to manipulate it directly from the forum rather than using a link. I've been hiding in the background on here lately, it's nice to know the work was useful.
It was definitely useful. I mean it not only calculates every common question about the thickness of the glass how much water the tank will hold the weight of the water and the weight including the glass but it does it conveniently in both standard and metric. Not only that but you can calculate the weight of a sheet of glass which can be valuable for plywood tank builders. I recently used it to see how much a sheet of glass would weigh and realized I should go with acrylic because of the weight alone.The only improvements I could suggest is for it to calculate acrylic thickness as well and I think it would be the end all to all online tank calculators. Why its not a sticky I don't know but I think this kind of hard work and talent shouldn't get buried with all of the other lifeless threads.
Ask, and ye shall receive.
2.0
Glass and Acrylic Calculator
Again, guide not gospel.....
I have added an acrylic wall thickness calculation to the sheet. The calculation is based off of data I have from Acrylite. Generally I would think it's safe to assume that proper cell cast acrylic should be similar from brand to brand. Regardless, this will calculate the thickness for a supported wall and an unsupported wall. If you are not sure what supported or unsupported means, please build your tank using glass instead of plexi.
Let me know what you think, I have tested it a bit but there still could be errors. If you find any errors, please post them here.
New Calculator
2.0
Glass and Acrylic Calculator
Again, guide not gospel.....
I have added an acrylic wall thickness calculation to the sheet. The calculation is based off of data I have from Acrylite. Generally I would think it's safe to assume that proper cell cast acrylic should be similar from brand to brand. Regardless, this will calculate the thickness for a supported wall and an unsupported wall. If you are not sure what supported or unsupported means, please build your tank using glass instead of plexi.
Let me know what you think, I have tested it a bit but there still could be errors. If you find any errors, please post them here.
New Calculator
