Glass thickness for Outdoor Pond.. Plz Help!!

Christian B

Feeder Fish
Jun 10, 2015
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0
1
37
Hello,

Im new to the forum, Im in the process of moving and thinking of making a pond in my patio. I saw this youtube video :
and was inspired to make a similar one. The back side of the pond will be stuck to the wall, the lateral sides will be cement and the front side will be mostly glass (similar to the youtube video I posted). The dimensions will be 10´x 4´x 4´ approximately, If anyone can please tell me how thick the glass would need to be. I don´t think it would need to be that thick since 3 sides of the pond will be cement, therefore the glass won´t have that much pressure, but then again I know nothing about this and would greatly appreciate any help that anyone can provide.

Thanks
 

Drstrangelove

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Oct 21, 2012
2,693
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164
San Francisco
What exactly do you mean by "the back side of the pond will be stuck to the wall...?"


As for glass thickness:

Assuming that you have some reasonable bracing across the top, and assuming the exposed glass and water depth will both be 48" high, and assuming the glass will be 10-feet long, you'll want 31mm thick plate glass.

However, if you use two 5-foot long pieces of glass (and have a strong center frame to hold the two pieces), you can get by with 25mm glass. (In relatively short distances, shorter glass will deflect less than longer glass, so you can use thinner pieces.)

In addition, if you use two 5-foot pieces AND if you have a 48" tall tank, but only keep the water 40" high, you can reduce it further to 21mm glass. (Lower water height reduces pressure on the glass. Just remember not to go past 40" later!) That's likely what is being done in the pond in your video.

So you have some options. However, I would expect that 31mm glass all in one 10 foot piece will be far more expensive than two 5-foot pieces that are 21mm thick. Partly this is because 31mm is 50% more glass and is beyond the capabilities of many glass shops and partly because most glass AFAIK is expected to be 8 feet or less. I don't work in that industry, but don't be shocked at the differences.

FYI, I'm using a 3.0 safety factor.

One other thing to keep in mind, is that if the glass is exposed to routine and wide temperature fluctuations on the patio, it might affect it's strength. I'm not certain of that, but I'd look for more input on that issue. E.g, if the outside of the glass is exposed to 90F while the inside is kept at 78F in the day, and that becomes the reverse (60F and 78F respectively), I'd have a concern that atypical stress may occur inside the glass. Just a question that I'd have if that is what is going to happen.:confused:
 
Last edited:

Lepisosteus

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
May 20, 2014
3,732
3,387
164
Ontario, Canada
yea man when playing with thousands of gallons its best o be safe, use thick glass or even shorten the viewing windows even more
 

Bartlettaj

Feeder Fish
Apr 16, 2020
1
0
1
35
What exactly do you mean by "the back side of the pond will be stuck to the wall...?"


As for glass thickness:

Assuming that you have some reasonable bracing across the top, and assuming the exposed glass and water depth will both be 48" high, and assuming the glass will be 10-feet long, you'll want 31mm thick plate glass.

However, if you use two 5-foot long pieces of glass (and have a strong center frame to hold the two pieces), you can get by with 25mm glass. (In relatively short distances, shorter glass will deflect less than longer glass, so you can use thinner pieces.)

In addition, if you use two 5-foot pieces AND if you have a 48" tall tank, but only keep the water 40" high, you can reduce it further to 21mm glass. (Lower water height reduces pressure on the glass. Just remember not to go past 40" later!) That's likely what is being done in the pond in your video.

So you have some options. However, I would expect that 31mm glass all in one 10 foot piece will be far more expensive than two 5-foot pieces that are 21mm thick. Partly this is because 31mm is 50% more glass and is beyond the capabilities of many glass shops and partly because most glass AFAIK is expected to be 8 feet or less. I don't work in that industry, but don't be shocked at the differences.

FYI, I'm using a 3.0 safety factor.

One other thing to keep in mind, is that if the glass is exposed to routine and wide temperature fluctuations on the patio, it might affect it's strength. I'm not certain of that, but I'd look for more input on that issue. E.g, if the outside of the glass is exposed to 90F while the inside is kept at 78F in the day, and that becomes the reverse (60F and 78F respectively), I'd have a concern that atypical stress may occur inside the glass. Just a question that I'd have if that is what is going to happen.:confused:

hi, an you explain what you mean by reasonable bracing across the top? Do you mean as some sort of bar across the top of the glass to support it?
im planning my own pond design as above and have found your advice pretty useful - just need clarification on a few bit’s!
many thanks
 
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