glass thickness - incorporating the kid factor

[thezombiesarecoming]

hey all. we just had a disastrous encounter with a recently rebuilt 93 gallon tank: the front glass pane shattered when a rock inside the tank fell against it. we're planning on replacing the glass and starting again, this time with the lesson learned that rocks should be glued together if i plan on stacking them...

anyways, we have an 8 month old little girl and my boyfriend was thinking about glass thickness. he's wondering if a rock falling against the glass on the inside can crack it, what will happen when our daughter decides to slam one of her toys against the glass from the outside (we understand there's a big difference there between a jagged-ish rock and a blunt plastic toy wielded by a toddler, but still, the concern of having the tank break in her face is there).

so, our question: what would be an ideal glass thickness to prevent this? i've looked at some of the glass thickness calculators posted on here and they range from only 6mm to 9mm thick. the tank is fairly old and both long panes had broken (it was my dad's from way back when). my boyfriend bought new glass and put the whole thing back together once already. however, the glass that's on there now is only about 5 mm thick. that seems awfully thin now in retrospect. tank dimenions: 52"/132cm long x 22"/56cm wide x 22"/56cm tall. the two short end panes are original to the tank and are thicker glass: 6mm. when my boyfriend bought the replacement panes, he told the glass place what it was for and they claimed it to be proper type for the tank.

so, is a 6-9mm thickness okay even when taking into account a child that will be bashing things against it? i also have a 55 gallon tank and the glass on it is WAY thicker than any of the glass on the 93 gallon...?

any advice/experience is welcomed. thanks!

 

[mdb_talon]

Lot of people on here more knowledgable than me on the subject, but I would not use less than 8mm on that tank with or without a toddler.

I have kids at home and have had some concern about the same thing. With the correct size glass I dont think there is too much chance that they can break it with a toy or something. Really the only thing I worry about is large marbles or something like that being thrown around when they get a bit older or something like that.

 

[Pharaoh]

With a safety factor of about 3.8, you would be looking at 10mm glass for that tank. I would recommend this as a minimum for the tank. If you want to be "extra" safe, then go higher.

 

[thezombiesarecoming]

thanks for the info.

as an aside, which i find amusing, called up the glass store that sold my boyfriend the new glass panes which are currently on the tank (one of which was broken). he talked to the exact same guy that sold him the glass before and who advised he get the 5mm thick glass. now the guy insists that the glass should be way thicker than that. of course. now that there's been a problem 5mm isn't enough... my b/f admits that he should've done a bit of research before buying the original glass (he did this whole thing without my knowledge, as it was a birthday present for me, and at the time he knew next to nothing about aquariums), but still, to be told the wrong thing by someone who claims to know what he's talking about which ends up being wrong... and i can't help but wonder if the glass had been thicker if this whole fiasco might've been prevented. ah well. live and learn...

 

[Pharaoh]

Just teaches us the lesson that you have to verify everything. Be wary of know-it-alls.