Glass thickness

[JDTune]

I'm working on building a triangle shaped plywood aquarium that I'll use as an entertainment center. In new to this forum and looked around but couldn't find any answers to my question. So here it is... In my area I can't seem to find any half inch or larger glass for the size I want. The front will have about 5 feet of viewing space by about 26-28 inches tall. Is there a way to use 1/4 inch glass and brace it for that size of a piece of glass? I have more free 1/4 inch glass for free in my area than I know what to do with.


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[Drstrangelove]

1/4" at 26" high isn't even adequate for a safety factor of 1.0. I could see 1/4" getting you to around 16" high.

With 1/4", you could build the tank so the glass runs from the water level down 16", then add more depth below that, e.g., a 20" high tank, with the bottom 4" being just plywood.

I'm assuming that the pyramid shape doesn't change the overall stress and support on the glass than a rectangular shape, but at 5 feet in length, I would imagine it would be highly similar.

 

[David R]

Toughened 1/4" glass might do it, but regular float glass is nowhere near strong enough.

 

[JDTune]

Thanks. I was mainly trying to avoid the $200 piece of glass lol. I may try out the top 16" idea. I don't much like not seeing the bottom 10 inches though.


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[JDTune]

Oh... By triangle shaped I mean a corner piece. Not a pyramid.


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[David R]

How long are you planning on keeping the tank for? Saving a few bucks to end up with a tank that isn't going to be half as good to look at seems foolish to me. Keep an eye out for a cracked/used tank with a 5x2' panel you could use, might be cheaper than buying the glass new.

 

[JDTune]

Very true. I plan on keeping it a long time so ill keep an eye out. Maybe I can find a broken 55 gallon. It's only 4' but still would be a lot better than a 16" tall glass


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