Need help on triangular tank

[cpm6t]

Okay here is what I need to know. Thanks to all the help in advance. (I posted this prior in outdoor pond section but I need to figure out the glass size so I put it here)

1. I am planning to build the outdoor tank as shown in the picture. It will be made of concrete. The plat form is already there which is concrete.

2. There will be a concrete frame on all sides of the glass (the top length of the glass will have at least 3" - 4" thick concrete to avoid bending).

3. I do have access to 12 mm thickness glass. I need help on deciding the viewing glass length and height that I can go up to.

I would like to have a minimum of 7' X 2' glass window. Is that size window Okay with 12mm glass thicknes?
If that is not a problem, is it safe to go up to 7' X 2.5' or 8' X 2.5' window?

(Note that I plan to get the 12mm glass tempered, but from what I have read I should not count that to add strength since tempering strength can vary)

 

[cpm6t]

Please comment on the following viewing glass sizes. (all with 12 mm glass)
1. 7' X 2'
2. 8' X 2'
3. 7' X 2.5'
4. 8' X 2.5'

 

[cpm6t]

Any input please? I need to place an order for the glass within next couple of days. Thanks guys, I really need some help here.

 

[Pharaoh]

1. 11.4mm
2. 11.4mm
3. 15.56mm
4. 15.56mm

The width doesn't affect the thickness much as long as it is properly supported. All numbers calculated using a safety factor of 3.

 

[12 Volt Man]

Pharaoh's calcs are pretty much what the standard numbers are for unbraced tanks.

ie 24" height is fine with 12mm (1/2") glass

30" height should use 15mm (5/8") glass

the length shouldn't matter. its the height that determines the glass thickness.

for normal rectangular tanks, you can go with 30" tall tanks using 1/2" (eg. most 220g tanks are made this way) but they are braced to avoid bowing.

back before braced tanks were common, 24" tall tanks routinely used 1/2" glass without bracing. now with bracing, they use 3/8th, and 30" tall tanks use 1/2" etc.

so if it were me, I would probably go with 1/2" glass for the 24" height and 5/8" if you decide to go 30"

hope this helps

 

[12 Volt Man]

not sure if you should use tempered glass for the viewing pane.

from what I have read, tempered glass can have a distorted view sometimes due to the tempering process. You can apparently get wavy distortions sometimes.

but since its normally used only on bottoms, it doesn't matter

can anyone comment or verify this?

 

[cpm6t]

Okay. So the build started. I'm using 12mm tempered glass (7' X 2' viewing window). Here are some pictures of the concrete work going on. The tank would be around 300g.

 

[E.C.]

sweet keep us updated! what will be the stocks?

 

[festaedan]

Thats awesome! Keep us updated

 

[cpm6t]

sweet keep us updated! what will be the stocks?

It will have a RTG arowana, 2 peacock bass, a flag tail and 4 silver dollars (they are in my 220 now). I want to keep the top open so that arowana can jump if he wants to. Just want to figure out a way to stop him from falling out.