Plywood Aquarium Viewing Panel

[chrispyness]

Hello all,

Currently designing my first plywood aquarium project and not sure how to determine 1) the thickness of the glass viewing panel and, 2) whether or not I need a vertical center brace to support the glass. I would like the tank dimensions to be 8' L x 2 D x 3' T. I have 2" of wood to silicone the glass to around the top and down the sides, then 4" of wood on the bottom. The 4" is for greater support but also to hide most of the soil and sand substrate.

Any advice on how to calculate what thickness the glass needs to be or if I need a vertical center brace would be greatly appreciated!

 

[phreeflow]

Bump

 

[Kilograms]

Hello all,

Currently designing my first plywood aquarium project and not sure how to determine 1) the thickness of the glass viewing panel and, 2) whether or not I need a vertical center brace to support the glass. I would like the tank dimensions to be 8' L x 2 D x 3' T. I have 2" of wood to silicone the glass to around the top and down the sides, then 4" of wood on the bottom. The 4" is for greater support but also to hide most of the soil and sand substrate.

Any advice on how to calculate what thickness the glass needs to be or if I need a vertical center brace would be greatly appreciated!

When looking at the dimensions you put down, I'm taking it as being 3' tall. At that height you'd want 15mm glass minimum for a good safety factor.

2" overlap on all sides is a good amount of surface adhesion for the panel. Provided that the glass is of appropriate thickness you shouldn't need any kind of vertical supports. Just brace the top as you would any tank and you should be fine. Feel free to check out my 1000g thread . I have the build process with photos on there. Maybe you can take some ideas. Good luck!

 

[chrispyness]

When looking at the dimensions you put down, I'm taking it as being 3' tall. At that height you'd want 15mm glass minimum for a good safety factor.

2" overlap on all sides is a good amount of surface adhesion for the panel. Provided that the glass is of appropriate thickness you shouldn't need any kind of vertical supports. Just brace the top as you would any tank and you should be fine. Feel free to check out my 1000g thread . I have the build process with photos on there. Maybe you can take some ideas. Good luck!

I’ll do that, thanks for the info!