Plywood Build Questions

[Hasircoglu]

So I'm planning on building a plywood tank out of an old 40 breeder I have laying around, but I'm not sure if the glass will be able to hold up to the job
The approximate dimensions will be 78"x20"x36"
The glass from the breeder is 1/4 Inch
the front and back panels of the 40 would then become 1 panel divided by a wood brace in the middle. So is that even remotely doable or is the brace or glass just gonna fail catastrophically on me
Thanks Aaron

 

[fishguy306]

1/4" is much too thin for 36" deep.

 

[Hasircoglu]

1/4" is much too thin for 36" deep.

Sorry it's only 20 inches deep, it's gonna be 36" wide

 

[fishguy306]

Ahh, in that case, pressure wise you'll be fine. I think 20" pushing 1/4" glass, but braced properly it shouldn't be an issue.

That said, something to consider. Bigger tanks usually equal bigger fish. Bigger fish have an easier time cracking thin glass. It doesn't happen often but I have seen it. Something to think about!

 

[Hasircoglu]

Ahh, in that case, pressure wise you'll be fine. I think 20" pushing 1/4" glass, but braced properly it shouldn't be an issue.

That said, something to consider. Bigger tanks usually equal bigger fish. Bigger fish have an easier time cracking thin glass. It doesn't happen often but I have seen it. Something to think about!

Thanks! This tank isn't gonna have anything huge in it nothing over a foot. I'm guessing a 3/4 inch surface around all sides would be okay for bracing?

 

[fishguy306]

For 20" deep I think some good quality 3/4" plywood should be enough

 

[mfreader]

For a tank of that size (depth) the GARF site calculator recommends 3/8 inch glass.

http://www.garf.org/tank/buildtank.asp

 

[Niners4952]

Why let the glass limit your build, look into buying a bigger piece or a larger older tank you can get the glass from and build it the size you really want. Once you get into building it the cost of building it bigger is very reasonable compared to all glass