plywood thickness
- Thread starter turtles
- Start date
I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread. I want to build on and I had similar questions as far as plywood thickness.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
It depends on how you build it. I like the thought of "over build". I think for designs where you will use external bracing with 2x4's spaced every so many inches and you are good. If you aren't using the external bracing design I would go thicker. But I have seen some thin stuff work. I'm doing internal bracing and using 1"(25.4mm) wood. I don't wanna worry about people or objects bumping into the side of mine. The resin or fiberglass coat will also toughen it up a bit.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Depends.
Thickness depends on bracing and actual depth of the exposed glass below the water line. If it's actually 2.5 feet from the surface water line to the bottom and the bottom is exposed, then 12MM is thin. It's possible with sufficient support to manage that, but I think it's risky. At 12MM, the safety factor is only 2.0, so I'd want 15-17MM with some extra bracing at 15MM.
If the actual depth is 2 feet (the bottom of the tank is plywood and the glass is only exposed at 6 inches above the bottom and 24 inches below the water line), then 12MM would be fine.
If you know the actual depth, you can recalculate the thickness here. http://www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium
I read on another web site that "structural" plywood should not be used due to having a water based glue. Not sure how true this is, but if it is like particle board (looks like a bunch of wood chips glued together) when it gets wet it disintegrates.
if i used 18mm plywood i'd want to use external bracing too - that's a lot of water pressure, on something which isn't all that strong