Tank building

[jamieren]

Hey guys, I'm a glazier by trade and can source up to 6mm glass fairly easily & inexpensively hence the plan I'm laying out. I've already successfully built a 28x16x14.5"h glass tank with 5mm glass after consulting the internet and worrying over the details. It has a center brace + braces on each end. So far it's lasted 2 months without any negative results. Now I've gone a bit fish crazy and brought home too many fish for the size of the tank so the next logical step is get a bigger tank, right?

My proposed replacement tank would follow the same pattern with the braces (although I've been researching and euro bracing + center brace seems safer), but the dimensions would be 38x18x16"h and it would be constructed with 6mm glass. My intention is to also build a stand base that would fully support the bottom to alleviate pressure on the base. According to the online aquarium glass thickness calculator this would have a safety factor of 3.4. The previous tank was 3.6 so it should be doable, I'm thinking the euro brace will add just that much more stability.

My understanding is that anywhere between a calculation of 2.9 - 3.8 is desirable for adequate risk elimination. I know it would be safer with 8mm glass (which is prohibitively expensive to source) and 10mm would be major overkill (I'll save that for the next larger build).

 

[jamieren]

I'm not sure how to react to the lack of responses here..

 

[Lepisosteus]

Most here are hobbyists not tank builders.

 

[Oughtsix]

6mm is under 1/4". That is pretty thin glass but like you said it calculates out ok.

Use the proper high strength silicon (In the archives somewhere) and you should be fine.

 

[jamieren]

"Tanks" guys, appreciate your advice.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Im an amateur builder myself and i prefer thickest glass i can afford. I feel like theres no advantage to building your own tank that size out of 6mm...you can buy a brand new 40 breeder for around $50 when on sale at big box stores.

I would only choose to build my own 40 breeder if i wanted sturdier or rimless construction with thicker glass or a custom overflow setup where drilling wouldnt be possible on a standard tempered tank.

Being an amateur, i wouldnt even trust myself to build any kind of tank out of 6mm. I think 10mm would be bare minimum to work with. Last i checked i dont think 10mm is a big step up from 6mm in terms of price but i dont know your budget exactly.

Anyways good luck with your build. I think thicker glass would be better all around though.

 

[jamieren]

By all means I agree. The reason I go this direction is previous success, and for me I can source 6mm glass @ $2 / sq. ft. vs minimum $10 - $12 per foot with 8 or 10mm. There is also a very large, heavily replied post on this site from a member that successfully built tanks larger with the same. If you can tell, I am stalling and trying to convince myself too. Once I push myself to go through with it I'll provide the results for better or worse...