Suggested Glass Thickness Of Replacing A Broken Panel

so there's a tank near me that has a number of broken panes but other than that, its a dollar at the moment with a low iron display tank with a sump, plumbing and stand.

ive been wanting to DIY for a while so thought this would be a good cheap place to start.

the dimensions are 1350mm x 600mm x 600mm

the original glass thickness is 12mm but I found some 10mm glass available for 1 dollar a pane.

question: can I put 10mm glass on the BOTTOM of the aquarium (that's the broken pane) and can I also use the same 10mm glass to replace one of the broken braces on top of the tank.

I figured that because there's no twisting or bending forces on the bottom pane unlike the walls (its just pure compressive forces) then I can get away with 10mm glass instead of 12mm.

to put it in perspective, I would not use 10mm glass for the walls due to the non uniform stresses that would be applied.

the only reason I'm asking is because the 10mm glass is cheap and will be significantly less costly than sourcing 12mm glass.

please and thankyou

 

so there's a tank near me that has a number of broken panes but other than that, its a dollar at the moment with a low iron display tank with a sump, plumbing and stand.

ive been wanting to DIY for a while so thought this would be a good cheap place to start.

the dimensions are 1350mm x 600mm x 600mm

the original glass thickness is 12mm but I found some 10mm glass available for 1 dollar a pane.

question: can I put 10mm glass on the BOTTOM of the aquarium (that's the broken pane) and can I also use the same 10mm glass to replace one of the broken braces on top of the tank.

I figured that because there's no twisting or bending forces on the bottom pane unlike the walls (its just pure compressive forces) then I can get away with 10mm glass instead of 12mm.

to put it in perspective, I would not use 10mm glass for the walls due to the non uniform stresses that would be applied.

the only reason I'm asking is because the 10mm glass is cheap and will be significantly less costly than sourcing 12mm glass.

please and thankyou

I would be cautious to recommend anything to you as I am not a glass expert, however what I can share with you is that my 125g tanks is 1500mm x 600mm x 500mm and it is made of 10mm glass. It sits on a wooden piece of furniture and has had in addition to water abou 50 kilos of rock and 50 kilos of gravel in it - no problem.

You may however want to check what type of glass the 10mm glass is to ensure that is good enough for use in your aquarium.

At those sort of prices, I think it is worth giving it a try and then filling it up with water outside the house for a couple of days before bringing it inside

 

I would be cautious to recommend anything to you as I am not a glass expert, however what I can share with you is that my 125g tanks is 1500mm x 600mm x 500mm and it is made of 10mm glass. It sits on a wooden piece of furniture and has had in addition to water abou 50 kilos of rock and 50 kilos of gravel in it - no problem.

You may however want to check what type of glass the 10mm glass is to ensure that is good enough for use in your aquarium.

At those sort of prices, I think it is worth giving it a try and then filling it up with water outside the house for a couple of days before bringing it inside

totally, it is just an experiment and its not like i'm resealing my own tank so if it doesn't stay together i'm not going to lose any stock or anything. I read somewhere that you shouldn't go thinner than how it was built but I don't see how 2mm will effect the bottom panel in particular because it is only under compressive forces and not twisting or bending forces. any further clarification on this would be appreciated.

 

totally, it is just an experiment and its not like i'm resealing my own tank so if it doesn't stay together i'm not going to lose any stock or anything. I read somewhere that you shouldn't go thinner than how it was built but I don't see how 2mm will effect the bottom panel in particular because it is only under compressive forces and not twisting or bending forces. any further clarification on this would be appreciated.

If it is seated well on a flat surface, you should be ok.

 

thanks

If it is seated well on a flat surface, you should be ok.

 

OK so I got the tank and I'm not sure if they knew or if this happened during transit, but the back pane which has a wall overflow and 4 drilled holes has a single hairline crack from the bottom pane to about half way up.

this is a bit annoying because I wasn't anticipating having to replace a side panel that is drilled. (and I only have 10mm glass, not 12mm like the tank was originally made of)

will my 10mm glass be fine for replacing a side panel that is drilled? I still have a safety factor of approx 2.8 with 10mm glass, and I will add a centre brace to the tank as it only had euro bracing when it was made entirely of 12mm glass.

also, because this is a learning curve for me, i'm going to rebuild the sump first. currently it has 3 baffles in one place so I think the design could be significantly improved. anyone got any cool sump designs? the dimensions of the sump are:
800mm x 400mm x 420mm

 

Sorry to hear that.
I would use a pane of the 10mm glass that you mentioned that you have. You will have to have the holes cut though....

As far as sumps are concerned, I ave no experience - sorry.
Try moving your post to the filter section - there are a lot of people who know a lot about sumps.

 

Sorry to hear that.
I would use a pane of the 10mm glass that you mentioned that you have. You will have to have the holes cut though....

As far as sumps are concerned, I ave no experience - sorry.
Try moving your post to the filter section - there are a lot of people who know a lot about sumps.

so in your opinion the 10mm glass would be fine as long as the holes were professionally cut?

 

so in your opinion the 10mm glass would be fine as long as the holes were professionally cut?

I would think so as my 125g tanks is 1500mm x 600mm x 500mm has 10mm glass allround with two type of reinforcements:
1. horizontal strips of glass along the front and back glass inside the tank to stop the water in the middle of the tank. Ths keeps the long panes of glass straight at the open ended top.
2. horizontal strip of glass (also 10mm) inside the tank from the from glass to the back glass. This prevents the water pressure from pushing the glass walls out at the top of the tank.

If you want I can take a pic and send it to you. Let me know if the pic will be usefull.

 

I would think so as my 125g tanks is 1500mm x 600mm x 500mm has 10mm glass allround with two type of reinforcements:
1. horizontal strips of glass along the front and back glass inside the tank to stop the water in the middle of the tank. Ths keeps the long panes of glass straight at the open ended top.
2. horizontal strip of glass (also 10mm) inside the tank from the from glass to the back glass. This prevents the water pressure from pushing the glass walls out at the top of the tank.

If you want I can take a pic and send it to you. Let me know if the pic will be usefull.

are your 125g tanks 600mm high? or is that deep?
and yes a picture would be good of your reinforcements as I can't picture what you mean (particularly reinforcement #1, it sounds like that glass divides your tank in two)

 

600mm high. 500mm in depth i.e. front to back.

 

600mm high. 500mm in depth i.e. front to back.

ok, that's given me some hope hahaha. how are your reinforcements installed?

 

Here is a picture of my glass reinforcement:



Along the length of the tank, I have two strips of glass - one can be seen at the bottom of the picture.
The strips are glued with silicone along the whole length of the front and rear glass.

The third strip is from back to front of the tank - it lies on the two previous stripsand is glued down with silicone at its ends.

Hope you find this useful.

 

Here is a picture of my glass reinforcement:

View attachment 459605
Along the length of the tank, I have two strips of glass - one can be seen at the bottom of the picture.
The strips are glued with silicone along the whole length of the front and rear glass.

The third strip is from back to front of the tank - it lies on the two previous stripsand is glued down with silicone at its ends.

Hope you find this useful.

OH I JUST CLICKED! your tanks are eurobraced! thanks for this, my tank is smaller dimensions with 12mm glass so if your tanks are holding together fine I'm sure it will be all good for me too lol.

its reassuring to know someone has a bigger tank with thinner glass, makes me feel safe hahaha.

thanks again.

 

OH I JUST CLICKED! your tanks are eurobraced! thanks for this, my tank is smaller dimensions with 12mm glass so if your tanks are holding together fine I'm sure it will be all good for me too lol.

its reassuring to know someone has a bigger tank with thinner glass, makes me feel safe hahaha.
thanks again.

Ha - Didn't realize that the reinforcement structure is called a Eurobrace. Thankyou
Good luck with your job. Remember to post a pic once you are done!