What thickness in glass for an 80G/300 liter

Hi, everybody.
My DIY tank is custom shaped to fit in a corner of my livingroom: Frontglass is 112,5cm (44,3") long and back is 80cm (31,5"). Height is 60cm (23,6") and depth is 50cm (19,7").
It all stands on a homemade stand made of 80x20mm (3,15"X0,8") pine boards.

Initially I made the tank of 6mm glass (0,236") and 10mm (0,394") bottom, but soon found it to be too thin.
Changed out the front glass for a 8mm (0,315").
I finished filling it up three day ago, had the fish in and it looked nice.

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed (after seeng the Olympics on the TV...) I heard dripping in the livingroom...
Yes - the front glass had bowed out and the silicone was loosing the grip between the bottom and the center front!!

As I had filled the tank with spring-water (instead of treated tapwater) I still had the livingroom full of 60 5-liter bottles. So with a helping hand from my wife we used a hose to quickly empty the tank, before the pressure would open the gap beyond the 'point-of-no-return'.

My idea is to use the 8mm glass I have in the front, by having it cut to the length of the rear glass and get a new glass to the front. Will 10mm be sufficient? This means I keep the 6mm in the side panels (22cm and 35cm long - 8,7" and 13,8"), put a 0,32" in the 32" back and a new 0,4" glass in the 44" long front...

Which glass thicknesses do you use in your tanks? 3 feet long, what would you suggest?

Thx in advance.

 

Try www.theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium

 

Did you put in a center brace? My 75 has a glass brace on the top of the tank, I'm assuming it helps prevent the bowing that you experienced.

 

Jean:
I will put an ironbrace all around the top rI'm and another one for the tank to fit into (bottom).
Thanks for the idea

 

Can you get 10mm tempered glass?

 

I was told tempered glass is less resistant to pressure than 'normal' glass, it just doesn't break, it crushes. So that in the event of breaking the risk of injury is less.
I'll try with the glass I have now; with a brace on top and one around the bottom I feel safe enough...

 

I was told tempered glass is less resistant to pressure than 'normal' glass, it just doesn't break, it crushes. So that in the event of breaking the risk of injury is less.
I'll try with the glass I have now; with a brace on top and one around the bottom I feel safe enough...

That is partially incorrect. Tempered glass is indeed stronger than normal glass!

 

well tempered would be harder bow less and be over all stronger but... if it would break well think of a car side window it turns into tiny square shards rather than big sharp pieces... the front windshield is the same but has a sheet of plastic sandwiched between the two layers of glass...

 

tempered glass is about 4 times stronger than plate glass.