will 1/2" plexiglass hold or rupture?

[KMTaquarium]

before i buy anything my design is for a: LxDxH 102"x30"x12"(thats 158.961 gallons or ~159 Gallons) DIY(obviously) wood tank, wood would be 3/4" thick and unlike most other DIY wooden tanks it would have double sided viewing, my concern was whether 1/2 plexiglass would hold with a 3" frameon the viewing sides?

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
The tank is 12 inch tall, and the frame is 3 inch wide? That will leave 6 inch viewing area, or unsupported acrylic panel. If you cut the acrylic sheet to 10.5 inch wide, it should be OK to support the hydrostatic pressure, but it is may bow slightly (particularly since your tank is more than 8 feet long), but for 1/2 inch, it should be fine. Again, I assume that only 6 inch of acrylic is unsupported... that's a pretty narrow viewing window, but it will be much easier to light and do maintenance work.

 

[KMTaquarium]

the reason for such a small viewing window is because it will be for propogation, not show, so viewing is not a major concern, i just need to be able to see in for maintenance and to take pictures and control and prevent algae problems, i will have another brace 1 foot in from the left side and i will probably put put one close to the center just for safety reasons
-kevin

 

[Bryan]

Out of curiousity, how do you plan on sealing the acrylic pane to the wood pane?

before i buy anything my design is for a: LxDxH 102"x30"x12"(thats 158.961 gallons or ~159 Gallons) DIY(obviously) wood tank, wood would be 3/4" thick and unlike most other DIY wooden tanks it would have double sided viewing, my concern was whether 1/2 plexiglass would hold with a 3" frameon the viewing sides?

 

[MarkS]

I am also building a wooden tank. My dimensions are 48" x 48" x 2'. I wanted to go with acrylic becauseit's cheaper. The problem is that the silicone will make a VERY weak bond between the epoxy and acrylic. Ths means that I will have to spend the money on 1/2" glass.

I would NOT recommend acrylic in your tank.

Mark

 

[brokekyle]

any reason why you won't build it out of all plexiglass??

 

[KMTaquarium]

what i might end up doing is constructing a "closed" frame out of 3/4" freeboard and then tightily construct a internal plexiglass tank. made of .125"plexiglas and glue it to the wood and seal the plexiglass tank so there is a .125"plexiglass tank inside of a 3/4"freeboard tank(note that all plexiglass will fit as snug as possible in the wooden tank to ensure full support)- then attach the viewing window-one sided-rather than 2- and seal it to the plexiglass frame(which is supported by the 3/4"freeboard)
-i would do all this rather than seal the wood-

 

[KMTaquarium]

any reason why you won't build it out of all plexiglass??

money
-you would need 1/2 to 3/4" plexiglass to have the tank not buckle and break under the weight, that would cost about $300 with 1/2" and about $450 with 3/4" acrylic
the way i last mentioned would cost about $100 with a 1/2" thick viewing window-

i dont want to sound like a cheap ass but im trying to make money with the least expense possible and not have the tank fall apart
!inexensive but safe! is what i want-
im not afraid to spend the money, but i would rather spend it on better lighting or other equipment for the tank if i can- !!efficiency-or -economy!!

 

[KMTaquarium]

what i might end up doing is constructing a "closed" frame out of 3/4" freeboard and then tightily construct a internal plexiglass tank. made of .125"plexiglas and glue it to the wood and seal the plexiglass tank so there is a .125"plexiglass tank inside of a 3/4"freeboard tank(note that all plexiglass will fit as snug as possible in the wooden tank to ensure full support)- then attach the viewing window-one sided-rather than 2- and seal it to the plexiglass frame(which is supported by the 3/4"freeboard)
-i would do all this rather than seal the wood-

views on this idea?