3/8" acrylic for a 180g, good or bad?

[kangol99]

What's your opinion on purchasing a acrylic tank that size made with 3/8" thick material.
Should I look for a tank that's 1/2"? and is there a big difference in price.

 

[SPC]

Kangol, alot depends on the dimensions of the tank, can you give some more info on this tank?
Steve

 

[kangol99]

It's 72x24x24. So it's pretty long. Why would that make a difference?

 

[Enkidu]

Taller tanks require thicker acrylic. I'm sure 3/8" is enough *structurally speaking*, but I can tell you that I've got 3/8" on my 75g (48x18x20). It doesn't bow noticably on the 75g but it probably would on a 180.

 

[SPC]

I would vote for it bowing on that tank but I will at least bump this back up for others comments.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I looked at what some other acrylic manufacturers use:

San Diego Plastics: 0.5" for 72"x18"x24"
Acrylic Tank Manufacturing: 0.5" for 72"x24"x24"
Tenecor doesn't list thickness on their site, grr

I don't know if 3/8" will cause problems, but it looks like other tank manufacturers think that 1/2" is the right thickness for a 180 gallon tank.

jayo

 

[wuelfman]

im having a custom tank built
72x30x24 with 3/4 used on all sides this will have no bowing (i hope)
hehe

 

[kangol99]

OK, so then 0.5 thickness is really what I'm going to be looking for. What about the heat from the MH lighting that I'm going to be using, 3 250w Iwasaki and some PCs. Will this cause any problems with the center brace if it comes with one?

 

[esmithiii]

Yes, it will, unless the braces are not under the positions of the halides.

E

 

[Jeff Hood]

Tenecore

24 inch High tanks are .5 inches thick
30 inch high tanks are .75 inches thick.
36 1 inch thick
48 1.25 inches thick.


Jeff

 

[Mayr]

Sorry Jeff, but the thicknesses you list are the standards for our Ultraquariums - 8 and 10 foot aquariums over 300 gallons.For standard tanks 300 gallons and less, the thicknesses are one grade less than you posted.

Mind you, these are simply the default specifications. They are the thicknesses we have determined to be structurally sound and economical for the consumer. Many of them will bow, some worse than others. Our standard 180 (72x24x24) is 3/8" thick.

I'm not aware of a company doing them in 1/2" other than small producers. Forcing your customers to pay more for a feature they may not appreciate has a severely limiting effect on sales.

However, because we manufacture every tank to order, we are glad to upgrade the material for any tank.

Mike Blomgren
Aquarium Sales Manager
Tenecor

[ September 20, 2001: Message edited by: Mayr ]

 

[Jeff Hood]

Oops, Sorry

I just thought the thickness was determined by the depth of the aquarium and would be consistent between all of your aquariums.

I am about to order a 40 inch tall aquarium from Tenecor and I am getting it at least 1 inch thick. Its 84x40x40. Not sure if I need 1.25 inch thick.


thanks for posting your input for everybody here.

Jeff

 

[Mayr]

No problem, Jeff. Height is the leading factor in determining material thickness as it determines water pressure. Length and width have an impact as well, since they determine the panel sizes. Larger panels are more susceptible to bowing, and are usually done in a thicker guage.

On first pass through one of my engineering programs, your 84*40*40 would be borderline at 1" thick. I believe you may want to go to 1.25". Once you're discussing it with your dealer, their Tenecor sales rep will have our engineers take a closer look at it.

Mike Blomgren
Aquarium Sales Manager
Tenecor

 

[Jeff Hood]

Thanks! They are working on the bid right now. Hope to have it ordered with in the next week or two when all the final detales are worked out.

Jeff