Glass thickness

Liz

Liz

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Mar 25, 2005
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I bought my 50 gallon sw tank about half a year ago, out of the classifieds. The woman had used it as a tank for aquatic turtles, and aside from the inconvenient top designed for a slide lid, I didn't think the fact it was designed as a reptile tank would impact my aquarium too much. I have quite a bit of live rock in it, now, and am beginning to worry about the thickness of the glass/the tank holding up. I just measured it and the side panels are only 3 mm thick, I am not sure about the bottom.

I haven't noticed any "bowing" or anything (although there is no center brace)... should I be concerned about it holding up?
 
if i were you i wouldnt have used that tank as an aquarium in the first place. most tanks that are designed for reptile use probably wont work out very well as an aquarium. the tank may seem to be holding up well right now but in the long run it could break. I had a 55 gallon freshwater tank a little while back that i had used when i was younger for my reptiles. the heat light melted the center brace a little but i thought nothing of it. after having the tank set up for about a year the center brace snapped one night. luckily the tank still held up and i barely escaped a catastrophe. but that goes to show that it may seem fine now but in the future you never know what can happen. if i were you i'd get a new tank soon and transfer everything over.
 
What is the size of the bottom of the tank? Most tanks have a thicker bottom glass than the ones in the side. Also, what type of stand is it on? Is the middle of the stand where the tank sits solid or is it open?
 
It's on a wrought iron stand, where the tank sits is open.

I don't know the width of the bottom glass, I just measured the sides because you can tell in the corners. I'd assume the bottom is thicker, though...
 
Sorry to bring this up again... I just noticed yesterday the glass is bowing on the sides.

Will it inevitably bust? How long do you think I have? It's been set up since January and it'd be better if I could wait until christmas-time when I was going to be getting a new tank anyway.
 
wroght iron? ...arnt those stands called rod iron ....lol just sounds weird to me
 
maybe. Sorry, thought they were wrought iron, although rod iron makes more sense.

EDIT: just checked it, it is *wrought* iron.
 
Somebody gave me a couiple tanks like the ones you described. They had a sticker on them warning not to put water in them! The glass is really thin.

As mentioned elsewhere, the petco stores are having a tank sale for $1 a gallon. I would think $50 would be a good investment in not having a tank burst!

I wonder if that tank would work as a shallow tidepool tank, or maybe a mangrove swamp.
 
Are you all sure about the tank bursting?

My dad was saying something about the molecular structure of glass and how he doesn't think it will continue to increasingly bow, that it'll bend to accustom to the pressure and then stop. I told him about the center brace breaking in some cases and he said that plastic is different and could have given out from the (consistant) pressure from the bend of the glass, but that it didn't necessarily indicate the glass was gradually bending more and more.
 
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