Is 12mm Tempered glass thick enough?

[rickysteamer]

I live overseas and am having trouble getting quality glas or professional builders.. I am DIY building a tank with dim: 78"x31"x39"tall...360 Gal. Will 12mm tempered glass be ok? I've already had 2 blowouts with 12mm plate. I will brace 4" Euro around the perimeter at the top and bottom.

 

[Duckie]

Anything over 300 gallon and you have to use at least 3/4 inch thick glass - I think the metric size would be 19 mm. Even with that thick glass you have to brace it to prevent bowing out. I am not sure if tempered glass is okay - maybe in the bottom, but I doubt it. Tempered can shatter so easily.

 

[rickysteamer]

Anything over 300 gallon and you have to use at least 3/4 inch thick glass - I think the metric size would be 19 mm. Even with that thick glass you have to brace it to prevent bowing out. I am not sure if tempered glass is okay - maybe in the bottom, but I doubt it. Tempered can shatter so easily.

Hey thx man, I saw that too about the 19mm glass. Do you know if when they say tempered glass is 5-7x stronger .....does that mean 12mm tempered is roughly the same as 60cm glass?

 

[Duckie]

No, think of tempered glass being stronger by being denser. You start with a normal piece of glass and heat it up and then you let it cool down in a specific way to create a very high surface tension. In the process the glass will shrink thinner. You cannot cut it or drill it after it has been tempered. It is impossible to let the glass cool down perfect either, so it is unsuitable to be made into a mirror (the surface is wavy). For your aquarium you want the glass to be as smooth and even as possible so nothing gets distorted. Compared to non tempered glass it will scratch easier. It is also very easy to shatter the whole glass when a small heavy object hits it or falls on it. Tempered glass has its uses, but not for the sides of a fish tank.

 

[Duckie]

What are you planning to put in the fish tank? I am setting up 180 gal that used to be FW. Tank is store bought, standard 6x2x2 feet with 1/2 inch glass all the way around. The only thing that is DIY is the sump and plumbing. I wish I knew how to build the sump from scratch, but I don't trust myself - so I ended up connecting a 40 gal and 20 gal tank together by drilling them. That is as much as I am willing to modifiy the tanks. Now my money tree has to regrow a little bit so I can order the lights, pumps, some base rock and skimmer.

 

[Gregg]

I would not exceed 96" on length and 24" on width with a glass aquarium.
I also think anything over 30" tall is too much for glass.

Most importantly, as already started, tempered glass should never be used in an aquarium of this size or really an aquarium over 60 gallons.
This should be float glass

"Tempered glass is too brittle for most aquariums over 60 gallons and even in 60 gallon aquariums it still should NOT be used in the bottom.
Float glass on the other hand is much more flexible and gives into the natural bowing/flexing of an aquarium holding water (based on 35 years of aquarium repair as well as apprentice training at a leading premium aquarium builder)."

The above quoted from this Ref which has some further DIY aquarium info:
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/aquarium-silicone.html