Dubbo Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Hi again folks, I've just been reading through the safety factor article and using the calculator for fish tanks, and after this, I have deemed all my fishtanks unsafe ! I have 2, one is 1220x440x600h braced all sides with center bracing, and a 600x330x490h with bracing on sides only. Using the calculator, it seens my big tank is nowhere near 3.8, and the small one is almost 3.8 but only if braced all sides, which it isnt. Is it in my best interest to not fully fill the fishtank for safety ? and if so would I just use the desired water level height as the panel height when calculating safety factor ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 what is the thickness of the glass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubbo Posted June 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Sorry, forgot to mention that, 10mm for big tank and 6mm for small tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 :lol: I think your tanks are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubbo Posted June 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Yah at first I thought so too, because those seen to be the standard size / thickness of premade tanks. I guess the maximum safety factor is only necessary when you try to prevent glass breaking from a huge earth quake right ? lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 im not 100% sure how to answer that :oops: , so ill wait for the resident glass expert to answer that question :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Both Warren and the Glass Merchants assoc are very similar in their workings. I havnt checked your workings out (I assume you have rechecked it?) but to be honest, if you ignore the workings that have been based on load, your asking for trouble. Yes, you may never have a problem but if you do, it could well cause problems to yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 Using the calculator, it seens my big tank is nowhere near 3.8, and the small one is almost 3.8 but only if braced all sides, which it isnt. 3.8 isn't a "YOU MUST HAVE THIS SAFETY FACTOR OR YOU WILL DIE!" requirement. It's a goal and I doubt more than maybe 1" of tanks bigger than maybe 2 feet reach that. It gets stupid expensive. It's something like at 3.8 there is less than a 1% chance per year of the tank breaking, statistically. I can live with odds higher than that. Most larger tanks tend to hang around a safety factor of 2. Which is good enough as long as you don't go hitting it with hard objects while you're angry, you'll be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 so a 600x300 tank will be fine in 3mm glass with a saftey factor of 2 aswell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted June 15, 2009 Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 so a 600x300 tank will be fine in 3mm glass with a saftey factor of 2 aswell? simply NO why even think about making them out of glass that thin? I wont make large tanks as I have seen too many people get cut by pushing the limits. The worst was a very young child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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