Building Your Aquarium

Submitted by aquatools on Wed, 05/07/2008 - 18:53

Here is a very useful calculator when building your own fish tank.
This calculator provides the information you need to know about the glass of your new fish tank.
To use this tool: Simply fill in your aquarium length, width and height and you should get the following results:

  • Aquarium Volume: Your fish tank volume.
  • Glass Thickness: A glass thickness that will hold under the pressure of your fish tank, considering the safety factor specified.
  • Glass Area: The sum of areas of the six sides of your aquarium.
  • Glass Weight: The weight of your fish tank when empty (assuming glass density of 3.1).
  • Glass+Water Weight: The weight of your fish tank when filled with water.
  • You will also get your glass surfaces dimensions. Notice the sides surfaces are reduced by the glass thickness.

Safety Factor

The variability of the strength of glass due to limitations of the manufacturing process means a suitable safety factor must be used when calculating glass thickness. The factor commonly used is 3.8. While not a perfect guarantee, it will remove all risk bar that of damaged or very poor quality glass.

Disclaimer Notification: The information provided here is only intended as a guide, TheAquaTools.com is not responsible for any problems that may arise from glass manufacturing defects, construction faults, or any other factors.
#1Submitted by cayocji on Fri, 01/16/2009 - 16:52.

Aquario nao todo plantado,

Aquario nao todo plantado, com laterita e cascalho fino por cima

#2Submitted by pelon_mx on Sat, 07/04/2009 - 09:35.

aquarium calculator

I hope I'm on the right place her for the following questions

The height you specify in the aquariun calculator is the total glass height or just the water level height

#3Submitted by aquatools on Sun, 07/05/2009 - 06:44.

It is assumed to be about the same

Anyway, the water level has a much greater impact on the glass thickness than the height of the glass.

#4Submitted by Carlvdm on Wed, 09/16/2009 - 00:39.

Bracing

Hi Guys if I use euro bracing as well as cross bracing what will the effect be on the glass thickness

Many thanks

Carl

#5Submitted by bawatandon on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 17:14.

regarding safety factor

Why are u calculating with safety factor 2.5 if 3.8 is recommended.

#6Submitted by EdmontonAquarium on Fri, 12/25/2009 - 23:32.

Just type

You can change the safety factor by clicking in the field and putting whatever you like instead.

#7Submitted by Pumpkinate on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:39.

braceless and rimless

I assume the calculator is for aquariums with bracing such that the front and back glass are supported essentially on all 4 sides? What if you are building a braceless and rimless aquarium?

#8Submitted by aquatools on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 22:31.

Actually the calculator is

Actually the calculator is not for aquariums with bracing...

#9Submitted by Pumpkinate on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 06:07.

Great, thank you for this

Great, thank you for this useful tool

#10Submitted by aquatools on Tue, 12/08/2009 - 21:37.

I'm glad you like it :)

I'm glad you like it :)

#11Submitted by Hanex on Sat, 12/26/2009 - 21:43.

error in calculation

This is a helpfull tool!
Please note that for the aquarists it is more important to know the volume of water that the aquarium holds rather than the volme of air it displaces. The total weight when full is in error.

#12Submitted by aquatools on Tue, 12/29/2009 - 00:50.

mmmmm

yes, I guess you right. But notice it says weight of glass+water... which I think is pretty close - minus the volume the gravel takes.

Also notice, the gravel takes space, but is also heavier than water. And it gets even more complicated if you consider the water that are inside the gravel.... this is why I didn't provide a more accurate total weight.

#13Submitted by tytryn on Tue, 01/05/2010 - 23:27.

how is calculated Glass Thickness

Hi Guys, very cool site. it is very interesting to me to know how is calculated the glass thickness.(formula)
Sorry for my english i am from russia)))

#14Submitted by tuandang on Thu, 05/27/2010 - 18:56.

thanks

hello

#15Submitted by bigshineybike on Tue, 06/22/2010 - 15:34.

my tank

Just to let you know of a tank I made some years ago.
Its a four foot cube. Glass sides not toughened we didnt even have the edges ground which is a sensible extra.
we used 15 mm thick plate glass.
its been filled to the top many times.
It has a steel angle frame.

I wanted to say we had done this so some of you can compare what works with what the calculator says.
In our case the calculator tells us 19mm.

I guess we are getting away with it!
The glass does bulge about 8mm when full

#16Submitted by Lucky127 on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 13:05.

salons

Just stumbled across your blog and was instantly amazed with all the useful information that is on it. Great post, just what i was looking for and i am looking forward to reading your other posts soon!salons

#17Submitted by Lucky127 on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 13:06.

salons

With the hiking trails and the canoeing and the commercial cave tours, and then you bring in the special events and the summer weekly activity schedule spas

#18Submitted by vermaseo on Fri, 12/16/2011 - 17:56.

Rocky T-shirt

Nice map, I’ve been there in that bay several months ago. I really recommended this bay for the weekend ofr family trip. Rocky T-shirt
Rock T-shirt thailand
70's Up Thailand
70's up bags

#19Submitted by md on Tue, 06/29/2010 - 20:36.

hi Guys.I dont understand

hi Guys.I dont understand what it means by thickness and that safety factor thing.I want 2 tanks the first L 250
B 180
H 180

and the second L 200
B 100
H 100

can someone please help me.Guys is its difficult to build this on your own?

#20Submitted by aquatools on Wed, 06/30/2010 - 10:38.

180??

Are you building a tank with a height of 180cm???

#21Submitted by md on Sun, 07/04/2010 - 14:09.

yes.yes I am.Why is that a

yes.yes I am.Why is that a problem?

#22Submitted by aquatools on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 10:12.

That is huge!

With that hight the water pressure will be really powerful.
Good luck!

#23Submitted by manicky01 on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 04:15.

mass units on aquarium calculator

Hi,

Surely the units of mass on the mass calculator are in
grams and not kilograms, no???

#24Submitted by aquatools on Wed, 08/04/2010 - 00:01.

Actually, it is kilograms.

Actually, it is kilograms.

#25Submitted by manicky01 on Mon, 08/02/2010 - 04:18.

parameter equations

Hi again,

What equations are you using to get the answers
to the parameters indicated on the aquarium calculator???

#26Submitted by Thomas on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 00:18.

What type of glass?

Is the just regular glass? like in windows? or do i need something like tempered?

#27Submitted by aquatools on Wed, 08/18/2010 - 01:20.

No, not tempered

Hello Thomas,
Tempered glass is not recommended to use in an aquarium.
So yes, the glass here is regular.

#28Submitted by Vilim on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 17:16.

Tempered glass why not ?

I'm working on my glass tank but I'm on delema thempered or regular , I'll appreciate some tips ...

thanks

#29Submitted by Edmund Richardson on Fri, 09/17/2010 - 03:44.

Safety factor be for Acrylic tanks?

Hi
I would like to build a large coral reef Aquarium. Since very thick glass is not available in Seychelles i'm looking into possibly using Acrylic or plexiglass instead. What would the safety factor be for Acrylic tanks?

The tank dimensions i've got in mind are:

Length: 200cm
Width: 100cm
Height: 100cm

Thanks
Edmund

#30Submitted by Tommo on Sun, 10/10/2010 - 09:39.

Good Calculator & Site

Hi great site.
And great Calculator.

But i do not think it works on the VERY Very very large aquariums LOL
Just as a laugh this is what it came up with.
Length: 20000cm
Width: 10000cm
Height: 60cm
Safety Factor: 4
Aquarium Volume: 12000000 Liters
Glass Thickness: 13mm
Glass Area: 20360 m2
Glass Weight: 820508 kgs
Glass+Water Weight: 12820508

Now if i had a 150cm x 60 cm x 60 cm It says to use the same thickness of glass.So really if i used a crane to build this massive tank i would only need 13mm as listed above but yet, i can build a 150 cm for the same thickness glass ;)

On a serious note, i think it is a great calculator :) And it does work fine for all large domestic aquariums.

Cheers

#31Submitted by den15b on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 13:52.

Height is the factor here!

@ Tommo, The calculator is correct, it is the height that is the most important factor here, as the height of the water rises, the presure increases on the sides, so in your example, you have both heights at 60cm, meaning both tanks would have the same water presures, no matter how much the water volume, if your small tank had a 90cm deapth, the thickness of the glass would have to be thicker in the smaller tank, than the larger tank. Just remember, the deeper the tank, the greater the water presure is, so thicker glass is needed.

Denis

#32Submitted by aquatools on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 10:40.

Thank You den15b

You are right - the height is the most important factor to the pressure on the glass.
Though, this calculator may be a bit off in the extremes... and the numbers in Tommo's post are definitely extremes.

#33Submitted by den15b on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 14:34.

aquatools

Like he said, he was just playing around with the calc, but if it was for real, it "would" work, so long as the base, massive as it is, was supported correctly. Thankyou for this great tool, it really is handy.

P.S. Very nice looking site/theme, noticed you are using Drupal, I'm a web designer my self, and I notice these things, are you administering it your self?

Denis

#34Submitted by aquatools on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 18:35.

Thanks

Yes, this is a drupal site. I love drupal :)
And yes, I'm administering it myself.

#35Submitted by den15b on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 14:15.

aquatools

Sorry, forgot to ask, noticed that the glass base is always built between the sides, is there a reason for this, can you build the sides on top of the base?

#36Submitted by aquatools on Tue, 10/26/2010 - 18:37.

mmmmm

It doesn't have to be this way, I just found it's a bit easier to plan and build it this way.

#37Submitted by Tommo on Mon, 11/01/2010 - 06:29.

Height is the factor

I understand that :)

But......
Would you make a tank that big in the same size glass that it has recomended ?

I know i would not :)

Cheers

#38Submitted by braidus on Wed, 10/27/2010 - 15:50.

Rimless acuarium

Y want to know if this calculator is bassed on a rimless acuarium.

Thanks!

#39Submitted by den15b on Thu, 10/28/2010 - 12:17.

See comment #9

See comment #9, I would suspect this includes rimless

#40Submitted by Peter on Wed, 11/17/2010 - 14:48.

newly built Marine tank

Hey there,

I have just built my first new tank, now the calculator says it is safe but only if a use a safety factor of 2 or above... now, i do not know what is the safety factor on the glass i used??

I used 6mm thick glass for this project: L91cm x W32cm x H50cm, and used a 6.7mm thick laminated glass for the base...

Would this be strong enought tho?

Thanks

#41Submitted by den15b on Thu, 11/18/2010 - 08:16.

You actualy have a max safety

You actualy have a max safety factor of 2.1, which is on the border line of safe and unsafe, but, if you use bracing, you will be fine.

Due to limitations of the manufacturing process, the strength of glass can vary, which means a suitable safety factor must be used when calculating glass thickness. The commonly used factor is 3.8. This is not an absolute guarantee, however it will essentially remove all risk of glass failure other than that created by damaged or very poor quality glass. Scratches and chips in the glass will be the main cause of failure at this point.

The actual glass does not have a safety factor, you are getting confused. The safety factor is like asking someone to build you a tank and they ask you, "do you want to be certain about how safe and strong your tank is" you could reply by saying, "I want to be sure that it is very safe" in that case if you put those figures in to the calc and enter 4 as the safety factor, it would tell you, you need to make the tank out of 9mm glass, if you want it to be pretty safe, then you would enter 3, that would give you a glass thickness of 8mm. I hope that helps you.

I found an app that can be downloaded that can calculate similar to the one here, but it also gives you a deflection figure, check it out.

AquaCalc.zip

@aquatools, remove the link if you feel I am crossing the line.
Denis

#42Submitted by aquatools on Thu, 11/18/2010 - 13:29.

Thank you den15b!!!

Your reply is very informative.
Why should I remove the link???
I have NO problem with useful links - That's the whole idea of this website.

Thanks again!

#43Submitted by den15b on Thu, 11/18/2010 - 16:07.

Cool

No problem, just offering back what I have learnt along the way, if anyone is interested that is, otherwise ignore me, LOL

#44Submitted by AquaAlleyCat on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 21:52.

This is a great calculator.

This is a great calculator. I've been developing aquarium for awhile. I just developed an outdoor aquarium for my grandfather. We had to find to provide some shade, so we bought a custom canopy. It worked out pretty well.

#45Submitted by aleem2001 on Wed, 12/01/2010 - 14:46.

Glass window for Swimming pool

Any body provide me appropriate glass thickness and glass type for glass in swimming/diving pool; accordingly we have the following scenario:-

The height of glass is 250cm X width of glass 400cm and the glass is located 400cm below water surface. This will be for diving pool in a prestigious project in Amman.

Best Regards.

#46Submitted by aquatools on Thu, 12/02/2010 - 10:08.

Good luck...

I wish you good luck, but I think you should really consult with an engineer for this kind of project.

#47Submitted by careerjp on Fri, 12/10/2010 - 10:19.

Advice me for my new aquarium.

I am going to build an aquarium of 2000 * 500 * 750mm freshwater aquarium.

I need advice for following things.

1. Whether silicon paste can resist the water pressure.

2. Whether I should have additional ribbing for this aquarium.

3. Is there any problem will occur, If I go for drainage system under
aquarium.

I request you to share some past experience for this.

Thank

JP

#48Submitted by concod on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 10:37.

the silicon should work fine

the silicon should work fine , just make sure you apply a thinness equal to the glass thickness ( 17 mm in your case)

as for the ribbing , it will be necessary if you used less thinness than 17mm for that aquarium .

the drainage system should not be any problem at all

#49Submitted by careerjp on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 11:20.

Thanks for your comment. I

Thanks for your comment.

I will take care.

#50Submitted by concod on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 12:19.

watch out

I made 120*50*70 tank ( 65 is the height of water)

and I used 8mm glass based on 2.5 safety factor

and guess what happened ?

yup , the front exploded after filling the tank with water :-)

so don't risk with the safety factor , and keep it 3.8 just for your ( and your furniture ) safety

lol , I am redesigning this tank to 120*55*50 ( 45 is the water height it should work will .

thank you for that calculator it was really helpful