Desk tank in one

[sphelps]

T8s with the right spectrum bulbs could work just fine for FO or even some coral depending. Not that long ago using over driving T8s with larger ballasts was all the rage. However if you're using regular bulbs from hardware stores the results will be poor regardless what you them supplement with.

[sphelps]

The build looks interesting btw, will the top of the desk be a viewing panel? What thickness of glass did you order?

[Prariecanuck]

Originally Posted by sphelps

The build looks interesting btw, will the top of the desk be a viewing panel? What thickness of glass did you order?

The desk portion will be same level as the bottom of the tank so behind the laptop will be tank and on the one side viewing will be the rest if the sides except the 7 foot side that'll be the back.
Glass thickness will be 9mm braced like crazy euro style with a couple cross braces too garf site said I coul use 6mm because of the 18inch depth

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Prariecanuck

The desk portion will be same level as the bottom of the tank so behind the laptop will be tank and on the one side viewing will be the rest if the sides except the 7 foot side that'll be the back.
Glass thickness will be 9mm braced like crazy euro style with a couple cross braces too garf site said I coul use 6mm because of the 18inch depth

Keep in mind that calculator bases thickness on height alone so regardless what you put in whether it's 24" or 96" it spits out the same thickness which isn't correct as it's only accounting for pressure and not bending stress at the seams. Personally I believe 9/10mm is tad light for a 7' span, even at 18" high. It costs nothing to get a quote from a tank builder which will probably tell you what thickness the glass would be, there's even a few around here that I'm sure would gladly tell you what the proper thickness is.

[Prariecanuck]

Originally Posted by sphelps

Keep in mind that calculator bases thickness on height alone so regardless what you put in whether it's 24" or 96" it spits out the same thickness which isn't correct as it's only accounting for pressure and not bending stress at the seams. Personally I believe 9/10mm is tad light for a 7' span, even at 18" high. It costs nothing to get a quote from a tank builder which will probably tell you what thickness the glass would be, there's even a few around here that I'm sure would gladly tell you what the proper thickness is.

I looked at lots of sites and did lots of math and they all came in at 9mm with a safety factor over 4 and that was just euro braced without any cross braces which ill be adding too. Now I know the net isn't always right but the glass is already ordered so ill water test outside and hope for the best. I could also do a metal angle brace around the outside at the top if it looks like ill need too. Thanks for the info but I guess we will see if it works or not. Here's hoping it dose😓

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Prariecanuck

I looked at lots of sites and did lots of math and they all came in at 9mm with a safety factor over 4 and that was just euro braced without any cross braces which ill be adding too. Now I know the net isn't always right but the glass is already ordered so ill water test outside and hope for the best. I could also do a metal angle brace around the outside at the top if it looks like ill need too. Thanks for the info but I guess we will see if it works or not. Here's hoping it dose😓

I've seen worse hold water just fine. The issue really comes down to the seams, only 9mm of contact combined a large bending moment from the span means they'll be stressed to the limit. Will work fine for a while but in time who knows, might be good but might not. If professional builders done't take that kind of risk then a DIY'r really shouldn't either. But that's just my FYI for ya. Looking forward to seeing this one come together... and hopefully staying that way

[Prariecanuck]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I've seen worse hold water just fine. The issue really comes down to the seams, only 9mm of contact combined a large bending moment from the span means they'll be stressed to the limit. Will work fine for a while but in time who knows, might be good but might not. If professional builders done't take that kind of risk then a DIY'r really shouldn't either. But that's just my FYI for ya. Looking forward to seeing this one come together... and hopefully staying that way

In your opinion if I use steel angle on the corners would that help?