Can I make an aquarium with 5mm glass?

[taytay]

I just happened to have a lot of extra huge 5mm thick glass panels sitting in my shed. I was thinking maybe I could make an aquarium out of it. I realize it cant be very tall so I figured I could do a very long, very shallow tank? Like 5 ft (150cm) long, 1-2 ft(30-60cm) wide, about 1ft(30cm) tall. Oh, and like 3-4 braces. Would it work? Is it too risky?

[Fuzzy]

The largest tank I would attempt with 5mm glass is a 2 ft tank.
IMHO anything larger than 2ft, even if its shallow would be too risky to attempt.

Any larger and even with heavy bracing, the glass would probably start bowing out in the middle.

Also if the bracing loosens or gives way over time the glass is liable to crack from the volume of water and substrate in anything larger than 3 ft.

[AquaObsession]

try,

made a 2 feet tank with 3-4 mm, it bows in the middle, had to only 1/2 fill it. Hope my parents have destroyed the tank.

with 5mm, yea, stick to 2 feet.

for 5 feet, i guess the min will be 10mm, most people will go for 10-12 or more, right?

the last thing you want is.. a tank that burst, water on the floor, dead fauna, and most importantly, risk of causing serious injury.

[Fuzzy]

If I were going to try with10mm for a 5 footer, I would brace the base, corners and at least 4 slats across the top.

I'd get skinned alive if I emptied that much water onto the floor...

[wllm33]

i have made some tanks with 5 mm glass with dimensions of 19 x 19 x 19 inches and no braces and can fill to top without problems.
good luck.

[EddyTing]

I have a 1.5ft X 1ft X 1.5ft tank with 4mm glass about a year now...so far so good. I think as long as we have the tank properly leveled and make sure no kids throw or knock the tank, everything should be fine, i guess.