Aquarium Glass Thickness Calculator

Our aquarium glass thickness calculator helps you understand key metrics associated with your aquarium. This glass thickness calculator helps you determine how thick your aquarium glass is. It also has an aquarium glass thickness chart that indicates your aquarium volume, surface area, glass weight, water weight, and total aquarium weight. These are key figures for all aquarium enthusiasts! Try out our calculator for instant results!

Using our aquarium glass thickness calculator is as easy as one, two, three. Add your aquarium length, width, and height into our calculator input fields, and voila! Our tool will instantly calculate your glass thickness. You can also convert your glass thickness results to many additional units of length measurement:

• Millimeters (mm);
• Centimeters (cm);
• Meters (m);
• Inches (in); and
• Feet (ft).

You can seamlessly perform additional conversions of length, weight, and volume, such as fluid ounces to liters. Our calculator uses the following density of glass and density of water to find their respective weights:

• Glass density of 2500 kg/m³ (156 lb/cu ft); and

• Water density of 998 kg/m³ (62.3 lb/cu ft).

You can change these values in the Advanced mode. The advanced mode can also help you calculate your bottom and side glass deflections, which are the amount that glass panels bend when subjected to water.

This glass thickness calculator uses a safety factor of 3.8. Glass strengths differ between tanks, which is why selecting an adequate safety factor is crucial. 3.8 is the default safety factor for most aquariums because it minimizes the risk of your glass breaking. Now, if you're interested in expanding your knowledge about the concept of safety factors, you will have a blast with our factor of safety calculator!

We used two separate thickness equations for this glass thickness calculator because the glass on the bottom needs to be thicker so it can withstand the volume of water within an aquarium. We based our calculator on the calculations we found on Aquarium World. For the rest of the formulae in our tank glass thickness calculator, look below:

Volume formula:

volume = l × w × h

where:

• l — Length;
• w — Width; and
• h — Height.

Calculating the surface area of your tank is also pretty simple.

Surface area formula:

surface area = 2 × (l + w) × h + l × w

Weight formulae:

water weight = volume × water density

glass weight = glass volume × glass density

where:

glass volume = 2 × (l + w) × h × s + l × w × b

and:

• s — Side/front glass panels thickness; and
• b — Bottom panel thickness.

You can have lots of fun playing with these formulas, regardless of whether you want to examine them in-depth or just skim the surface! Once you're done experimenting, see if your results are correct using our calculator.

At this point, you are probably wondering just how thick is aquarium glass supposed to be? The answer is not set in stone. The required aquarium thickness can vary based on several factors, such as length, width, and height. This is where our fantastic calculator comes in handy! It seamlessly uses those variables and a built-in aquarium glass thickness chart to calculate the front and side glass thickness and the bottom glass thickness. It also uses them to calculate many additional properties such as glass weight, water weight, glass thickness, and total aquarium weight.

For example, if your tank's:

• length = 24 inches;
• width = 10 inches; and
• height = 16 inches

and you assume a safety factor of 3.8, our calculator would tell you your front/side glass thickness needs to equal 0.23 inches and that your bottom glass thickness needs to equal 0.35 inches.

On the other hand, if your aquarium's:

• length = 20 inches;
• width = 10 inches; and
• height = 23 inches.

Our glass thickness calculator would instead let you know that your front/side glass thickness needs to be equal 0.29 inches and that your bottom glass thickness needs to be equal 0.59 inches. Ready to test out what you learned? Then have fun:

1. Using our aquarium tank glass thickness calculator.
2. Determining how thick your aquarium glass is.

A glass thickness of around 0.25 in to 0.38 in is generally sufficient for smaller aquariums. The aquarium glass thickness can vary based on:

• Length
• Width; and
• Height.

To calculate the thickness, you need to know the safety factor as well. Glass strengths differ between different tanks, but 3.8 is the default safety factor for most aquariums because it minimizes the risk of your glass breaking.

The front/side glass thickness should be 0.45 in and the bottom glass thickness should be 0.58 in. To calculate the thickness you need to know the dimensions of your aquarium. If you consider a tank of length 50 in and width 30 in, you must have a minimum of 0.45 in and 0.58 in glass thickness (front/side and bottom, respectively) for a 150 US gallon aquarium.

To calculate the aquarium glass thickness, you should:

1. Decide the length, width, and height of your aquarium.
2. Choose the safety factor.
3. Determine the density of the liquid of your aquarium and the material of your aquarium, normally fresh water and glass, respectively.
4. Use Omni's aquarium glass thickness calculator to calculate your aquarium's front and bottom glass thickness.

0.21 in. To calculate the glass thickness you need to know the measurements of your aquarium. If you consider a length of 20 in and a width of 10 in, you will have a 0.21 in bottom thickness and 0.15 in front/side thickness for a 10 US gallon. You can check these values on our calculator!