Acrylic Thickness

[voksbug]

I need some advice. I am considering a used 600 gallon tank setup with the dimensions of 96Lx48Wx30D. According to an acrylic calculator, the side panel thickness recommended is 1". However, the calculator I found only considers the length and height of the tank. Shouldn't the width be considered? I'm sure the water volume in a tank 48 inches wide would exert more pressure on the side panels than a tank that is only 30 inches wide... What am I missing? Is there another calculator out there?

On a related note. The owner says the tank was purchased from fishtanksdirect.com (Tsunami). He says he thinks the side panels are 3/4" (he is out of town at the moment). I haven't seen it yet, but plan to when he returns. I doubt the side panels are that thin. But I'm concerned that even if the panels are 1 inch thick, it won't be enough.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[paphater]

When I was researching my tank build, height was the major factor with length being a secondary factor in longer spans (6-8'). But I think with your width being pretty extreme I would definitely bump it up if I were building it. How it's braced will also play a big factor in it. Since my 8' was the first tank I ever built I braced the hell out of it with gussets and fillets, but my acrylic was .47" thick and I have zero bow in it. At least that I can pick up on by looking down it. I'm still waiting for the day I come home though and I've got 200g of water on the floor.

 

[voksbug]

Thanks for the info! Good to know. I'm not sure about Fishtankdirect.com Tsunami branded tanks. Hopefully I get to take a personal look at it soon. Even if it is solid, I'm not sure about pulling the trigger on it. The biggest tank I have run is a 90. I was planning on ordering a 300 until I ran across this tank. Not sure if I want to incur the added expense of running an additional 300 gallons....

 

[Jamie7907]

1” is plenty thick for that size. 3/4 is iffy even with proper bracing the 30” height makes it questionable. This tank is 94.5 x 48 x 34 all 1” acrylic with no bowing whatsoever.