Would 3/8" thick glass be safe for a Peacock Mantis?

[=Jwin=]

Hello guys and gals, I have another question for you. I've asked this before in a thread I had about building acrylic aquariums (we got a tad off topic ). My question is, would 3/8" glass be safe for a fully grown Peacock mantis? Everyone says "Mantis Shrimp can break Aquarium glass".

My view on that is, yes, they can break aquarium glass. But can you be more specific? No one says what thickness they can break, merely "they can break it". I know that a Peacock mantis could break a 10 gallon fairly easily IMO, because the glass is 1/8" thick. However, I also know that there's no way one could break 1/2" glass. And yet, both thicknesses still qualify for "Aquarium Glass".

I want to build a custom aquarium for a future peacock mantis. I would much rather make it out of glass instead of acrylic, because glass is sooo much easier to work with when building and acrylic scratches pretty easily (and a peacock would definitly have opportunities to scratch it in my tank. live food galore!)

Some people have said 3/8" glass is plenty thick for one, and some have said it's not. 1/4" acrylic is plenty for a mantis, and 1/2" inch glass is overkill, so I figured I could split the difference and use 3/8" glass (halfway between 1/4" and 1/2" for those not so sharp in measurement lingo )

Yay? Or Nay?

[Da_Gopherboy]

Being a professional contractor myself and seeing things... I've always seen that you can't go wrong with over building something. Most of the time the cost difference is little but the insurance for having gone that little extra pays for itself in the long run.

As for the aquarium, I'd personally go for 1/2 but I like to play it safe

[=Jwin=]

Just to chime in on what you said Gopher, I'm also worried about the weight of 1/2" glass. The tank specs would likely be around 20x20x14 inches for around 24 gallons, btw. What's the weight difference between 3/8" glass and 1/2" glass? Is it mostly insignificant for my cause, or would it be a drastic difference?

Thanks for the reply

[Da_Gopherboy]

Originally Posted by =Jwin=

Just to chime in on what you said Gopher, I'm also worried about the weight of 1/2" glass. The tank specs would likely be around 20x20x14 inches for around 24 gallons, btw. What's the weight difference between 3/8" glass and 1/2" glass? Is it mostly insignificant for my cause, or would it be a drastic difference?

Thanks for the reply

Will there will be a difference, most def. But will it fall through the floor? Nope, even if its a mobile home with 1/2 plywood under it, it would still hold. Based off what my 10 gallon tank weighs (1/8 inch glass) your prolly only adding about 35 lbs (ish) to the overall weight. Just make sure the person who helps you move the tank initially is feeling stronger that day

[cement_skis]

In my opinion, 3/8" is overkill, let alone 1/2". Ive kept my full grown peacock in a 20 long and 20 High (she has passed now) for close to a year. Just about daily she would whack the glass. Not just in the corners either, right in the middle. She would do it all the time and just about anytime somebody put their finger to the glass. With your tank being a DIY, I would be more concerned about the stand that you are building, that is going to very important in the stability and strength of your aquarium. Is that 14" high on the diy tank? If that is so, then I definately wouldn't waste the extra money on 3/8" glass. 1/4" is plenty.

[cement_skis]

Also, if your gonna use 1/2" glass in a small tank like that, thats some pretty thick glass. Think about how it will affect your lighting.

[schackmel]

honestly...Bob has never ever knocked the glass. Contrary to popular belief mantis do not go around breaking tanks. They have very very keen eye sight and depth perception. Most of the videos that you see them breaking glass has some kid teasing it and/or the tank is already cracked and weakend.


I have a standard 29g biocube and have never feared it breaking.

Make sure you post pics!

[=Jwin=]

Make sure you post pics!

Yes ma'am, sgt sam! This build is still waaaaaaaaay off in the distance. But when I do start it, you will see all of my progress.

And I'm not too worried about the quality of the stand. My 9 gallon mantis tank is currently sitting on a stand I built waaay back (it was originally a bird cage stand/cabinet). I've got 3 years of highschool shop class under my belt, with 9 different pieces of furniture in our house being built by myself. The only handicap I might have in building the stand would be that I've never worked with 2x4's before

I already decided in my head that 1/2" glass would be total overkill for a twenty gallon tank. I think I'd be perfectly safe going 3/8" glass (with it being a little thicker than 1/4, it will be easier for me to piece together. This is my first DIY tank )

EDIT: Also, I have seen several people on the forum telling others than mantises will break their glass, and those people don't even have a mantis It's called spreading a rumor which I find to be quite untrue. If mantis broke glass as much as people said they would, we would have a ton of newbies on this forum asking us how to fix their broken mantis tank. I have yet to see any post or article claiming a mantis broke their tank.

[cement_skis]

Originally Posted by =Jwin=

It's called spreading a rumor

You know how I think that exageration happened? One guy had a tank break, and 10 guys heard. Those 10 guys went and told their friends that they know a guy who's mantis shrimp broke their tank. Within a matter of hours you have 100 broken tanks from just one incident.

Also, Im not trying to push you, but if you are monetarily conscious like I am, you will notice that there is a big price difference between 1/4" and 3/8". If you really insist on going 3/8", have you considered going bigger? With 3/8" you can go way bigger.

[bioreefdude]

go with the acrylic or glass
long as u keep it in ur tank lol