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

A standard 75 is usually 3/8"

 

Yeah but they never said 75 in that article anywhere. All I saw was "aquarium glass" over and over and over. Still a skeptic. Especially if mel has Bob in a biocube. Which happens to be 20.something X 20.something X 19 or something like that. So I'm still leaning towards my 20x20x17 tank size. A 24x24x20 would be around 50 gallons...there's no flippin way. I'm a poor college kid. I need a small tank.

I'm thinking of using 3/8" glass not for the tank size, but for the mantis. 29 gallons is PLENTY for a peacock mantis.

 

pack
that video wont work for me
is there i different link to it?

 

I think I've come to one of the final drafts for a design for this tank. It's 20.5x20x17 for a volume of about 30 gallons. A tad bit more wiggle room than a 29biocube. The sump is a standard ten gallon with two sections. One section would hold the heater, protein skimmer, and return pump. The other section would be a refugium that overflows into the return pump section. The overflow has two drains, one would lead down to the protein skimmer/return area, the other would lead to the refugium and would be dialed in to have about a 15x per hour turnover rate for the fuge (i've heard that was ideal). The return would split off and return the water through the two holes you see next to the overflow. The return would be the only flow in the tank, because this is a mantis tank. Not a reef tank. Although I might have some basic corals in there, maybe. Princess has a xenia with her right now. So any thoughts on that design? I think it's perfect for what I'm looking for.

Here's a screenshot to show a bigger overall picture. Those of you with GoogleSketchUp can download the model from the link and take yourself on a full tour of it.



20.5x20x17 with overflow, ten gallon sump/fuge with skimmer area by =Jwin= - Google 3D Warehouse

 

If possible, I would really try to find a way to separate the skimmer from the return pump with a bubble trap. May not be 100% necessary but it may wind up saving a ton of headaches down the line.

 

I'm looking at the ReefOctopus 110 skimmer. We have it's older brother in our 46 gallon reef tank, and our return pump is almost touching the skimmer, with no bubbles entering the display. No need for a bubble trap with those bad boys, all bubbles are contained, and the water trickles through at least 4 sponges before it comes back into the sump. Smooth as silk. Bubbles coming through the return are the least of my worries if I build this

 

Jwin, I don't know if a big mantis could break it or not, but...my tank is 3/8, and I caught a big peacock mantis on the reef and introduced him to the tank. That evening, he was hitting the glass so hard it sounded like a rock hitting your windshield at 70 mph. It scared me bad enough that I removed him. Anything that can hit as hard as he was hitting seems risky. If I hadn't heard one hit the side of a 3/8 tank I would have said "no problem, no way he'd break it." As it turned out, I'm not so sure that if he got lucky, or hit in just the right place...

Cheers,



Don

 

15X turnover rate for a fuge is WELL too high, IMHO. My whole sump is 5X, fuge even slower.

 

pagojoe, I feared for the life of the 1/4" acrylic in that LFS I saw a peacock in. I know one would have to spend it's whole life trying to break that stuff...but the sound was still incredible. My pistol shrimp sounds like he could shatter our tank or our rockwork every time he sounds off, but he doesn't even stir up the sand.

Maybe it's a "more bark than bite" scenario...maybe not. I feel comfortable with it as long as I use high quality glass and build it right. With all the people keeping peacocks in 20 longs and biocubes, which are probably around 1/4" thick. No one hear's about their glass failing due to a mantis "attack".

Also, what others have said, mantis are super smart. So far I've seen many accounts of "my mantis is in a 1/4" glass tank and he hits the glass all the time, no sweat." And no accounts of "my mantis was in a 3/8" glass tank and he broke through the front of it." The logic and true stories don't lie, IMO.

 

I agree, it just sounds scary as heck, logic says the chances are slim that it would happen. I do know of one that cracked the glass in a friend's tank, though. I didn't ask about glass thickness.