# Concerned about the amount of rocks in your aquaria? Don't be.



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Thought this was a neat video to show how strong tempered glass bottoms are. I was very surprised at the ending.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I've seen that vid on here somewhere before. Definitely interesting how strong it is.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I hadn't seen it before and someone linked to it on TPT. I must admit when I put my 200+ lbs of rocks in the 125 I as a bit leery and put eggcrate down. Shouldn't have wasted my time and now I don't like it.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

lol Better safe than sorry I always say. Even as strong as as the vid shows it to be, all it takes is one sharp edge to hit the glass wrong and it's all over, especially with that kind of weight. I used to work at a glass shop. And when I would have to throw out and bad pieces or those with defects. I was required to break it in the dumpster & sometimes even pounding the tempered pieces with a hammer ended up in failure. One hit with a spring loaded center punch and that was all she wrote


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Not all tank bottom are tempered though especially the standard 5g, 10g, not even sure if the 15g, 20g, 33g are tempered.


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## Sliver (Apr 19, 2011)

considering how inexpensive egg crate is i'd have to say you're better safe than sorry.


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## Nicole (Nov 21, 2011)

That made me nervous when he stood on it lol


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## raeven (May 12, 2011)

gklaw said:


> Not all tank bottom are tempered though especially the standard 5g, 10g, not even sure if the 15g, 20g, 33g are tempered.


Well, in the end of the video he says that was a standard 10g tank, so I'm thinking the rest would be able to do the same.


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## Danw (Feb 26, 2011)

Impressive!


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

raeven said:


> Well, in the end of the video he says that was a standard 10g tank, so I'm thinking the rest would be able to do the same.


  Now, its your turn to do a local experiment   We won't do that to our tank.

I highly doubt that any "normal" amount of rock we put in any tank would ever crack the bottom


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## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

Wow, that's insane. I must admit, I cringed when he was standing on it, and while he did put alot of weight on it, i wonder if time would be a factor in how much weight the glass can hold or even the seal?


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## IceBlue (Mar 17, 2011)

Dead weight is one thing sudden drop is another, but I didn't need to say this did I.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

IceBlue said:


> Dead weight is one thing sudden drop is another, but I didn't need to say this did I.


Nope, because motion involves momentum, p=mv and stationary rocks don't move. The faster you accelerate an object the more force is applied, as a square of the mass, so movement generates more force than mass alone.


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## Fishman21 (Apr 26, 2010)

Bear in mind that glass acts like a supercooled liquid - that means it slowly bends under pressure. That's why you sometimes fill a tank and maybe a week later the base cracks for no apparent reason. What happended was that the surface was slightly uneven but the glass bent to accomodate, however the strain was too much and eventually it fractured. 

What was demonstrated in the video does not take this into account and if left for an extended time, the result might have been quite different.

Me personally? if I am playing with 200 gallons of water, I am somewhat careful and cautious of what I put into the tank mainly because of the mess it would cause if our collective theories were slightly incorrect


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Not in the case of tempered glass as the glass is annealed so that the surface is under tension. The only way for the glass to shift is for it to shatter; hence its application in car windows, not only for the extra strength, but so when it breaks it shatters into little pieces.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Very cool video. Always figured glass was strong, especially tempered.


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