weight of canopy

antjtc · 03/07/2012, 11:06 AM

I made a canopy for my 90 DT which is 48 by 18 by 24 tall. It weighs about 20 lbs. It sits on the sides of my tank, so 10 lbs on each side piece of glass. I will be attaching 10 lbs of lighting to it for total weight of 30 lbs. Will this be too much for my tank glass to support? Are there any specs out there which specifically tells us what the max would be? Thanks.

zues2006 · 03/07/2012, 01:14 PM

I've thought about this as well. Without me having much backround knowledge in weight transfer, I assume most the the weight of the canopy/lights transfers straight down the glass of the tank.
I also assume the silicone in the corners are not affected by the weight of the canopy.
People have had all kinds of canopies and sizes, and I've NEVER heard a nightmare story about a tank falling apart due to stresses incurred from a canopy that was too heavy.
When I think about it, I'm surprized I haven't heard any issues, or concerns, but appartently these tanks are able to handle the load.
I would be very interested to hear someone tell a story about a tank crash due to oversized/weighted canopy.

Pete H. · 03/07/2012, 01:29 PM

The canopy would put the silicone into a shear mode where the two plates would slide against each other. Since the tank (I am assuming) is supported all the way around on the bottom, the normal force on the bottom of the tank would stop the shear from happening. In this case the next concern would be buckling of the glass. At the weight of the canopy, I would assume the normal force of water inside the tank against the glass would be exerting more pressure to rupture the tank.

However, if the canopy for some reason is not level and only puts a point force in a few areas, you could start to localize the weight which would be more of a concern.

If the canopy lays flat, I would not be too worried at all.

Just my two cents

cjk76 · 03/07/2012, 01:51 PM

30lb is about 3% of the total load on the tank. In the engineering field we call this negligible. haha.

03/07/2012, 11:06 AM	#1
antjtc Jon Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Clayton,California Posts: 222	weight of canopy I made a canopy for my 90 DT which is 48 by 18 by 24 tall. It weighs about 20 lbs. It sits on the sides of my tank, so 10 lbs on each side piece of glass. I will be attaching 10 lbs of lighting to it for total weight of 30 lbs. Will this be too much for my tank glass to support? Are there any specs out there which specifically tells us what the max would be? Thanks.

03/07/2012, 01:14 PM	#2
zues2006 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 277	I've thought about this as well. Without me having much backround knowledge in weight transfer, I assume most the the weight of the canopy/lights transfers straight down the glass of the tank. I also assume the silicone in the corners are not affected by the weight of the canopy. People have had all kinds of canopies and sizes, and I've NEVER heard a nightmare story about a tank falling apart due to stresses incurred from a canopy that was too heavy. When I think about it, I'm surprized I haven't heard any issues, or concerns, but appartently these tanks are able to handle the load. I would be very interested to hear someone tell a story about a tank crash due to oversized/weighted canopy.

03/07/2012, 01:29 PM	#3
Pete H. Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Kansas Posts: 86	The canopy would put the silicone into a shear mode where the two plates would slide against each other. Since the tank (I am assuming) is supported all the way around on the bottom, the normal force on the bottom of the tank would stop the shear from happening. In this case the next concern would be buckling of the glass. At the weight of the canopy, I would assume the normal force of water inside the tank against the glass would be exerting more pressure to rupture the tank. However, if the canopy for some reason is not level and only puts a point force in a few areas, you could start to localize the weight which would be more of a concern. If the canopy lays flat, I would not be too worried at all. Just my two cents

03/07/2012, 01:51 PM	#4
cjk76 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Kansas City, KS Posts: 358	30lb is about 3% of the total load on the tank. In the engineering field we call this negligible. haha.