why are aquariums made with glass bottoms??? why not a sheet of stainless steel or poly coated wood or something? what sense does it make to have a glass bottom especially when an aquarium stand only supports around the edges? what am i missing here? it's not like looking up into it from the bottom is a selling point or something.

Well I guess the other things you listed will get wet and rust out and break and you have dead fish and water everywhere. And since everything else is made of glass they just made the bottom glass to. So I hope this answered your question.

Actually, that makes no sense at all...stainless steel and wood will break or rust out? as opposed to glass NOT breaking out? huh? stainless doesn't rust and it could be placed under a thin sheet of glass etc. so could the wood...so, no, that answer doesn't work, sorry.
anyone else?

Stainless steel does rust evenually, more hygenic probably to have glass at the bottom.

This post has been edited by Wilder: Sep 15 2005, 07:54 PM

hahaha stainless stell rusting ya right actualy you could use almost anykind of metal that doesent leak toxins because metal cannot rust under water it has to be exposed to air....man thats such a good point on why the bottoms are made out of glass..hmm could it be cheaper maybe ah who knows....would can rot and im guessing the sealents that you use on the wood so it wont rot would be toxic but stell hhmmmmm good point

e-mail a company haha

I would have thought it was just easier with the rest of the tank being glass. Also, not sure if it does, but does stainless steel give out any toxins that could kill the fish?? That might be why? who knows!!
xx
dawney g

Because its easier to produce a product with one production line and one skill involved by the people who make it?

Who wants to have 2 production lines or 2 different machines, or 2 different people who have 2 different skills, when you can use 1 material, have 1 type of cutting machine and 1 person who is skilled at glass manufacture?


Same with cars etc. Companies are trying to make cars with as few materials as possible, this way they have to pay less for production lines that could be compacted, or could be done using machines they already have, and have skilled operatives for.

Ben

im sure its not cause of production lines cause thewy would do the same thing witch is silicone the pre fab stainless stell......good point about the toxins might be

You make the most sense in this thread.

The production thing sounds reasonable but it is probably a matter of cost. For a 75 gallon or larger tank, the glass is pretty thick (not in front of my tank but seems like my 75 is about 1/4" to 3/8" thick). Even though stainless steel is strong, it would still take a relatively thick piece to support the weight AND not bow or flex from the weight. The possiblilty of it bowing or bending would be the biggest potential problem. I would think that a 1/8" (and not even sure that would be thick enough) piece of stainless steel would cost way more than a 3/8" thick piece of glass.

I would also think that steel is more susceptible to expanding and contracting due to changes in heat which would also be a problem as even small changes would probably affect the silicone seal between the steel and glass. I don't have anything to back that up, just simply thinking.

I would agree with that more than any thing else.

No ones metioned weight. A sheet of stainless strong enough would be stupidly heavy, specially on a 100gallon tank for example, lol.

This thread is quite interesting,.

Some one do an experiment and report back.....................

Oh yea, and wood, if that got any hint of water seeping into it, you'd have all sorts of trouble.

Glass is just simply the best thing. No disimilar materials to fix to each other, cheap, strong enough, water proof, non toxic etc..etc...

How easy would it be to use silicone to stick glass to steel or wood?

I agree. As I said in my earlier post, it would take a piece of stainless at least 1/8" thick and that would be very heavy on a 75 gallon or larger tank. Not that glass is light but I think the steel would be heavier.

I agree here - glass just seems like the best choice

A chemist may be able to offer more insight, but.....
..... as far as I know, silicone sealant is brill for aquariums as it bonds the materials on a molecular level, thats why it is waterproof (if applied correctly) and better than say selotape.

Anyway, because of the composition of the molecules in wood, steel or any other material, silicone can't bond the molecules togther and only operates as a mild level glue - think trying to stick together a tank with UHU.