Did some bad science. Made an account to answer highly specific questions. Got some answers.
Abstract!
I investigate the effects of shockwaves and in light of aquarium hobbyists concerns regarding impulses potentially damaging glass tank walls. I compare the potential peak pressure experienced by the aquarium walls to the theoretical strength of the glass walls and find that failure is unlikely to occur if the glass ratings are reliable. However, the silicone seams may be a point of weakness. Additionally, I did not evaluate the compound effects on glass strength from other damaging sources such as scratches, casual impacts, and long-term use. Suggestions to minimize the impact include the use of diffusion (reflecting barriers) and absorption (highly porous material converting kinetic energy to heat), though their efficiency is not evaluated. Lastly, I note some of the short-comings of this work.
The actual "science" steps here in this blogpost on my seriously sketchy blog. I suppose I can flair this as "article" since I wrote one, right?
Also an edit, if anyone is willing to chime in on the methods/science or has a relevant small scale modelling software, I'm happy to try and implement it!
Posted by sketchyscience