120 gallon blowout

[Planters]

If it's that new is it covered under warranty?

Although the tank was new, I’m not the original owner, plus I drilled the tank.

 

[dantimdad]

Top Fin's warranty is very short and brutal.

 

[RobW]

The bottom panel could have just been defective piece of glass. Maybe had a chip or something that went unnoticed and the stress of the weight on it blew it out. Stranger crap has happened. I'm assembling my 280 gallon from scratch. I have a long time friend who owns a glass shop. So he is cutting and making all my panels and euro bracing. I'm going to assemble it on the stand in my garage. I will let it cure a week or so then gradually fill it with water for testing and just let it sit for a week with water in it before I move everything into the house for final assembly.

 

[RobW]

Although the tank was new, I’m not the original owner, plus I drilled the tank.

Where did you drill the tank? Bottom? Side?

 

[Planters]

If it's that new is it covered under warranty?

Although the tank was new I’m not the original owner, plus I drilled the tank for the overflow.

 

[Planters]

Where did you drill the tank? Bottom? Side?

Top right side of back panel, looking into tank.
Seam failure was bottom left of center

 

[w2inc]

Elos is one of the stand out top end aquarium designers. Check out their stand for their 120. They just don't bother putting a support along the front and back. I just got one of their tanks and when I was looking for a stand I saw this one. Kind of freaked me out at first.

https://www.elosaustralia.com/diamond/index.php

My other 2 120's are not Elos and are on stands I purchased (didn't make myself). I just went and checked them. The frameless tank has a gap big enough to fit a piece of paper between it and the stand through the center. The one with trim only has a couple places where I can get a piece of paper in, but neither of them sit completely evenly on their stands. I was going to post a photo if it but I couldn't find my phone.

Get some more feedback from others on this. I wonder how many people have the same gap under the center of their tanks.

If the back trim was loose in the area of the blow out, the chances are that the silicone used to attach it was not done right. It is normally really hard to get trim off the glass.

 

[Planters]

The bottom panel could have just been defective piece of glass. Maybe had a chip or something that went unnoticed and the stress of the weight on it blew it out. Stranger crap has happened. I'm assembling my 280 gallon from scratch. I have a long time friend who owns a glass shop. So he is cutting and making all my panels and euro bracing. I'm going to assemble it on the stand in my garage. I will let it cure a week or so then gradually fill it with water for testing and just let it sit for a week with water in it before I move everything into the house for final assembly.

Glass is fine, but the silicone let go. Yes

280 gallon...nice! 120 is all I have room for.
Good luck on your build!

 

[BeejReef]

If it were me, and I'm very cheap, I'd probably buy a used 120 off craigslist. $200 available all day long around me. That way you're still in the game. Not bashing you, but it sounds like it was human error more than tank failure. The stand not being well supported. It doesn't need to be fancy. If your floor is a touch "irregular" you can jam drywall shims under the stand where it's not well supported... tap them in the gaps with a hammer and then dremmel off the excess that is sticking out. Take some short baseboard trim or quarter round and line the base of your stand so you can't see the shims. Then you can take a shot at re-sealing your 120 and sell it (or keep it).

I don't know about resealing. I like to think of myself as pretty handy. Not sure it's worth it for a one-time project though. You're gonna spend $75 on 90 degree corner braces and silicone. Add on tape, acetone, razor blades. It's the kind of thing that is cheap if you have stuff laying around. Lots of great youtube vids on the subject. You'll def feel like "the man" if you pull it off. Sorry about your bad luck.

 

[RobW]

Glass is fine, but the silicone let go. Yes

280 gallon...nice! 120 is all I have room for.
Good luck on your build!

I'm sorry I misunderstood. I thought I read that the glass cracked. Dont know why I was thinking that.

 

[w2inc]

If it were me, and I'm very cheap, I'd probably buy a used 120 off craigslist. $200 available all day long around me. That way you're still in the game. Not bashing you, but it sounds like it was human error more than tank failure. The stand not being well supported. It doesn't need to be fancy. If your floor is a touch "irregular" you can jam drywall shims under the stand where it's not well supported... tap them in the gaps with a hammer and then dremmel off the excess that is sticking out. Take some short baseboard trim or quarter round and line the base of your stand so you can't see the shims. Then you can take a shot at re-sealing your 120 and sell it (or keep it).

I don't know about resealing. I like to think of myself as pretty handy. Not sure it's worth it for a one-time project though. You're gonna spend $75 on 90 degree corner braces and silicone. Add on tape, acetone, razor blades. It's the kind of thing that is cheap if you have stuff laying around. Lots of great youtube vids on the subject. You'll def feel like "the man" if you pull it off. Sorry about your bad luck.

I really like corner braces when I remember to use them. I don't think a single panel remount would really benefit from them. Once the sheet is laid up the silicone is enough to keep it from falling over, but I would tape it in place as well. It is nice to have a second person there to help hold things. Especially on round 1. A 10 pack of razor blades is a must. Dont get the boxcutter blades. You want the scraper ones.

 

[Planters]

If it were me, and I'm very cheap, I'd probably buy a used 120 off craigslist. $200 available all day long around me. That way you're still in the game. Not bashing you, but it sounds like it was human error more than tank failure. The stand not being well supported. It doesn't need to be fancy. If your floor is a touch "irregular" you can jam drywall shims under the stand where it's not well supported... tap them in the gaps with a hammer and then dremmel off the excess that is sticking out. Take some short baseboard trim or quarter round and line the base of your stand so you can't see the shims. Then you can take a shot at re-sealing your 120 and sell it (or keep it).

I don't know about resealing. I like to think of myself as pretty handy. Not sure it's worth it for a one-time project though. You're gonna spend $75 on 90 degree corner braces and silicone. Add on tape, acetone, razor blades. It's the kind of thing that is cheap if you have stuff laying around. Lots of great youtube vids on the subject. You'll def feel like "the man" if you pull it off. Sorry about your bad luck.

Yes, I’ll definitely take the time to level and support the stand next time.

I’ve been looking on CL and FB, I did see an ok stand, but no tanks yet...well none that were priced reasonably.

Thanks for the tips

 

[vetteguy53081]

I had a rear bottom seam blowout on my 120,took about 30 minutes for the entire tank to drain, good times! Looks to be like maybe a 12” section of the seam came apart, also the trim piece on outside of tank is loose in same area.
The tank was manufactured in 2016. And has only been up and running the past month or so.
My question Is , can I just remove all the silicone inside the tank and reseal it?
Or does whole tank need to come apart and seams redone?
Or just buy a new tank?

Yes. Assure very clean before bonding- let it dry at least 2 days and water test before restocking

 

[Planters]

I pulled the bottom trim off the 120 and was
Surprised to see the bottom glass is only 3/16” glass, it’s tempered but still.
Flexes very easily when I push on it, no wonder it blew a seam.

The rest of the tank looks to be 7/16”

Is anyone else surprised by this?
Would you fix it with that thin glass?
Order thicker glass, and repair? Would be about $100 for the glass.

Maybe I should just cut my losses and get new tank.
Thoughts?

 

[Crushed_A]

My vote would be to get a new tank. For me it is the peace of mind. I always buy new when I start up a tank. That being said, new tanks are cheap. I like knowing the history of the tank and helps me not to worry as much about my finished basement getting ruined. I also add a 1" sheet of foam board under the tank which helps ensure the tank is level. Be sure the stand is also level.

 

[dantimdad]

At this point, I would get a new tank.

I would never trust that thin of glass with that much weight on it.

I said repair before I knew the glass was that thin.

 

[w2inc]

I see a lot of downfalls to tempered on the base of a tank. After thinking about it, I would check the price of 1/2" to replace the base, or just look for another tank. Sitting on a nice thick slab of glass will go a long way toward a solid tank that can sit on all kinds of stands. Check Craigslist for the perfect sized glass coffee table. Thick glass tops were popular 20 years ago. You may get lucky and find what you need in 3/4".

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

If it was me, I would buy a new stand and tank. Granted I live in Boise but even my lfs has a 125 tank stand sump return pump and heaters for 300. Any water damage is bad, and I definitely wouldn’t want to do it again. Resealing a tank of one has done it before is not super hard. It’s if you haven’t done it before. It would be a great project if you took it all down (and used thicker glass) on the bottom. Then filled it up and tested it in the garage. But why risk the potential damage to your home, yet alone money lost on live stock. Sorry this happened but I would save the money and buy a used one (water test it first before you buy or see that it has water in it).

 

[FishyDP]

I know if a larger tank is even a little unlevel, it can cause more weight to be distributed to one side causing more pressure on the seems. Not saying yours was not level but you mentioned the gap..this happened with a 72 bow front I had several years ago on a 2nd floor..no fun. I make sure all my tanks are perfectly level now. My vote is for a new tank, I would personally just worry that it would happen again with the same tank.

 

[w2inc]

Fear drives the world of sales and marketing.

I know if a larger tank is even a little unlevel, it can cause more weight to be distributed to one side causing more pressure on the seems. Not saying yours was not level but you mentioned the gap..this happened with a 72 bow front I had several years ago on a 2nd floor..no fun. I make sure all my tanks are perfectly level now. My vote is for a new tank, I would personally just worry that it would happen again with the same tank.

Thanks for sharing that story. I havent heard of a tank giving out after years in service. I had a 70 bow front as well. Great looking tanks when they are filled. Mine was made by Allglass and had a tempered bottom on it. Companies temper the bottoms so that they can use thinner glass. There is a good chance that with thin, more flexible glass the stand is much more important. This could by why some companies won't warranty their tanks if they are not on their stands. I have had the base of a tank crack that was on a stand that was poorly designed. It could have been that the glass was too thin as well. I will never know.

Reading this thread really fills me with things to say. If you are interested, then keep reading.

I keep going back to the stand made by Elos posted earlier. Only supports the tank on the two ends. I don't hear anything about those tanks failing. I admit that they are so expensive that I rarely hear of someone owning one. However, it is an example to me that a well build tank with a solid base can handle much more than I had imagined. It made me look a little deeper. I have a tank right now sits on a styrofoam pad that I can slide a piece of notebook paper underneath. I had another 110 that only sat on 3 corners and was solid. I checked the tanks at my LFS three days ago and at least 30% of them had some gap where the base meets the stand that I could slide a credit card in.

Marketing 101; fear drives sales. I am not sure how long I worked at pet stores, but I am comfortable saying it was more than 5 years. I know from experience that even new tanks have catastrophic failures. Things just go wrong and some tanks are defective. Some tanks just give out when a two year old whacks them with a fireplace poker.

I have been told several times that is a tank is more than 7 years old, or has sat dry for more than 2 years that it needs to be resealed. I have never actually followed these rules, but I did receive an older tank 3 months ago and was pretty amazed at how easily the euro bracing and end walls pulled out. Some tanks are just built better than others.

My opinion is that the best thing you can do is prepare to handle the worst. Everyone should have a water alarm on the floor. Everyone should have a plan of action to temporality house livestock. You don't need a lot of stuff. Keep trash can liners for your big trash cans, water change buckets, air pumps, small power heads, extra heaters, salt mix, possibly pre mixed salt water, know where you can rent a carpet cleaning vacuum and see if your renters insurance will cover collateral damage.

Facts are that most tanks hold water. Personally, I am happy with used tanks. I feel like they have at least been tested. I wont buy anything with a tempered base. I have lots of reasons for that.

I will always agree that it is easier to just go buy another tank. I like the way it feels to buy a shiny new tank with perfect glass. I like the clean finish work some companies do on the silicone. I like some of the all in 1 tanks that would just be too time consuming to build. Some times you will even save money by throwing out the old one and just buying a different used one. If you have a decent job that lets you do overtime, maybe it is more cost effective to just work an extra day instead of messing around for a day with the repair.

I enjoy building things. My husband enjoys showing off the things that I build. I feel like it is pretty easy to do a panel replacement but I have been doing it for a while. My husband who is one of the least handy people I know, occasionally helps when I build tanks. I asked him what he thought of replacing a panel. He said that if someone else took the panel off for him he just didn't think it wold be that big of a deal to put it back on. If something does not work out the way you wanted, grab a roll of paper towels, clean the glass off and try again. I just want to say that if you are DIY at all, don't be afraid to try.

Money that you save on the glass box is money you get to spend for stuff to put inside the box.