Aquarium bowing 74inch rimless

[CBonito]

I would definitley contact the manufacturer first and see if they resolve it. Anything outside of that is going to be more of a PITA than its worth. I mean, doing a eurobrace yourself requires the materials, and a lot of tools/BS.

 

[jason2459]

I've gotten glass cut from a local glass shop no issue. Only other things needed is a razor blade, alcohol, and some silicone. Some painters tape is a bonus.

 

[feelingfishy]

So here are the rest of the measurements for the amount of bow. I was Off when I said 7/16ths, it’s far less. Here are the pictures I’ll just show you now. Tell me your diagnosis.

So the first 3 are left corner, middle , and right side.

 

[Jmp998]

If I am seeing correctly-the actual bow is 5-6 mm, i.e. about 1/5 an inch, and that is for both front a back combined? If so I suspect the manufacturer will say 3 mm of bow across a 2100 mm panel is reasonable. However I have no expertise in this, you should talk to them and confirm.

 

[feelingfishy]

Yes, I suspect they will say the same which is good. My only real concern now is the first picture I posted. The ( exit stage left ) lol that was hilarious. Well until I get a response all that’s left to say is Roll Tide.

Thanks everyone I will keep this updated.

 

[CBonito]

Yes, I suspect they will say the same which is good. My only real concern now is the first picture I posted. The ( exit stage left ) lol that was hilarious. Well until I get a response all that’s left to say is Roll Tide.

Thanks everyone I will keep this updated.

I was laughing WITH you and not at you.

It's no real consolation though when you're the one with the bulging pane of glass. You're just standing there like "oh please don't...my life is going too good at the moment...just dont."

I filled a brand new acrylic tank the other day and there was a leak in the overflow box.
I was scrambling all over the place checking my plumbing thinking I screwed up...shockingly nope.
I had to shut the pump down, get all the water out, dry it out, lay a bead of weld on...take a long nap. I was so mad.
And this is after the first tank I got was broken and waiting another month.

I thought the whole idea was stress therapy and not more stress. LOL

Enter at your own peril man...

 

[feelingfishy]

I hear you man. It gave my father and I both a good laugh. I’ve been through the wringer lately with busted seams-lost coral-lost money. If you don’t learn how to laugh then you might forget how to cry. Lord knows we all need to cry sometimes in this world.
So ye thanks for the laugh and I hope the best for you all.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

I am no expert-maybe @Joe Glass Cages can give an expert opinion.

However I think any unbraced 6 foot span is going to bow.

Also if the stand is uneven at all, you need to fix that now. If the tank is uneven you may put twisting forces on the seams, concentrating most of the force on a small area of silicone.

You should also reach out to Algae Barn especially if you bought directly from them, they have a reputation as very responsive.

Thanks @Jmp998 for the reach out!

This is defiantly a question for the manufacturer.

I can only speak to our specs. For a height of 24" with 3/4" glass on a rimless tank, our max length we would build is 72".

I am sure the manufacturer will help out here.

 

[exnisstech]

A week or so ago I was inquiring about a Cade 2100 tank. A person I reached out to that owned one (sorry can't remember who) said they loved the tank with the exception of the bow of the front panel. They stated that they regretted having their lids made before filling the tank as they now have a gap between the lid and front panel. Maybe this is normal for an unbraced tank. I don't know but it was enough to have me remove it from my list. I'm funny when it comes to things being strait that are supposed to be and looking at a bowed tank would probably cause me grief.

 

[feelingfishy]

Thanks @Jmp998 for the reach out!

This is defiantly a question for the manufacturer.

I can only speak to our specs. For a height of 24" with 3/4" glass on a rimless tank, our max length we would build is 72".

I am sure the manufacturer will help out here.

Thanks for the post Joe. Oddly enough this actually comforts me somewhat.

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Thanks for the post Joe. Oddly enough this actually comforts me somewhat.

72" is shorting than the tank mentioned here. would really be good to get the manufacturers support and opinion. Hope that helps.

 

[feelingfishy]

Yes, the tank mentioned here is 82inches. To be clear by me saying I’m somewhat comforted in the first post you made. It Is because I knew you would only build a 100% safe aquarium, and mine is only 10 inches more so ye I guess it’s not too far off.

 

[ReefPig]

Yes, the tank mentioned here is 82inches. To be clear by me saying I’m somewhat comforted in the first post you made. It Is because I knew you would only build a 100% safe aquarium, and mine is only 10 inches more so ye I guess it’s not too far off.

As I said at the start. I’m sure it’ll be fine, but bowing isn’t good either.

If you hit it with a rock with any force, or lean on it doing maintenance. Day to day sure it’ll be fine, but the fact that it’s bowing means it’s under incredible stress.

If it were my tank, and I wanted to keep it, then I’d retrofit eurobracing, just as a precaution.

You do you.
Good luck!

 

[feelingfishy]

It’s really up to my father what we do. I know without his help I would just be freaking out trying to euro brace it. I did watch a video on YouTube of a guy showing off his new CADE and for a split second he showed the left top back seam. I couldn’t tell if it was shifted like mine but the silicone was curving out like mine. Maybe this is just perfectly normal for this tank, idk.


Im still waiting on a response from CADE.

 

[Adamc13o3]

I once had a 7 foot glass tank which wasn’t properly leveled. The tank had a one piece eurobrace. It was basically a large square piece of glass with rounded corners. The top looked similar to an acrylic tank but this was all glass. A week after setting it up I heard a huge pop. The euro brace cracked! It was because the tank wasn’t level although I don’t think that a 1 piece euro brace was good because silicone does allow some flex. Anyway, it really isn’t that hard to fix. I drained the tank about half way. I then used used guitar strings and razor blades to remove the silicone. I removed everything and then cleaned the the edge extremely well. Grainger has RTV silicone (I forgot the exact spec) but I’m sure it’s posted here somewhere. I got the pieces of glass cut and polished, used some painters tape to make sure the silicone job was clean. I also used some sort of spacer between the braces and top of the tank (remember this is for structure so it doesn’t need a full blown seal as it isn’t holding water like every other seam. I placed each piece of glass on the edge of the panes with the spacers and then injected the silicone in between. Taped it down tightly. A few days later I removed all of the tape and trimmed off any excess silicone with a razor blade. It looked like it was 100% professional and the tank ran for about 7 years without any issues until I moved and sold it. Also remember that when you level the tank place the level inside the tank in the tank floor and level it that way. I would repair this sooner than later, you don’t want it to shift even more and you also don’t want it to take a new shape which will make things harder later. I know it Linda daunting but it really isn’t.

Adam

 

[adittam]

I can’t believe you haven’t drained this, re-leveled it, and braced it yet, tbh. You said it’s too late because you have corals in it and you like your rockwork? How are you going to feel about that assessment if a seam busts overnight? A tank that big that isn’t level is going to burst a seam eventually, it’s just a matter of when. Sorry for the harsh words, but man, you’re playing with fire here, and it’s especially crazy since you’ve had this happen in the past.

 

[feelingfishy]

I agree completely. It’s just we leveled the tank to near perfect and it took us 2 days. I just don’t think we could of made It any closer with the floor we’re on. We also had to hire 4 people from a moving company to get it where it is now.

Though I say all this we are seriously considering euro bracing. Though one person in this same thread mentioned that it probably would not help much.

I am going to do some homework and private message another owner with the same tank to see what there seam is doing.

 

[adammarcos]

As I said at the start. I’m sure it’ll be fine, but bowing isn’t good either.

If you hit it with a rock with any force, or lean on it doing maintenance. Day to day sure it’ll be fine, but the fact that it’s bowing means it’s under incredible stress.
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If it were my tank, and I wanted to keep it, then I’d retrofit eurobracing, just as a precaution.

You do you.
Good luck!

 

[feelingfishy]

This forum is so amazing. A fellow hobbyist has responded to me with a very detailed and thoughtful response to the issue at hand.

Thank u so much for all the quick responses. I just want to note that I have the utmost confidence in CADE aquariums and all I have heard is positive things about them.

Again, thanks to all of you so much.

 

[RickSanford]

FWIW - here is the info @feelingfishy and I exchanged on this topic. Hope it is helpful.

I spoke with Samantha Obergas at CADE USA in April about the deflection issues I'm having with my tank. Here was my exact question:

"Question: Is a ~1cm deflection in the center front glass panel between empty and full tank normal? Distance measured between front & back panes at tanks ends is 62.1cm. Distance at the center is 63cm.

I didn’t really notice when I was filling the tank. My custom lids, however we’re the giveaway. After the center section dropped into the tank on one side.

I’m ok if this is normal - will have the lids reworked or just use them carefully.

Thanks!"

Her response was that the deflection was normal. I hadn't checked the back panel until this morning after I got your note. I, too, see a deflection in the rear panel and based on Samantha's earlier response regarding the font panel expect the same response regarding the rear.

CADE is very proud of the fact that they've never had a tank failure since their company's inception (virtually no other mass market manufacturer has that track record). The gating factor in shipping these tanks from the factory is the literally perfect bonding of the panes with the German Wacker Silicone (meaning if the bonding isn't perfect, they scrap the tank and start over). The sealant used in our tanks is the same as commercial aquariums use to bond their huge glass panels together. This is from the Wacker AG website under Miscellaneous applications: "One example is our special solution for constructing aquariums, which was developed in accordance with stringent industry-specific standards. It is suitable for bonds that need to achieve high strength quickly and withstand high mechanical loads".

Here are the dimensions on the front of my tank. I measured these to provide to ClearView lids to remake the front section of the center lid. These dimensions are from the front of the ATO panel to the rear of the front panel (inside rectangle of the main tank). The numbers in red text are how ClearView sized the lids to fit inside the tank (smaller by roughly a tenth of an inch). The black numbers that are highlighted in pink and red are what I was able to measure with a tape measure that included 1/32 increments.

For me, given the overall build quality, extensive testing by Algae Barn, zero failures in 10+ years and numerous global industry awards for design and quality, I'm not at all sweating the 11/32" (just under 3/8") deflection in the center of the 82" long front panel. Nor will I worry about about the slight deflection in the rear panel that you've pointed out.

I hope this information is helpful and wish you good success with your CADE2100 if you decide to keep it! Sorry for the long-winded answer to your quick question.