Aqueon 15gal column bottom glass vulnerability

[D1LBERT]

Hi Friends,

I saw someone mention having blowouts of the bottom glass on two of these tanks. I'm guessing this was from total weight of liverock bearing down on it with no support underneath.

For those that aren't familiar, these tanks come with a stand/cabinet that supports all four side panes of glass, but nothing supporting the middle of the bottom pane. (See image taken from inside the cabinet, looking up at the bottom pane)

Would it be worth while to cut a piece of plywood and add a layer of styrofoam for extra support? I have 40lbs of liverock rubble on the way for my rock wall which will cover two sides of the tank. I've never really seen a bottom blowout, let alone twice on the same model. Got me thinking...

Cheers,
D.

 

[Saltyreef]

I would 100% add a piece of plywood and a leveling mat. At very least a couple horizontal supports under it.
Thats a lot of unsupported surface area.

 

[Robertellis30]

I had one set up for a few years with about 40lbs of rock with no issue.

 

[D1LBERT]

I had one set up for a few years with about 40lbs of rock with no issue.

The reefer said that the first one shattered after 3 years and the second after only three weeks. I don't know the details and there could have been a lot of things wrong with her setup. I think I'll still err on the side of caution.

 

[slojim]

I would add the support as well - provided you can keep it flat and not introduce another pressure point. So for example, MDF could swell if it got wet and penetrated the paint.
TBH, I worry about this too much perhaps, but I am in the habit of putting something on the bottom of the tank inside to spread out the pressure points of the rock. In my current tank, I used white tile and siliconed it in place. If/when some critter moves sand, it isn't obvious, since it's white.