Bow in Aqueon 29 gallon tank?

[Fishbird]

Hi all,

I made a screen net top for my tank this morning. My net top is square. When I set it on my tank I realized that there is a bow in the front and back panels of my standard Aqueon 29gal tank. I can find threads saying that it’s totally normal and all glass tanks will show a bow and I can find threads saying it’s an emergency and I should immediately drain the tank. I am leaning towards moving everything but because now that I know the bow is there it’s always going to make me nervous and I have a lot of hang on gear but...is this truly normal? I called one of my LFSs and they said that any bow I completely unheard of, that this is an immediate emergency, and they’ve never heard of such a thing in 13 years but I can find lots and lots and lots of posts on all sorts of aquarium forums saying that bows in the 29 and larger tanks are normal.

Thoughts? The bow in my tank is somewhere between 1/16” and 1/8”. I’m willing to move everything but my poor tank inhabitants. I’ve had so many problems with tanks.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Can you give us a picture of it?

 

[Fishbird]

This is the best I can do. If I put the tape measure so it’s square in the corners of the tank, then the gap you see here between the tape measure and the rim is the widest part of the gap.

 

[Fishbird]

Here is what the tape measure looks like at the corner of the tank, for comparison.

 

[andrewey]

Based on the picture, that looks like less than a 1/16th of an inch gap to my eyes.

 

[Fishbird]

Based on the picture, that looks like less than a 1/16th of an inch gap to my eyes.

Yeah when I look at the pictures I think it’s around 1/16”. Is this normal for a glass tank? Or should I be transferring things?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I truly believe your okay.

 

[Fishbird]

Thanks. I really appreciate it!!!

 

[Peace River]

I also think that you are okay and have multiple tanks that are comparable. You may want to document the bow with a picture and then compare every month or couple of months to make sure that the bow doesn't increase (if you are at all concerned).

 

[Fishbird]

Thanks for the second opinion! I’ll keep an eye on it but I’m not panicking at this point. I really appreciate it!

 

[Stanley Wong]

I have the 29G tank for a few years, no issue.

 

[Fishbird]

I have the 29G tank for a few years, no issue.

Does yours also bow?

 

[Stanley Wong]

Yes

 

[Victor_C3]

Glass can bow quite a bit before it’ll break. Off the top of my head, I don’t have a formula for you, but I do have anecdotal experience.

My last aquarium was a 30” long 30 gallon nano. The front and back panes of glass at there midpoint were bowed out 1/4” to 3/8” from each other for the three years I used that tank. It never cracked or failed on me during that time.

I wouldn’t worry about your tank.

 

[emilio365]

This is the best I can do. If I put the tape measure so it’s square in the corners of the tank, then the gap you see here between the tape measure and the rim is the widest part of the gap.

I wouldn’t worry, that is normal.
I have the same tank, but I drilled it and it started to bow about 1/4 inch, that freaked me out so I had a Brace made for it. I think yours is minimal/normal, I wouldn’t worry about it it’s completely normal.

 

[Fishbird]

Thanks again everybody. I appreciate it a lot!