Is my aquarium safe to use?

[EL_Perron]

I have a high end glass tank that I bought about 4 years ago. It has been sitting empty in a insulated garage. It has never seen water.

This is my fist "real" glass tank. Over the course of my 25 years of aquariums. They have been cheap glass or high end acrylic. So this is a bit new to me.

It's from Crystal Dynamics Aquarium.

It is half inch glass with extra euro brace support on top and bottom. The silicone is a half inch think pretty much every where inside.

It has been sitting on the pallet bottom that it shipped on, on top of a furniture dolly, so i could move it around. It sits level...but the edges of the pallet itself overhang, so it not perfectly flat.

You can also see that it comes on a very hard "foam" board and one side is more compressed then the other. I'm not sure if it has put undue stress on the tank glass or seams?

Also there are a few silicone issues I've noticed. I originally asked the supplier about them and they told me not to worry...but figured I post them as well. Everything that matters seems to be good...but I'd be interested in people's thoughts.

So all things considered...can I feel confident putting water in it?

I hope that it is, as it was very expensive and I hope I didn't screw something up.

 

[Nano_Man]

I would test it out side with water and see if there are any issues. Make sure it is level before filling . Hopefully it has no leaks or issues. At least if there are any leaks you can mark them so you know the areas that need sorted . Just an idea of what I would do but it is your choice in the end . Good luck with it . Ps that pallet doesn’t look good something solid or on the floor but level

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

As I scrolled through the pictures I was pretty impressed with the build quality of that tank as a whole. I like the way they did the bracing. With that said, I see you have two issues.

Both issues kind of tie in together. That one Pic where the silicone has been torn off. That looks to be the bottom rear corner of the tank? That will 100% be a problem and I would not sleep at night with water in that tank with that missing silicone. I've heard the silone can dry out if it sits without water for a long time. Now I don't know if that's true, but I assume it would be as I've worked with silicone a lot on cars and engines. I know heat dries it out.

I'm sure someone else can chime in that may have a different thought. I would want that tank to be resiliconed if it were me. You're right, it's a very nice system. You could put water in it and see if it leaks, but I wouldn't be comfortable with that corner.

Oh yeah, that should never be sitting on that dolly for that long. You would have been better off to leave it on the concrete floor or on top of a piece of plywood. Not that it matters now, but that looks like it's about to let go at any minute. Best of luck.

 

[EL_Perron]

I would test it out side with water and see if there are any issues. Make sure it is level before filling . Hopefully it has no leaks or issues. At least if there are any leaks you can mark them so you know the areas that need sorted . Just an idea of what I would do but it is your choice in the end . Good luck with it . Ps that pallet doesn’t look good something solid or on the floor but level

Yes, I will of course water test it. Off the pallet on the garage floor. It's only on the pallet so I could move it around the garage.

 

[EL_Perron]

As I scrolled through the pictures I was pretty impressed with the build quality of that tank as a whole. I like the way they did the bracing. With that said, I see you have two issues.

Both issues kind of tie in together. That one Pic where the silicone has been torn off. That looks to be the bottom rear corner of the tank? That will 100% be a problem and I would not sleep at night with water in that tank with that missing silicone. I've heard the silone can dry out if it sits without water for a long time. Now I don't know if that's true, but I assume it would be as I've worked with silicone a lot on cars and engines. I know heat dries it out.

I'm sure someone else can chime in that may have a different thought. I would want that tank to be resiliconed if it were me. You're right, it's a very nice system. You could put water in it and see if it leaks, but I wouldn't be comfortable with that corner.

Oh yeah, that should never be sitting on that dolly for that long. You would have been better off to leave it on the concrete floor or on top of a piece of plywood. Not that it matters now, but that looks like it's about to let go at any minute. Best of luck.

No silicone has been torn off and all silicone issues are at the top, not the bottom.

The silicone has been in an insulated garage that doesn't get above 80ish on the hottest of days.

I can assure you it is not going anywhere on yhe pallet on the dolley. It us absolutely solid and has been for 4 years now.

 

[malacoda]

It that some type of black ABS sheeting on the back of the tank?

Just want to make sure that back, bottom left 'open' seam we're looking at is a cover over the glass and not an seam between the back and bottom panels of glass.

***ah, never mind. I see now in the next to last pic that it is.

 

[EL_Perron]

It that some type of black ABS sheeting on the back of the tank?

Just want to make sure that back, bottom left 'open' seam we're looking at is a cover over the glass and not an seam between the back and bottom panels of glass.

***ah, never mind. I see now in the next to last pic that it is.

It's on some type of rigid foam...I don't know what it is exactly. I don't think it is abs.

Yes, I can assure you there are no issues on the bottom seems that I can currently see. Everything is on the top.

 

[vetteguy53081]

It that some type of black ABS sheeting on the back of the tank?

Just want to make sure that back, bottom left 'open' seam we're looking at is a cover over the glass and not an seam between the back and bottom panels of glass.

***ah, never mind. I see now in the next to last pic that it is.

Start with filling with freshwater and look for seeps/leaks. If you see any, I can guide you on leak repair in which ive repaired Too many tanks

 

[EL_Perron]

Start with filling with freshwater and look for seeps/leaks. If you see any, I can guide you on leak repair in which ive repaired Too many tanks

I will waster for sure, of course off the pallet and on the ground.

I will let you know. Thank you.

 

[Troylee]

That whole system looks very well built I don’t think you’re gonna have any issues… if it was joe blow in his garage I would question it but it’s not! I’d do a leak test and roll with it.

 

[EL_Perron]

That whole system looks very well built I don’t think you’re gonna have any issues… if it was joe blow in his garage I would question it but it’s not! I’d do a leak test and roll with it.

Thank you. I will of course leak test it.

 

[TCseh]

Leak test, it replace the silicone, all that stuff whatever. What I want to know is how you could purchase a nice tank like that an not use it for 4 whole years??

 

[exnisstech]

Leak test, it replace the silicone, all that stuff whatever. What I want to know is how you could purchase a nice tank like that an not use it for 4 whole years??

^^ This

I would just set it up outside and fill it. I doubt having the stand and tank sitting on the pallet empty will have harmed anything. As to the silicone drying out, the only part that comes into contact with water is the layer inside the tank. The part doing the bonding is between the panels and never comes into contact with water.

 

[EL_Perron]

Leak test, it replace the silicone, all that stuff whatever. What I want to know is how you could purchase a nice tank like that an not use it for 4 whole years??

Life man. Lots of other projects going on and I wasn't in a massive rush to do anything. I needed to be able to carve out time to plumb it (that has taken about 30 hours and I still need to swap out the white pipe for the colored PVC and glue everything) and everything. It still isn't ready...I am hoping in 2-3 months it will be ready to go.