JBJ 45 Split up the side over night...

[Gopi]

So...It's been awhile since I've been on the boards.
Fun background: I'm 37 weeks pregnant (thus my hiatus from the boards) and my husband is out of town...

I woke up this morning to find my JBJ 45 rimless tank had cracked from top to bottom. The tank was completely drained onto our bamboo floors. Both the tank and floors were set up last Feb/March so less than a year.

I assumed my seahorses were dead since they were not moving and were not covered in water....but nearly 2 hours into clean up I noticed one move...All 3 were barely alive and I moved them into the sump of my 90 reef for emergency "get them in salt water now"

I've already called insurance, a restoration company, soaked up what water I could and moved the furniture as best as a heavily pregnant woman can.

Is there anything else that I can/should do? Should I contact MarineDepot or JBJ about a tank warranty since I got it only about a year ago? TIA.

(Pic is crooked because I was. Tank was perfectly level.)

 

[TheEngineer]

Wow! Good luck going after the manufacturer. Happy to hear the worst of it was damaged floors though. Could have caused a fire.

 

[Chrisfish]

So...It's been awhile since I've been on the boards.
Fun background: I'm 37 weeks pregnant (thus my hiatus from the boards) and my husband is out of town...

I woke up this morning to find my JBJ 45 rimless tank had cracked from top to bottom. The tank was completely drained onto our bamboo floors. Both the tank and floors were set up last Feb/March so less than a year.

I assumed my seahorses were dead since they were not moving and were not covered in water....but nearly 2 hours into clean up I noticed one move...All 3 were barely alive and I moved them into the sump of my 90 reef for emergency "get them in salt water now"

I've already called insurance, a restoration company, soaked up what water I could and moved the furniture as best as a heavily pregnant woman can.

Is there anything else that I can/should do? Should I contact MarineDepot or JBJ about a tank warranty since I got it only about a year ago? TIA.

(Pic is crooked because I was. Tank was perfectly level.)

I have had no problems with jbj, if it's less than one year it should be covered, call the warranty number if you still have the paper work, I've talked to Cary and manny several times, my tank did not crack but when I got it last month it had a small scratch and they sent me a new one and I did not have to send the other one back. If don't have the number let me know I'll give it to you, do you still have the receipt or invoice?

 

[Gopi]

@Chrisfish, not sure I can get to the warranty paper work right now- got a clean up crew pulling up the floors. I bought the tank through MarineDepot so I have that invoice online still. My insurance agency said they were going to send a company to come wrap up the tank and take if for testing so they can determine why it broke- I thought that was interesting and it's a good thing I took pictures of how I found it prior to removing the rock and equipment. So far one of the seahorses has passed and the other 2 aren't looking so great...

 

[Chrisfish]

@Chrisfish, not sure I can get to the warranty paper work right now- got a clean up crew pulling up the floors. I bought the tank through MarineDepot so I have that invoice online still. My insurance agency said they were going to send a company to come wrap up the tank and take if for testing so they can determine why it broke- I thought that was interesting and it's a good thing I took pictures of how I found it prior to removing the rock and equipment. So far one of the seahorses has passed and the other 2 aren't looking so great...

I'm so sorry about your seahorse! I'm not home but I will send you the number in about a half hour.

 

[TheEngineer]

@Chrisfish, not sure I can get to the warranty paper work right now- got a clean up crew pulling up the floors. I bought the tank through MarineDepot so I have that invoice online still. My insurance agency said they were going to send a company to come wrap up the tank and take if for testing so they can determine why it broke- I thought that was interesting and it's a good thing I took pictures of how I found it prior to removing the rock and equipment. So far one of the seahorses has passed and the other 2 aren't looking so great...

Your insurance company is likely going to try and subrogate their costs and get the tank manufacturer to pony up.

 

[jdpeters]

i hope everything gets taken care of for you! thats really upsetting.

 

[Chrisfish]

I'm so sorry about your seahorse! I'm not home but I will send you the number in about a half hour.

Here is the number for JBJ warranty 310-672-4921 or 310-672-4099 good luck, let us know how it works out. Again so sorry for your little horses .

 

[Brian Kim]

Sorry to hear about your loss....Looks like the manufacturer will go about blaming your custom made stand. Make sure you have a picture ready to prove to them that it was sound and perfectly leveled

 

[pelphrey]

The worst nightmare for anyone with a box full of water in our houses. I hope this is resolved by JBJ as well as your insurance company. Congrats on the little one coming soon!

 

[accline]

Thought I'd share our nightmare of a story with a happy ending. We had the exact same thing happen so I feel your pain. The manufacturer did try to blame our stand which I don't think was the problem. Ours split in the exact same place and they immediately gave full credit for the tank. So we ended up with our dream tank. 120 gallons and 6 months later, we have a great tank, but no new carpet. All our excess money went for the upgraded tank. I've had tanks for years, and even had a seahorse tank that I adored, but never this nightmare. I'm sorry for the loss of your stable. I love sea horses. I think JBJ knows that they might be on the hook for much more than just the tank, do they give credit for the tank while we're still in shock and haven't had time to contemplate what has really happened. I wonder if there is a defect in this type of tank. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens from here. I wish we could talk face to face because I feel your pain. Our tank busted 3 weeks after my husband had a 3 bypass surgery. Our LFS made a house call to help us. Take care!!! Oh and boy or girl?

 

[Evoixjohn]

Ohhhhhhh man sad to hear,great now I'm going to be paranoid from now on. I also have a jbj 45

 

[Gopi]

@accline, thanks for sharing. This is good to know. By some miracle 2 of the horses have hung in and are residing in the fuge of my reef tank. The water is a bit warmer and dirtier than they're used to but they have been hunting pods and seemed much stronger today. Corals dont seem to be recovering and my peppermint shrimp is MIA.

And we're expecting a boy...who will hopefully love fishies too!

 

[Letsmod]

My JBJ rimless split open 2 days ago right along the front right curve of the glass , luckily it as at the office during work hours and people quickly got trash and to catch the water.

Everything was pulled and put in other tanks - we have 9 at the office, lol

JBJ has agreed to do a courtesy warranty - no damage done to office - I was able to get a carpet cleaner and get up what did spil on the floor

 

[lion king]

My JBJ 30 cracked and luckily I was in earshot and was able to transfer everything and avert disaster. It was exactly 2 years old and never had anything on the rim, the lights were suspended. Told one of my lfs and she said those tanks were bad news.

 

[Elementalj]

Frickin WOW! [emoji15] I love those tanks! Sorry about the mess!

 

[Rick.45cal]

If JBJ gives you any grief (i don't see why they would) tell them that their fundamental engineering is flawed, they need to take into account the material that they are using and it's unique properties. Heating a sheet of glass and bending it induces uneven stresses into the glass. Glass doesn't like internal stresses, that's exactly what happens. The crack probably started from the bottom corner and traveled up to the top.

Sorry for your bad experience.

 

[hpimichael02]

they may ask you to take a picture with a level font to back and side to side. I love these tanks but they are so thin that if it was un level just a bit then that would put excess stress on that curve. Sad to see this happen, and at the worst time of your pregnancy when mobility is at the least. my wife at 37 weeks was ready to have our child lol.

 

[aquanerd57]

Wow so sorry. Did insurance pay? Every aquarist nightmare. Try acrylic. I'm so paranoid of glass for that reason. Did homeowners cover the tank?