Tank cracked!!

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 02:00 AM

so my 90gl of 7 months cracked today. Well I have only had the tank for 7 months I bought it used so I dont know how old it really is. I want to know what causes a tank to crack. is there something wrong in my stand. i didnt make my own it was a standard pine wood stand. The stand seems level and the floor is level. Do tanks just get old? does it just randomly happen sometimes? Any help would be greatly apreciated. Need some help and guidence to help me get back on my feet and poss back into the hobby????

evsalty · 08/27/2009, 02:04 AM

Where is the crack exactly? Is it possible that something hit the glass either from inside or from outside? Usually a crack in the glass needs a stressor to initiate it.

BuddhaKiss · 08/27/2009, 02:07 AM

Did you make sure your tank was leveled before you set it up? An unleveled tank can put uneven pressure on the seams and cause a leak

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 02:18 AM

the crack runs from the bottom right corner to about 4 inches to the left and to the top of the tank. and I did check the tank was level, I even rechecked the stand to make sure that was level.

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 03:39 AM

the tank is a aqueon by AGA mega flow Reef ready,

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 01:44 PM

bump if anyone else has ideas

JonnyD91 · 08/27/2009, 02:10 PM

Can you take a picture to give us a visual?

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 03:20 PM

heres the crack

jlemoine2 · 08/27/2009, 03:31 PM

I'm guessing that most cracks are the result of a poor stand or some sort of material defect. Maybe just one corner of the tank was not quite rested properly on the stand. The entire tank and stand may have been level, but that does not mean it was evenly supported by the stand... if that makes sense.

hawkfishman · 08/27/2009, 03:31 PM

glass sucks

JonnyD91 · 08/27/2009, 03:52 PM

Can you slide a piece of cardboard between the base of the tank and the top of the stand over in that corner? A thin pice of cardboard. Does the tank tieter todder(sp) on the stand? Are the visible gaps between the base of the tank and the stand more than 1/16"? Take some pics of where the tanks meets the stand lets see that.

CBehr · 08/27/2009, 04:32 PM

I have used 15 year old tanks so I would agree it's most likely the stand.

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JonnyD91
Can you slide a piece of cardboard between the base of the tank and the top of the stand over in that corner? A thin pice of cardboard. Does the tank tieter todder(sp) on the stand? Are the visible gaps between the base of the tank and the stand more than 1/16"? Take some pics of where the tanks meets the stand lets see that.

Ok ill get some pics when I am done with work already got a thin peice of cardboard for testing it out. if this is my problem will i be able to just lay down a new board on top of my stand to even it all out like some partical board or something?? thanks again everone for your help

ddinox64 · 08/27/2009, 05:46 PM

Your problem doesn't need to be the back corner. It could be the front corner is too high or too low.

Without the water in it, it will be hard to tell. But if it had water in it on the stand you could carefully feel the crack to see if the gap was inside or outside telling you if it was pushed back or pulled forward. Would have to be done in the same spot to test it. But your tank definitely twisted.

There was force either pushing the top corner or pulling foward on the top corner. Thus the reason the way it cracked.

Was it full of water when this happened?

Or quite possibly was let down with a little less care on that corner, started a run and it finally went when messing with it.

Nothing wrong with glass Hawk. Millions possibly billions of tanks sold without fail. But EVERY acrylic tank scratches and oxidizes.

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ddinox64
Your problem doesn't need to be the back corner. It could be the front corner is too high or too low.

Without the water in it, it will be hard to tell. But if it had water in it on the stand you could carefully feel the crack to see if the gap was inside or outside telling you if it was pushed back or pulled forward. Would have to be done in the same spot to test it. But your tank definitely twisted.

There was force either pushing the top corner or pulling foward on the top corner. Thus the reason the way it cracked.

Was it full of water when this happened?

Or quite possibly was let down with a little less care on that corner, started a run and it finally went when messing with it.

Nothing wrong with glass Hawk. Millions possibly billions of tanks sold without fail. But EVERY acrylic tank scratches and oxidizes.

it was full of water when it happend and full of live stock.. I have had it up and running for 8 months now and i have changed nothing recently

ddinox64 · 08/27/2009, 10:38 PM

Bummer. 48" long? Find the same length level to span the entire length of the stand. Torpedo won't work.

pmrossetti · 08/27/2009, 10:46 PM

Many tanks at my local fish stores have cracked. Rock, water, whatever. Go to acrylic. More care involved, but a lot less likely to flood your house. My local fish stores have. Thanks

danreefman · 08/27/2009, 11:07 PM

you can repair a floor in a week. but what if your tank was runing for 5 years and you lost all that precious live stock

Tc269 · 08/27/2009, 11:43 PM

oh just so there is no confusion a couple of people thought the bottom cracked and that is why they said stand.. for clarification the back wall of the tank cracked. is it still the possibily of it being the stand if its the back wall??

jlemoine2 · 08/28/2009, 10:14 AM

I'm not sure if acrylic is less likely to flood your house or not. Most of the horror stories I read on Reef Central are due to seams splitting on acrylic tanks, but that is only from my observations.

noahm · 08/28/2009, 11:18 AM

Acrylic is far less likely to fail than glass unless it was a poor DIY or bad builder. A properly seamed and braced acrylic is extremely unlikely to fail. The general recommendation is go acrylic if it is going to be more than 55g as the safety factor outweighs the cleaning and scratching trouble that actually is pretty minimal. Glass on a large tank is fine, but you do have to make sure everything is stress free. You may start out with a perfectly straight and level stand/tank, but all that weight can cause settling. Even a semi driving up the street may get the floor resonating enough to cause a twist stress which will do exactly what your tank did. It is the sides and back that resist the up and down stresses, so they are the ones that usually fail when the stand/floor is uneven.

James77 · 08/28/2009, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by noahm
Acrylic is far less likely to fail than glass unless it was a poor DIY or bad builder. A properly seamed and braced acrylic is extremely unlikely to fail. The general recommendation is go acrylic if it is going to be more than 55g as the safety factor outweighs the cleaning and scratching trouble that actually is pretty minimal.

A properly built and supported glass tank is also extremely unlikely to fail. There are FAR more glass aquaria than acrylic, and these cracked tanks are very rare.

Most of the posts Ive read about acrylic scratching peg it at a serious PITA. Where are you getting the 55 gallon and above is better for acrylic, Ive never heard that. Ive heard on VERY large tanks it can be a better choice simply because of the reduced weight.

mukymuk · 08/28/2009, 12:35 PM

Could be a lot of things. The tank could have be dropped on that corner at some time in the past causing a small defect that eventually caused the huge crack you have. Some small area on that one corner might not have been polished correctly when it was built. Who knows?

I've seen tanks stand for years with one side an inch higher than the other. Glass is hard to know.

luther1200 · 08/28/2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by noahm
Acrylic is far less likely to fail than glass unless it was a poor DIY or bad builder. A properly seamed and braced acrylic is extremely unlikely to fail. The general recommendation is go acrylic if it is going to be more than 55g as the safety factor outweighs the cleaning and scratching trouble that actually is pretty minimal. Glass on a large tank is fine, but you do have to make sure everything is stress free.

Acrylic is just as likely to fail if not more IMO. You say properly built and braced acrylic tank is extremely unlikely to fail and I agree, but the same could be said for glass. I would venture to say that its probably pretty even.

Tc269 · 08/28/2009, 02:13 PM

I have taken a level to all sides of the top of the stand every angle. perfectly level. I am waiting for my new tank to come today and I am going to set it on top and see if there is any gap between the tank and the stand. Just got off the phone with a big supplier and they said 9 out of 10 problems with cracks come from some small chip or defect in the tank not the stand.

08/27/2009, 02:00 AM	#1
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	Tank cracked!! so my 90gl of 7 months cracked today. Well I have only had the tank for 7 months I bought it used so I dont know how old it really is. I want to know what causes a tank to crack. is there something wrong in my stand. i didnt make my own it was a standard pine wood stand. The stand seems level and the floor is level. Do tanks just get old? does it just randomly happen sometimes? Any help would be greatly apreciated. Need some help and guidence to help me get back on my feet and poss back into the hobby???? __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer

08/27/2009, 02:18 AM	#4
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	the crack runs from the bottom right corner to about 4 inches to the left and to the top of the tank. and I did check the tank was level, I even rechecked the stand to make sure that was level. __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer

08/27/2009, 03:39 AM	#5
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	the tank is a aqueon by AGA mega flow Reef ready, __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer

08/27/2009, 01:44 PM	#6
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	bump if anyone else has ideas __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer

08/27/2009, 03:20 PM	#8
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	heres the crack __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer

08/27/2009, 02:04 AM	#2
evsalty hmmmmmm Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: NW Mesa, AZ Posts: 3,531	Where is the crack exactly? Is it possible that something hit the glass either from inside or from outside? Usually a crack in the glass needs a stressor to initiate it.

08/27/2009, 02:07 AM	#3
BuddhaKiss Registered Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Northern Va Posts: 1,068	Did you make sure your tank was leveled before you set it up? An unleveled tank can put uneven pressure on the seams and cause a leak

08/27/2009, 02:10 PM	#7
JonnyD91 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Manalapan NJ Posts: 1,444	Can you take a picture to give us a visual?

08/27/2009, 03:31 PM	#9
jlemoine2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 200	I'm guessing that most cracks are the result of a poor stand or some sort of material defect. Maybe just one corner of the tank was not quite rested properly on the stand. The entire tank and stand may have been level, but that does not mean it was evenly supported by the stand... if that makes sense. __________________ -James Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef w/ 40 gallon frag tank.

08/27/2009, 03:31 PM	#10
hawkfishman Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 178	glass sucks

08/27/2009, 03:52 PM	#11
JonnyD91 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Manalapan NJ Posts: 1,444	Can you slide a piece of cardboard between the base of the tank and the top of the stand over in that corner? A thin pice of cardboard. Does the tank tieter todder(sp) on the stand? Are the visible gaps between the base of the tank and the stand more than 1/16"? Take some pics of where the tanks meets the stand lets see that.

08/27/2009, 04:32 PM	#12
CBehr Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ephrata, PA Posts: 588	I have used 15 year old tanks so I would agree it's most likely the stand. __________________ 1st time w/o a tank in 10+ years. Planning 65g..mainly fish, maybe a few LPS/Softies

08/27/2009, 05:46 PM	#14
ddinox64 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ca. Posts: 1,327	Your problem doesn't need to be the back corner. It could be the front corner is too high or too low. Without the water in it, it will be hard to tell. But if it had water in it on the stand you could carefully feel the crack to see if the gap was inside or outside telling you if it was pushed back or pulled forward. Would have to be done in the same spot to test it. But your tank definitely twisted. There was force either pushing the top corner or pulling foward on the top corner. Thus the reason the way it cracked. Was it full of water when this happened? Or quite possibly was let down with a little less care on that corner, started a run and it finally went when messing with it. Nothing wrong with glass Hawk. Millions possibly billions of tanks sold without fail. But EVERY acrylic tank scratches and oxidizes.

08/27/2009, 10:38 PM	#16
ddinox64 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Ca. Posts: 1,327	Bummer. 48" long? Find the same length level to span the entire length of the stand. Torpedo won't work.

08/27/2009, 10:46 PM	#17
pmrossetti Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cali. Posts: 3,199	Many tanks at my local fish stores have cracked. Rock, water, whatever. Go to acrylic. More care involved, but a lot less likely to flood your house. My local fish stores have. Thanks

08/27/2009, 11:07 PM	#18
danreefman Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: northern california Posts: 796	you can repair a floor in a week. but what if your tank was runing for 5 years and you lost all that precious live stock

08/27/2009, 11:43 PM	#19
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	oh just so there is no confusion a couple of people thought the bottom cracked and that is why they said stand.. for clarification the back wall of the tank cracked. is it still the possibily of it being the stand if its the back wall?? __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer

08/28/2009, 10:14 AM	#20
jlemoine2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Boise, Idaho Posts: 200	I'm not sure if acrylic is less likely to flood your house or not. Most of the horror stories I read on Reef Central are due to seams splitting on acrylic tanks, but that is only from my observations. __________________ -James Current Tank Info: 120 gallon reef w/ 40 gallon frag tank.

08/28/2009, 11:18 AM	#21
noahm Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 2,736	Acrylic is far less likely to fail than glass unless it was a poor DIY or bad builder. A properly seamed and braced acrylic is extremely unlikely to fail. The general recommendation is go acrylic if it is going to be more than 55g as the safety factor outweighs the cleaning and scratching trouble that actually is pretty minimal. Glass on a large tank is fine, but you do have to make sure everything is stress free. You may start out with a perfectly straight and level stand/tank, but all that weight can cause settling. Even a semi driving up the street may get the floor resonating enough to cause a twist stress which will do exactly what your tank did. It is the sides and back that resist the up and down stresses, so they are the ones that usually fail when the stand/floor is uneven.

08/28/2009, 12:35 PM	#23
mukymuk Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Plano, TX. Posts: 109	Could be a lot of things. The tank could have be dropped on that corner at some time in the past causing a small defect that eventually caused the huge crack you have. Some small area on that one corner might not have been polished correctly when it was built. Who knows? I've seen tanks stand for years with one side an inch higher than the other. Glass is hard to know.

08/28/2009, 02:13 PM	#25
Tc269 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 615	I have taken a level to all sides of the top of the stand every angle. perfectly level. I am waiting for my new tank to come today and I am going to set it on top and see if there is any gap between the tank and the stand. Just got off the phone with a big supplier and they said 9 out of 10 problems with cracks come from some small chip or defect in the tank not the stand. __________________ Want to See my Mini Build Click my little red house. Current Tank Info: 55gallon with 300watt MH 14K lights and a turbo flotor multi skimmer