Marineland 93 Cube Seal and Stand Information

DSmithZ28 · 02/23/2017, 10:40 AM

I just got off the phone with a very good customer care person at Marineland. I have called about 6 times and got her 2x and each time she is awesome. I am a little worried to use her name for any Marineland reprisals.

Regarding the seam issue with air bubbles. Would not admit to anything but she said that they were aware of the issue and that Marineland had in fact warrantied several tanks with bubble issues in the seam. She was quite sure that there was no issue with leaking or breaking because of this issue. She said that if you had a Marineland Tank built after 8/2016 to current there has been no issues. She implied that there was a silicone change. She stated that she has 2x of these 93 gallon cubes in her house and she does not have any issues with them.

I called and spoke to ASI American Sealant a company that manufactures aquarium sealant and he said that bubbles are most likely caused by a manufacturing process where there could have been an impurity in the bubble area that caused the silicone not to adhere or bond into the glass. He could not confirm or deny that they manufacture for Marineland but he made it sound that they have not changed any aquarium grade silicone. So there is a little conflicting information there and to me it seems that silicone is not the cause of the bubbles but manufacturing and possible glass etching or prepping issues. He also made it sound that it was not a big deal to have a bubble in the silicone between panes just as the Marineland folks have stated. My general feeling on this issues is that we should all be fine. I cannot locate any forum post that said that bubbles between the two panes of glass resulted in a leak or caused a catastrophic failure.

Other information from Marineland is that they are pretty confident that catastrophic failures are caused by something other than manufacturing:

1) drilling the tank incorrectly and applying stress to the seams between the panes of glass.
2) moving the tank with water in it.
3) leaving the tank dry for extended periods of time.
4) building a custom tank that is not PERFECTLY square and level.

After all my research into this subject as I desperately want to have a 93 gallon cube and not worry when or if it will fail is that there are always warning signs in advance of a tank failing that should be taken seriously.

Lastly. Marineland only warranties their tanks to the original owner when they use a Marineland stand. This is not 100% accurate. According to the rep, They will warranty their tanks on any commercially manufactured for aquarium stand. Problem, there isn't any others except Marineland that I can find. However, she did say that engineers would look at the custom stand and determine that it was square and that the stand could be ruled out. I feel somewhat confident that they would in fact warrant an aquarium if the custom stand could be verified to be perfectly square. This is not a written policy just some discussion I had with them.

I saw in some other threads that people are using plywood on the top of their custom stands. This is NOT recommended and any custom stand should be left open in the center exactly like Marineland does. Also no other material like padding should ever be used between the tank and the stand. Marineland builds their stand to have some movement to accommodate for earthquakes! I call bullcrap here but that is what was said. I want my stand to be incredibly rigid and hence that is why I'm building a square tube stand for mine.

DISCLAIMER: I am not in anyway affiliated with Marineland or ASI. I have no chemical or engineering background and all of my conversations with these folks were very productive but they are very cryptic to avoid any legal liability. Because we all know anyone and everyone will get sued for anything. Do not take this as gospel and make up your own mind just as I have been trying to do for months on this product. I will say I am feeling way better about purchasing now than I have been. I actually bought a used Marineland 93 cube and decided to sell it because it was manufactured in 2011 and I cannot confirm its past history and there is some silicone issues that make me nervous. It does not leak after a week of testing. Hopefully I do not get hammered as this was my best effort to help everyone feel better about getting a cube aquarium.

I forgot to mention as some more interesting information. To test your aquarium you should not just fill it and wait. Fill it and empty it then fill it again multiple times. This is how Aquarium manufacturers test their aquariums. They cycle it from being filled and unfilled hundreds if not thousands of times as this is what stresses the seam between glass panes the most and the best way to test for strength.

Cube on peeps.

Ridem32 · 02/23/2017, 11:38 AM

How would we know if it's built after 8/16? I'm sure lots of local stores have some in stock and they could be built before 8/16

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DSmithZ28 · 02/23/2017, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ridem32

How would we know if it's built after 8/16? I'm sure lots of local stores have some in stock and they could be built before 8/16

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There will be a manufactured date sticker somewhere on it. The Rimmed Marineland Cube I have has it under the top plastic trim.

Ridem32 · 02/23/2017, 12:01 PM

I thought the 93 cube was rimless

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DSmithZ28 · 02/23/2017, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ridem32

I thought the 93 cube was rimless

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All of the earlier versions had the plastic trim. Marineland discontinued it in favor of the more popular rimless design. The plastic trim actually has no strength value so it was easy for them to discontinue. I personally like the rimmed version better but don't have a choice unless I want to pay A LOT more money from glass cages or another smaller manufacturer.

mfishies · 10/22/2017, 11:33 AM

From my unboxed 93 cube. Will be calling Marineland tomorrow.

DSmithZ28 · 10/22/2017, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfishies

From my unboxed 93 cube. Will be calling Marineland tomorrow.

They won’t warranty that. That’s what they call “normal”. It has to be edge to edge or have a spiderweb appearance. Good luck though.

mfishies · 01/06/2018, 01:07 PM

Marineland did confirm that the bubbles previously pictured are considered normal and do not weaken the bond. Essentially it’s the minimal movement from the glass when the silicon cures in the absence of a rim I’m told. Unfortunately after they informed me of that and I removed everything protecting the glass, I found the more bubbles. The largest was almost the size of a pencil eraser. Marineland then promptly refunded me the purchase price of the tank, but I ate the tax and shipping cost since I had my LFS special order it.

02/23/2017, 10:40 AM	#1
DSmithZ28 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Deep South Posts: 35	Marineland 93 Cube Seal and Stand Information I just got off the phone with a very good customer care person at Marineland. I have called about 6 times and got her 2x and each time she is awesome. I am a little worried to use her name for any Marineland reprisals. Regarding the seam issue with air bubbles. Would not admit to anything but she said that they were aware of the issue and that Marineland had in fact warrantied several tanks with bubble issues in the seam. She was quite sure that there was no issue with leaking or breaking because of this issue. She said that if you had a Marineland Tank built after 8/2016 to current there has been no issues. She implied that there was a silicone change. She stated that she has 2x of these 93 gallon cubes in her house and she does not have any issues with them. I called and spoke to ASI American Sealant a company that manufactures aquarium sealant and he said that bubbles are most likely caused by a manufacturing process where there could have been an impurity in the bubble area that caused the silicone not to adhere or bond into the glass. He could not confirm or deny that they manufacture for Marineland but he made it sound that they have not changed any aquarium grade silicone. So there is a little conflicting information there and to me it seems that silicone is not the cause of the bubbles but manufacturing and possible glass etching or prepping issues. He also made it sound that it was not a big deal to have a bubble in the silicone between panes just as the Marineland folks have stated. My general feeling on this issues is that we should all be fine. I cannot locate any forum post that said that bubbles between the two panes of glass resulted in a leak or caused a catastrophic failure. Other information from Marineland is that they are pretty confident that catastrophic failures are caused by something other than manufacturing: 1) drilling the tank incorrectly and applying stress to the seams between the panes of glass. 2) moving the tank with water in it. 3) leaving the tank dry for extended periods of time. 4) building a custom tank that is not PERFECTLY square and level. After all my research into this subject as I desperately want to have a 93 gallon cube and not worry when or if it will fail is that there are always warning signs in advance of a tank failing that should be taken seriously. Lastly. Marineland only warranties their tanks to the original owner when they use a Marineland stand. This is not 100% accurate. According to the rep, They will warranty their tanks on any commercially manufactured for aquarium stand. Problem, there isn't any others except Marineland that I can find. However, she did say that engineers would look at the custom stand and determine that it was square and that the stand could be ruled out. I feel somewhat confident that they would in fact warrant an aquarium if the custom stand could be verified to be perfectly square. This is not a written policy just some discussion I had with them. I saw in some other threads that people are using plywood on the top of their custom stands. This is NOT recommended and any custom stand should be left open in the center exactly like Marineland does. Also no other material like padding should ever be used between the tank and the stand. Marineland builds their stand to have some movement to accommodate for earthquakes! I call bullcrap here but that is what was said. I want my stand to be incredibly rigid and hence that is why I'm building a square tube stand for mine. DISCLAIMER: I am not in anyway affiliated with Marineland or ASI. I have no chemical or engineering background and all of my conversations with these folks were very productive but they are very cryptic to avoid any legal liability. Because we all know anyone and everyone will get sued for anything. Do not take this as gospel and make up your own mind just as I have been trying to do for months on this product. I will say I am feeling way better about purchasing now than I have been. I actually bought a used Marineland 93 cube and decided to sell it because it was manufactured in 2011 and I cannot confirm its past history and there is some silicone issues that make me nervous. It does not leak after a week of testing. Hopefully I do not get hammered as this was my best effort to help everyone feel better about getting a cube aquarium. I forgot to mention as some more interesting information. To test your aquarium you should not just fill it and wait. Fill it and empty it then fill it again multiple times. This is how Aquarium manufacturers test their aquariums. They cycle it from being filled and unfilled hundreds if not thousands of times as this is what stresses the seam between glass panes the most and the best way to test for strength. Cube on peeps.

02/23/2017, 11:38 AM	#2
Ridem32 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 271	How would we know if it's built after 8/16? I'm sure lots of local stores have some in stock and they could be built before 8/16 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

02/23/2017, 12:01 PM	#4
Ridem32 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 271	I thought the 93 cube was rimless Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

01/06/2018, 01:07 PM	#8
mfishies Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: IN Posts: 14	Marineland did confirm that the bubbles previously pictured are considered normal and do not weaken the bond. Essentially it’s the minimal movement from the glass when the silicon cures in the absence of a rim I’m told. Unfortunately after they informed me of that and I removed everything protecting the glass, I found the more bubbles. The largest was almost the size of a pencil eraser. Marineland then promptly refunded me the purchase price of the tank, but I ate the tax and shipping cost since I had my LFS special order it.