# Tank cracked-water everywhere.



## Syed (Oct 20, 2010)

My new 30 gallon high tank just gave out on me this afternoon. Water was everywhere even in the basement, a total mess.

Anyways the tank was a Marineland tank 30 gallon high glass aquarium. To make sure this didn't happen, I filled it with regular water prior a week ago and there were no leaks or cracks. I don't understand fully but what the LFS told me when I returned it was that it was a manufacturer's defect. The crack had started at the bottom trimming etc. Now the thing is the crack happened at the bottom of the tank one day after I added the live sand, live rock and salt water and was not present before I filled the tank up.

So here's the thing, Big Al's gave me a replacement aquarium, the exact same model. I'm honestly afraid it'll give out again and the tanks were even manufactured the same month and year. It's in the garage where I filled it up with whatever saltwater I could salvage and live rock and sand to see if it'll crack again or not. Nothing yet but what do you guys think? Has there been problems with these types of tanks in general?


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Oh that sucks 
Is it possible that it was cracked by a rock?


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

carmenh said:


> Oh that sucks
> Is it possible that it was cracked by a rock?


Could be. I had very little touch of the R in 10G and it is cracked

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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

my girlfriends first tank (10 gallon) did that. big als replaced it. they called it a "horseshoe" crack. the replacement has been running for at least 2 years now without issue. It was an "All Glass" brand i believe. but I'm not sure if it's the same lot as the one they replaced. 

The tank cracked about 2 days after being set up with gravel/plants/fish. luckily we caught it before it was fully drained and saved the inhabitants. and luckily i always have a spare tank or 2 floating around my house...

hopefully your replacement has no issues. you probably got stuck with a lemon the first time around. best of luck with the new one!


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Oh man, that really sucks.
Try to clean up as much of the spill are possible.
If you are concern, put an egg-crate on the bottom of the tank, then fill it with sand. Also, I have a 1/2" insulation styrofoam on the bottom of the tank to prevent stress point.
If it's a bad silicon job, then there isn't much you can do about it.
How old is the tank? If it's pretty new, send an email to marineland with pictures of the damages and complain and see if they might help foot something for the damages.

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## splur (May 11, 2011)

This scares me... a lot. -_-


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

How did you set it up to test it? It needs to be set up on a flat level surface, same as you would set it up in it's final location. Doing otherwise is an invitation to disaster. I saw one incidence on PN where the tank was tested on the lawn and, of course, it shattered.


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## adrenaline (Jan 17, 2011)

testing on a lawn haha! priceless!


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## Syed (Oct 20, 2010)

carmenh said:


> Oh that sucks
> Is it possible that it was cracked by a rock?


I don't know. I was pretty gentle when adding the live rock. Plus there was live sand which buffered any impact that could have occurred.



adrenaline said:


> my girlfriends first tank (10 gallon) did that. big als replaced it. they called it a "horseshoe" crack. the replacement has been running for at least 2 years now without issue. It was an "All Glass" brand i believe. but I'm not sure if it's the same lot as the one they replaced.
> 
> The tank cracked about 2 days after being set up with gravel/plants/fish. luckily we caught it before it was fully drained and saved the inhabitants. and luckily i always have a spare tank or 2 floating around my house...
> 
> hopefully your replacement has no issues. you probably got stuck with a lemon the first time around. best of luck with the new one!


I'm hoping you're right and this is a rare case.



Zebrapl3co said:


> Oh man, that really sucks.
> Try to clean up as much of the spill are possible.
> If you are concern, put an egg-crate on the bottom of the tank, then fill it with sand. Also, I have a 1/2" insulation styrofoam on the bottom of the tank to prevent stress point.
> If it's a bad silicon job, then there isn't much you can do about it.
> How old is the tank? If it's pretty new, send an email to marineland with pictures of the damages and complain and see if they might help foot something for the damages.


I'll try the Styrofoam base, thanks 

Yeah I cleaned it up. Luckily it spilled on tiles. The basement however got a nice salt bath. Luckily the tank was on top of the unfinished laundry room and a drainage so it got most of the water, any damage is minimal to none.

I would take pics but I've already given the tank back. I was told it was a manufacturing problem so hopefully Big Al's tells them soon. The tank was also fairly new, made December 2010. That's what really shocked me, that my 47 gallon column tank which was made 6 years prior to when I purchased it didn't have this problem or any leaks. But this brand new tank did.



BillD said:


> How did you set it up to test it? It needs to be set up on a flat level surface, same as you would set it up in it's final location. Doing otherwise is an invitation to disaster. I saw one incidence on PN where the tank was tested on the lawn and, of course, it shattered.


I tested it in the garage while it was sitting on the stand it came with.

Really someone actually tested on their lawn, LOL.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

if I knew i didnt cause that crack and I got salt water everywhere (i couldnt imagine the salt creep!) i would ask for compensation from marineland and a guarantee the new tank won't do the same thing.
sorry for the loss!


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## Syed (Oct 20, 2010)

BettaBeats said:


> if I knew i didnt cause that crack and I got salt water everywhere (i couldnt imagine the salt creep!) i would ask for compensation from marineland and a guarantee the new tank won't do the same thing.
> sorry for the loss!


Thanks man. 

Well it was an experience, had to happen sometime in my fish keeping career lol.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Syed said:


> ...I'll try the Styrofoam base, thanks ....


Umm .. just so you won't mis-understand me. I mean the eggcrate inside the tank and the styrofoam outside of the tank...

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## Syed (Oct 20, 2010)

Zebrapl3co said:


> Umm .. just so you won't mis-understand me. I mean the eggcrate inside the tank and the styrofoam outside of the tank...


Don't worry I got what you meant with the Styrofoam thing


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## Canadiancray (Apr 27, 2006)

Could just be bad luck. All glass has week spots. Yours just happened to let go. Either that or it wasn't supported properly by the stand.


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

Tough break...literally.

I've never really given cracks a second thought, but the seams terrify me, like in this YouTube video, which contains lots of cursing NSFW: 




This is my tank: http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=103&PROD_ID=01030290010101
Many years ago I had a big snail removing black silicone as it passed along a seam (it must have been eating it despite plentiful food sources). The "line" is sill there. I flipped out when I saw the removal of the silicone right before my eyes. I mean, a snail should not have been able to do that!

Last week I noticed a glass display tank at a PJs Express (72 Copper Creek Drive, Markham) with rounded front edges...no silicone. Why can't the entire glass tank be a series of rounded edges to avoid silicone/seal breaks? I guess it must be some physics thing that I don't get...perhaps it adds more pressure on the bottom, or along the corners? Are acrylic tanks that look like see-through "tubs", with zero seams, the only true bust-proof tanks? I'm surprised that demand for bust-proof tanks is so low, otherwise wouldn't they be available at every pet shop. Do they even exist, or am I just assuming that acrylic tanks can be purchased as a true 1-piece?


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

The tanks with rounded corners don't add stress to the structure, but they do cause distortion when viewing through the curve. Glass tanks are built the way they are due to cost. Silicone works well for the most part, and building a cast aquarium of any size out of acrylic would be very expensive, hence the fact that acrylic tanks are generally glued together. 
The all glass tank was stumbled upon by a local who was using silicone sealant in his work. He got the idea that it might be able to hold a tank together, and gave it a try. This led to the formation of Crystal aquariums, the first manufacturer of all glass aquariums. The rest is history, as 50+ years later most tanks are made this way.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Yup, it's the viewing distortions that makes it unpopular. You have to own one to understand. It'll see if I can remember to post some photos to show you.

As for the video .. heh heh... this is why I have small container of plumper's puttie around for.

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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

The older lady at the store watching me examine the corners told me it was a great feature because she hated silicone corners and how they blocked the view. IMO, 2-3" corner distortion is a TINY price to pay for peace of mind if it is truly silicone-free. The next aquarium I buy will be silicone-free and I don't care how ugly it is. There are too many reasons against choosing appearance over safety, including fish death.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Good luck. The rounded front tanks still have silicone on the bottom and back. I am still using the first tank (29 gal almost cube) I built in the mid 60s, which has never leaked even though the construction is not that great.


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

BillD, that's awesome how you have a 50 year old home-made aquarium. You're the Brian May of the aquarium world (he built his own electric guitar with his father, which gave Queen a very distinctive guitar sound). But I'll tell you this...many months back I was in a newly constructed apartment during the earth quake. I guess it was by design to limit damage and so the apartment shook SO much it was almost scary. The reclining couch I was on was swaying violently and quickly, side-to-side while creaking very audibly. Remembering what I'd read about not moving an aquarium with water in it because of stress on the seams, I was horrified to see what I saw. Water was splashing on the top of my hood, violently and the 500lbs setup (including stand & gravel) was shaking very badly...as if it was going to break. It felt like 2min, but in reality it was much less. No more aquariums for moi unless they're guaranteed not to bust. Statistically speaking, it may be the wrong decision, but I stand by it.


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

I think tanks are able to survive such things, at least the minor earthquakes we get here. We transported our tanks 1/3 filled with water from one side of Toronto to the other, sloshing and bouncing about included. Tanks seem fine. Although if the stand breaks then you have another problem coming.

I'm scared of seals breaking too though...


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

Related. Is water damage from aquariums covered by renters/home-owner insurance? What about the people below if you live in a condo/apartment?

Kind of scary thinking that something like that wouldn't be covered.


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## JohnyBGood (May 27, 2011)

I've heard that water damage from aquariums and trampoline injuries/deaths are not covered by insurance companies. If anyone can verify, please do so.

Some trampolines come with release waivers that can be photocopied so that the parents of visiting children can sign them (to limit liability of the property owner). A few years back a kid died in Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee's pool. They had sent out waivers to be signed before their kid's birthday party, though, warning parents that there would not be supervision and to supervise their own kids. That saved them a huge law suit!

Similarly, most lease agreements say "no pets allowed", so if you cause damage it's up to you. I don't think that there's any deductible that will save you from the thousands of dollars of damage. THIS is why I'm not buying another aquarium unless it's leak-proof. Units in my building are always getting destroyed by faulty toilet seals (from units above) and the newsletters are always asking us to get plumbers to replace 10+ year old seals, however, people are covered for that after a deductible, I believe... Still, I'm currently shopping for 2X toilets if anyone knows any deals (preferably WaterSense ones that are covered under the York Region $75 rebate program).


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## splur (May 11, 2011)

JohnyBGood said:


> I've heard that water damage from aquariums and trampoline injuries/deaths are not covered by insurance companies. If anyone can verify, please do so.
> 
> Some trampolines come with release waivers that can be photocopied so that the parents of visiting children can sign them (to limit liability of the property owner). A few years back a kid died in Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee's pool. They had sent out waivers to be signed before their kid's birthday party, though, warning parents that there would not be supervision and to supervise their own kids. That saved them a huge law suit!
> 
> Similarly, most lease agreements say "no pets allowed", so if you cause damage it's up to you. I don't think that there's any deductible that will save you from the thousands of dollars of damage. THIS is why I'm not buying another aquarium unless it's leak-proof. Units in my building are always getting destroyed by faulty toilet seals (from units above) and the newsletters are always asking us to get plumbers to replace 10+ year old seals, however, people are covered for that after a deductible, I believe... Still, I'm currently shopping for 2X toilets if anyone knows any deals (preferably WaterSense ones that are covered under the York Region $75 rebate program).


Just checked with our insurance company and we're covered for up to a million dollars in liability, that includes water damage caused by aquariums and covers the people downstairs which I think will get the bulk of the damage lol.

If you have insurance, make sure they cover liability which includes aquarium damage!!


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