What a disaster (1 Viewer)

[decimal]

Not me fortunately but this person was on fb. Brand new 500g glasscages tank busted the entire back panel. I was there to grab some home made fish food (which is excellent) and the entire house had to have the bottom 8” of dry wall removed as well as all the wood flooring. I asked Colby to join us here so let’s see what happens lol.



btw, I think they determined it was faulty silicone. The entire back pane of glass blew out at once. Glasscages is making him whole again and is replacing the tank. He is undeterred and says he will go bigger lmao.. that’s the spirit.

 

[Tazman]

Ouch !!! How old was the tank?

 

[xmjxflipx]

I think 5 to 6 months old...forgot...it was literally brand new not even a year I believe

 

[thangbom4321]

Wow that would make me leave the hobby for a long time if not forever.

 

[BigRick]

Over 30k invested

 

[thangbom4321]

Oh most definitely I'd leave the hobby if my wife didn't kill me. It could be many possibilities why the back blew out, filled to early, old tube of silicone, not level tank, stand crooked, there are so many factors.

 

[decimal]

No… as scenarios where explored, it became clear it was a silicone bonding issue. The stand was leveled (install pics) as well as the tank. I understand a rookie might make a mistake but I think by the time you go over a certain size tank, investment etc. and you have a “fish room” you should be pretty versed in reefing. If for no other reason than the journey lol.

Also, I have never heard of an entire pane busting out at the same time… ever. Lots of horror stories about leaks and a partially popped seam or whatever but never a whole pane like that.

 

[Tazman]

Is that a foam board between stand and tank bottom? Not sure if that spread evenly when compressed

 

[decimal]

Why would it not? Foam density would dictate weight distribution on a level surface. While there may be density inconsistencies in different production runs, pretty certain there is little variation in a couple of feet.

 

[thangbom4321]

I for one was and still am not a fan of the foam thing and I'll leave it at that. I'm still shaking my head when i see that big mess. So sad.

 

[Tazman]

Imho glasscages should make him a metal stand to go with that tank.

 

[RR-MAN]

The biggest issue with these companies they rush the job - they don’t give it enough time for silicon to cure properly. And then the consumer pays the price. GC tanks are fine I had a rimless tank from them back in 2010 and tank was built like a brick.

I see 20/g of water on the floor I freak out imagine 500/g wow. I sold my 1 year old Red Sea tank due to that paranoia. My larger tank now has steel top and bottom frame.

 

[Reefahholic]

I for one was and still am not a fan of the foam thing and I'll leave it at that. I'm still shaking my head when i see that big mess. So sad.

Helps to reduce point loading.

 

[Cody]

I for one was and still am not a fan of the foam thing and I'll leave it at that. I'm still shaking my head when i see that big mess. So sad.

Oh I'm with you on that. I don't get the foam board at all, minus preventing scratches. You can pinch it with your finger and flatten it. You're looking at roughly 10-15 pounds per square inch from the tank, depending on the tank dimensions, and the foam board is meant to give, not push back. It's not providing much in the form of actual support, as opposed to just forming itself to then surface sitting on it, which is what it does. And even if it was memory foam, after a year it's not pushing back at all. Throw some water splash in there and it's useless.

 

[Reefahholic]

Oh I'm with you on that. I don't get the foam board at all, minus preventing scratches. You can pinch it with your finger and flatten it. You're looking at roughly 10-15 pounds per square inch from the tank, depending on the tank dimensions, and the foam board is meant to give, not push back. It's not providing much in the form of actual support, as opposed to just forming itself to then surface sitting on it, which is what it does. And even if it was memory foam, after a year it's not pushing back at all. Throw some water splash in there and it's useless.

Yoga mat for the win.

 

[RR-MAN]

Yoga mat for the win.

I used this stuff from tractor supply - it’s super tough rubber

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/utility-rubber-mat-black-4-ft-x-3-ft-x--frac12-in

 

[thangbom4321]

But what Cody said along with other things is why i think the foam thing is nonsense. In most cases, glass tank bottom pane is floating and the 4 side panes are supporting everything. Its nonsense to think that foam will help in the typical situation. Yes yes i know there are specialty tanks and whatnot with ABS bottoms and such that do lay flat but in most cases, its the 4 side panes.

RR
That's the stuff I use for my gym. It's horse stall stuff. It's good stuff, just heavy as hell and hard to maneuver.

 

[Reefahholic]

If the tank is rimless with no bracing on the bottom it helps.

 

[decimal]

Look at the photo. It is braced on the top

 

[BigRick]

No matter what, that thing busted out because the stand was NOT built properly. Major issues on big tanks. Notice how his side(back wall was sitting on the stand. Now look at my waterbox. The stand does not, has no support for the front plane. It's all on the bottom glass only. As that foam board shrunk down it put stress on the back glass which it is not supposed to happen. This is why tank manufacturers won't warranty tanks without their stands installed by a professional approved installer. Yes that stand was strong but they're are a few design problems from trying to be over built. Sometimes simple is better. Just like the red sea tanks that had the corrugated plastic between the tank and stand which was an ultimate fail. Silicone is tough to separate. To me it looks like it failed on the bottom and slid down. The foam board gets pushed down and flattened by the bottom pane and the vertical gets pushed up. Cause and effect