Another Water on the Floor Thread.....

[Scott07]

While out and about this weekend, I happened upon someone's old 29gal. setup sitting on the side of the road with a sign reading "Free!" on it. Well, I couldn't pass it up. I've been looking for an upgrade tank for my puffer (green spotted juvenile), and thought this was the perfect opportunity. So I took the tank home, cleaned it up, filled it with water to leak test, sat down and popped on the TV. I got up a while later to grab a drink and accidentially bumped into the tank.... I'm guessing you can tell where it goes from here lol. 29 gallons of water on the floor before I even realize what's happening. I was in shock lol.

The glass just shattered.... from the top rim, about half way down one of the sides. Now, I know I bumped into it... but not violently. I didn't trip over it... I didn't kick it.. I didn't stub my toe on it... just bumped into it with my shin while rounding the corner.

The tank looked perfectly usable... and there were no leaks that I could detect immediately after filling it up. It doesn't appear any of the seams failed... but rather the glass it self. Is it possible that with age the glass became weakened? There were some REALLY old test kits, etc.. inside when i picked it up. Is it possible maybe someone was storing it in a basement etc... with things on top.. and the glass was stressed over a long period of time or something? I know there's nothing I can do about it now obviously lol... but I would at least like to learn something from the experience... even if it's just "hey.. don't pick up tanks from the side of the road!"

 

[hkgar]

I am tagging along

I have a 90 gallon in my garage and it has been there for a year and half. I wonder if maybe the changing tempuratures may have an impact.

i would hate to sell it and have that happen to someone. (And the possible lawsuits).

 

[Scott07]

I am tagging along

I have a 90 gallon in my garage and it has been there for a year and half. I wonder if maybe the changing tempuratures may have an impact.

i would hate to sell it and have that happen to someone. (And the possible lawsuits).

I didn't even think about the temperature variable.... but i'll bet that has more to do with it than anything, living in an area of the country that has a pretty distinct difference between summer and winter. I just thought these tanks were supposed to be a lot stronger than this? I know I've seen a video clip somewhere where someone kept stacking rocks in their glass tank trying to see what it would take to break the glass. Of course that could be the difference between a static and dynamic load? idk... all I know for sure is there are no more clean towels in my appartment lol.

 

[syngraves]

interesting... im sure its possible the glass became brittle if it was sitting out on the side of the road. I used to repair and install auto glass which is different then the glass used in aquariums. I have seen passenger windows crack and shatter if the sit out in direct sun and someone goes to wash their car with ice cold water.

do you know how long its been sitting outside? natural temp changes could have made it brittle

 

[Scott07]

interesting... im sure its possible the glass became brittle if it was sitting out on the side of the road. I used to repair and install auto glass which is different then the glass used in aquariums. I have seen passenger windows crack and shatter if the sit out in direct sun and someone goes to wash their car with ice cold water.

do you know how long its been sitting outside? natural temp changes could have made it brittle

Not sure how long it was sitting outside... but i wouldn't imagine more than a day or two. My thoughts are maybe the origional owner had stored it in a garrage or basement? There was a detached garrage to the house where I got it... perhaps it came out of there... and who knows how many months or years it was stored...

 

[Coelli]

For what it's worth, and this may mean nothing, I recently bought a used BC29. Only after completely setting it up and turning the lights on could I see that there's a problem with the glass. It's cloudy, almost like hard water, but it's IN the glass. No amount of scraping or scrubbing will remove it and I'm going to be upgrading to a new tank soon because of it. The tank is probably 4+ years old. It's almost like the composition of the glass itself changed.

 

[amber3k]

I left a 29gal sitting on my covered deck for a couple years, through all four seasons and then stored it in an outside storage unit for a couple more years. I have used it since then and have had it filled with saltwater for months at a time on a very wobbly sewing machine. Its still in perfect condition and I still use it off and on. I used to have a 55gal that ended up having pitted glass on the inside. I did not trust filling that one with water again. There may have already been a tiny flaw that took just the right stress to break it. Glad it happened without fish in it.

 

[Lucky Lefty]

Could it be a glass tank not rated for aquariums? I've seen "terrarium" tanks that had pretty thin glass. How thick would you say the glass is?

 

[Ilsimen]

I wonder if there wasn't a tiny crack starting behind the trim that you didn't see.

 

[m0nkie]

well.. count yourself lucky it didn't break with livestock inside..

+1 on glass thickness? maybe it was a reptile tank

 

[Scott07]

well.. count yourself lucky it didn't break with livestock inside..

+1 on glass thickness? maybe it was a reptile tank

I don't think it was a reptile tank. Possible? yes, but it appears to be almost identical to my 20 gal. that i have set up now except for the size. The glass is fairly thick, I want to say even thicker than my 20 gal. but that is just a guess. It also was obviously used as an aquarium before... as I've got air pumps, heater, etc... that came with it.

Ilsimen- That's possible. I didn't check over every inch as well as I probably should have. It's possible there was a small crack hiding behind the trim that I didn't notice.

And agreed... better it happen now, than after i've got sand, rock, and my puffer in there. Although something tells me he would have been fine as long as I was home to catch it in time.