Bowfront Leaking Track Record

[mikester]

Bought an Oceanic 72g bowfront last year. Started leaking after 6 months. :mad2:

Oceanic did replace it under warranty, but of course they did nothing about the $1000 in lost livestock, or the $600 in damages to my carpet. I sold the replacement tank and bought a 75 - it's pretty hard to screw up a rectangle.

I know another guy who had a 72g bowfront leak on him, got it replaced under warranty, and had the replacement start leaking soon after.

The tanks look beautiful, but they are built like crap.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

 

[tricky]

Bowfronts definitely have a bad track record for us. Our first large bowfront was 90 gal Oceanic. It leaked after 5 months at the front corner inside the brace - silicone seal problem. They replaced the tank under warranty, but we decided to upgrade to the Oceanic 175 gal with the new fancy oak stand. I'm sad to say it was gushing water yesterday - just filled it 2 weeks ago. The tank is perfectly level, no but we located a large area of the silicone seal on the front of the tank that obviously appears to be the cause. What really makes me sick is that my husband spent the last 6 months making a custom sump and plumbing for the tank, coating the inside with West Marine epoxy so the water damage was limited to the stand. This project was really a work of art. Just fired the lights up the day before and it was absolutely beautiful with all the live sand and rock all arranged. The next day - disaster. We are lucky that he was home at the time it happened and we were able to save the corals.

Oceanic has definitely got production problems with their bowfront tanks. Have to wait til Monday to talk to Oceanic about what they're going to do about this. They've got some explaining to do....plus a warranty claim and some very unhappy reefers.

 

[Rendos]

54 gallon corner bowfront - 3 years - no leaks!

 

[NIXONNOXIN]

54 corner here too - 3 years - no leaks either!

 

[tricky]

Has anyone had their bowfront tanks up for more than 5 years without leaks? What manufacturers are your tanks? Are you using the manufacturers stand or custom building your stands?

I'm trying to decide what I want to do with our Oceanic 175 gallon on the new Oceanic oak stand. Do I give it another shot? See our previous post - our 90 gal Oceanic also leaked. Will I ever be able to sleep at night or leave town with a bowfront?

 

[alkataz]

I have a 155 all glass bow. It's been up for 6+ years. I got it used from a friend. It's never had any problems. Do all glass bows have the same track record.

Oh yeah we did add a extra line of silicone, but this was done simply as a precaution in case some of the seals had weakened during the move.

 

[Jovreefer]

Well now I'm scared. I've had my bow for 3 years, do they start leaking soon after you buy them or does it take time? should I be worried?

 

[Rendos]

My 54 gallon is an All-Glass. It is on an All-Glass stand. I am setting up a 92 gallon corner bowfront from All-Glass too. I made the stand for this one. Hope it does as well as the 54 has done.

 

[Jane]

72 gal bow front going on 3 years...no problems at all

 

[tricky]

Re: posts by Jane and Jovreefer

What manufacturer made your bowfront tanks? Are they on the manufacturers stands also?

 

[Jane]

All Glass Both tank and stand/cabinet

 

[jauringer]

my LFS has had a ton of there 72's come back with leaks. There something going on at the manufacturer. Per those guys. as long as you stay away from the 72's you will be fine.

 

[Smellin Fishy]

46 gallon all glass bowfront - No Problems

 

[ckaldahl]

72 gallon AGA for over two years
Moved twice
no leaks yet

 

[jun_celis]

Bought a used AGA 46 gal bowfront 2 years ago and no problems whatsoever. God knows how long has it been used when I got it. Knock, knock, knock on wood, no problems so far.

 

[Reefologist]

72 gal bow..all glass.. 5 years no issues yet.moved several times.but this thread scares me.

 

[troutwood]

5 years 72 all glass, black seal. moved 3 times. no issues.

 

[Greg Hiller]

54 All glass corner, no problems for 4 years. The 54 corner replaced two 60 Hexes that both leaked (if you really want to talk about a bad design!!).

- Greg Hiller

 

[asmujica]

46 bow oceanic, leaked/exploded at the 1 year mark.

Replaced under warranty, approaching the 1 year mark with the second tank.