cracked tank, help!

owenspackman

owenspackman

New member
im keeping this short and brief, here are the details:

new 120 glass cages tank (i dont want to hear people talking c**p about their tanks i just want some advice please) just set it up

filled with 250lbs of sand, just filled with water.

i have a tunze wavebox which was producing a nice medium sized wave and i had my return pump running, i was adjusting the return rate to match the overflow and i heard a nasty pop.

i turn everything off and looked up to see this crack / chip appear on the front pane of glass. on the far left where it meets the side panel. its almost the depth of the pane on each side.

here are photos:

IMG_0233.jpg


IMG_0235.jpg


IMG_0236.jpg


IMG_0237.jpg


is this going to comprmise the strength and integrity of the tank?
am i going to turn everything back on and have the whole tank explode?
was this caused by the wavebox?
if this was you, what would you do?

i dont think i could bear having to tear it down, drive over 150miles to meet them, to drag another tank back to spend hours setting it up while losing all the live sand and water i just put in only for it to happen again.

please help.
 
If it were me I would be on the phone first thing monday morning. The thing that concerns me is that it popped while you were filling it. That leads me to believe that it is a structural issue. This soon into the build, I would start with a new tank rather than waiting for the failure.

And I have a GC tank and love it. Did not have any issues.
 
As much as you don't want to hear it ,drain it take it apart & get a new tank .The wavebox won't cause that .That looks like a stress crack .Is the tank level?
 
the tank is as level as it can be. its on hardwood floor and there is at the most a 2mm difference from one end to the other. surely that small amount of difference couldnt cause this?
 
I would not be able to sleep at night with it like that. I would drain it down and contact them. I had a 75 break on the bottom caused by a bad cut on one of the side peaces resting on it(perfecto).
 
i know the feeling. so i have already drained at least 55 gallons out. to just below the crack.

i feel like giving class cages two option

1: just refund me the money i paid for the tank itself - then i go to my LFS and spend $200 more than i paid to have a different make and piece of mind it wont happen again

2: they make me a new tank and sort out having it delivered to me to save me taking more time off work and hiring a uhaul to drive over 120 miles to savannah.

its amazing how in an instant all your passion, desire and drive for a project can be ripped from you.

i was so excited about this build, spend every waking moment thinking of it and every spare moment working on it. so many hours already spent and there weren't even fish in it. all to just have to tear it down :(

thanks for all the advice. anymore would be great. but i think i know what has to be done. meh :/
 
hows the stand? if the surface of the stand isnt flat, it can put flex on the tank hitting a high spot. did you use foam under it?

actually dont answer that because they require that you do, and I wouldnt admit that you didnt if you didnt. as it would screw you out of your warrenty.
 
the stand appears to be fine. strong and stable. there was no rocking or swaying before the tank was in place.

and there is foam between the tank and the stand and a mat between the stand and the floor.
 
Was the stand theirs or existing?

Keep us updated on how they handle this.... they have a history of poor service so it will be interesting to see how they handle it. I assume it was within the warranty period??

Also was it starphire or regular glass?
 
yes ive already had experience with their poor customer service when it came to picking up the tank.

it was one of their stands.

i will let everyone know their reaction as i haven't even had the tank in my possession for a month yet.
 
I feel your pain. I returned my 220 Perfecto for a surface crack that was only 2mm long and had only penetrated 1 mm at best on a 1/2 glass. It delayed my project for 2 months before it got replaced. Lucky for you it was one of their stands.
 
I would replace it. Breaking it down now will be a piece of cake compared to a tank failure cleanup at 3am or when your at work.
 
I'm so sorry, yikes, I would totally email GC with your requests.
And from what i've read, this kind of thing has happened to even the masters of reefkeeping.
:(
 
I'm sure the'll give you another tank, that crack is beyond repair, they mush honor the warranty, I've read some horror stories with their customer support too so be patient and don't loose your coolness.
 
thanks for the advice, its not what i wanted to hear, but what i knew was coming.

i will call them Monday morning and be firm but polite. They already messed me around with the shipment of the tank and gave me clear silicone when i ordered black, so those things, PLUS informing them the community of reefcentral is eager to hear about how they deal with this should be more than enough for them to be accommodating.
 
looks like im going to be out of luck on this one.

i called them, some rather rude women answered (she was rude even before i told her what happened)

she then informed me the warranty doesn't cover cracks as these only happen due to someone the customer does wrong and not their manufacturing of the tank.



*This warranty is void if the aquarium is chipped or shows any glass damage.
*This warranty is limited to replacement of the aquarium and does not cover fish loss, personal injury, property loss or direct, incidental or consequantial damage arising out of use of this aquarium.
*Due to the manufacturing techniques eliminating pressure bonding: stress and pressure cracks and all other types of breakage are not caused by manufacturing defects and therefore are not warranted and no free replacement is available. Breakage that occurs after the aquarium is set up is caused by improper set up or accident.
 
I had a custom 360 tank from them that cracked / split after 13 months. I still have a 280 purchased from them that is so far so good.

Apparently, you get what you pay for, and 99% of their tanks are good to go, the 1% that fail is just like the luck of the draw, and as far as customer service goes -------you are on your own.

good luck with a new tank and thank you for sharing with us
 
That's what I've always found interesting about their warranty, it seems to only cover a silicone seam failure.

Now I'm no glass expert but I've been dealing with glass aquarium manufacturers for over a decade and IME they would all probably say that the chip was due to the corner being hit. I'm not saying you hit it, I'm just saying that is what they all would probably say. So in that regard they would be no different than GC on that issue. IME the difference would come from how they handled it. I've had customers that have had the same thing happen and while the manufacturer never claimed responsibility they always fixed or replaced the aquarium out of good-will when the aquarium was still with-in their warranty time frame.

I'm pretty sure the Wave-box didn't cause it but it did probably make it show up quicker. I know it is of very little comfort but in this you are lucky to have found it now compared to once the tank was up and stocked.

Good Luck.
 
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