Frequency of tank cracks/leaks?

Aristotle

New member
So, I've read some real horror stories recently dealing with tanks that have cracked or otherwise leaked, and I'm just wondering what percentage of the hobby goes through that sort of thing... Is this something that almost everyone in the hobby experiences eventually, or is it something that a fairly small number of (unlucky) people have experienced?

I live in a condo (with no rules on tank size). I've got downstairs neighbors. While it would suck to cause thousands of dollars of damage to my own property, it would really suck to inconvenience my neighbors like that too.

I'm dieing to get into this hobby, and this is the biggest fear/issue causing me to hesitate and even question if I can do it at all.
 
Re: Frequency of tank cracks/leaks?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6945074#post6945074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Aristotle
So, I've read some real horror stories recently dealing with tanks that have cracked or otherwise leaked, and I'm just wondering what percentage of the hobby goes through that sort of thing... Is this something that almost everyone in the hobby experiences eventually, or is it something that a fairly small number of (unlucky) people have experienced?

I live in a condo (with no rules on tank size). I've got downstairs neighbors. While it would suck to cause thousands of dollars of damage to my own property, it would really suck to inconvenience my neighbors like that too.

I'm dieing to get into this hobby, and this is the biggest fear/issue causing me to hesitate and even question if I can do it at all.

I've been lucky enough to never have a tank leak, but my wife and I own our own home so it would be only our problem if something did happen. If you rent I would check into some sort of rental insurance just in case.

Dave
 
While I've never had a tank leak while it was set-up (knock on wood), I have cracked them while moving them. Honestly, accidents do happen, but under normal circumstances, a properly installed tank on a well-constructed stand should not crack / leak.

Since you're renting, I'd definitely look into renter's insurance. It's much cheaper than homeowner's insurance and should keep you from suffering such a big hit in the wallet if something happens in your place or theirs.
 
I pay $45 a quarter for renter's and you should have it with our without a tank - it's insurance, in case.

I did recently buy a used tank and after two weeks started having problems with a leak. I've remedied it for now, but will be replacing the actual tank completely when I move rather than having someone fix it.

This should not be what keeps you from getting in the hobby though - I'd say it is the least of your problems. Good luck getting started!
 
I bought a brand new 28 gal bowfront tank and had it cycling for two weeks. I was sitting in the next room and heard a loud pop I went to look and didnt see any thing a few seconds later I heard the dreaded water running sound. The bottom had cracked all the way across and water was running out the back between the tank and the wall. It was the first bow front that I had ever messed with and thought it was not as stong because of the bow in it. The guy at the LFS said he had sold hundreds and had never heard of it happening before. I was just "lucky" I guess. I got a refund on it and got a 55 gallon instead (not a bow front) so it actually worked out better for me except for waiting for it to cycle AGAIN. So i guess it doesnt happen often but it can happen. Thats my story for what its worth :) good luck
 
I both rent, and had a leak...

no cracking, but the tank is old, so the seals were, well, under par. It was a slow leak, and I caught it in time to not do TOO much damage to anything... I did rot out a board that I used to level the tank, and the stand has some minor asthetic damage. Probably leaked for a few weeks...a REALLY slow leak.

that said, If my tank did break, I dunno WHAT I would do! mines around 35 gallons, so I suppose most of it would stay in my apartment. soak the carpet, floorboards, and other stuff pretty good!!!
 
Yea Get the renters insurance. I had a 55 gallon blow the front bottom seal, water hit the ceiling and drained completely in about 2 minutes. 55's are made with tempered glass and when they are full you can see the front and the back bow allittle.I also had my dogs knock a 30 gallon tank over that was on an iron stand. It can be a huge mess but if you are reasonably careful most likely you won't have any problems. Good Luck
 
I think in over 50 years of having tanks, sometimes as many as 11 at a time, I have only had two leaks and that is after doing something stupid like pushing around a tank with water in it.
 
i think he owns, ie "condo" if he rented it would just be called an apartment. ;)

i am in the same boat w/ downstairs neighbors...I would never buy a used tank, and make sure your homeowners will cover damages.
 
I've been in this hobby for decades and have never heard of so many seam failures and cracks as appear herein---but I'm suspicious of 3 factors: 1, "drilling my own tank", which can involve who-knows-what support doing the process, or what kind of vibration during the drilling: glass is such a strange medium: I'm more sanguine about acrylic: I've been tempted to put out a thread asking how many people who drill their own glass have had leaks;
2, heavy rock bottom and side load putting angular stress on seams: "I have 300 pounds of rock in my 12 gallon tank....."
3. the internet "I got my tank from this nice fellow in Altoona..."
I may be totally off base here, and I may be the one (with my storebought tank and fairly light rock load) to have a catastrophic leak, for no particular reason except my chutzpah in thinking it won't happen to me...but I am curious in what is justifiably a pretty unhappy subject...::worried:
 
ive had a return hose pop off and pump 40 gals of water on my bedroom carpet.... but no tank leaks yet ( knock on wood ). My tank now is a Acrylic tank so i dont think i have to worry as much as the glass guys.
 
I have poked around on this topic quite a bit as well. I think the answer is the glass tanks do, though rarely so, leak. And even more rarely, burst. Usually the problem is an unlevel stand (in some cases it was level to start but the weight of the tank shifted things over time), moving the tank, or some guy sticking the end of a dumbell through the glass (there is a video of a guy doing this :D )
I am going acryllic largely to avoid this SMALL risk plus I do think they are clearer. But I am sure I will be griping about the scratching at some point. I can already gripe about the cost :)
One thing to note is that as the tank ages the risk goes up (albeit slightly) of a seam failing. With acryllics if a problem is happening it tends to show itself slowly (you can crack one especially with MH light heat but tougher) and you have some time to get things in order before catastrophic failure..
In reality - there are a lot of risks in life and this is not a big one.
But do get renter's insurance regardless.
To be clear - this is not from my experience but from what I have gatherd from many others.
 
Thanks for all of the great replies, and any more that come in!

I'm still iffy. I do own, and I will check my homeowners' insurance policy for specifics.

There is a solid chance I would be going acrylic. A custom tank, with thicker acrylic (assuming that would reduce stress on the walls of the tank). I know there is a good deal of extra cost involved, but was hoping that the extra care put in by someone like Acrylics (James?) or another well established tank maker might reduce the chance of a crack even further.

I really want my 75gal tank, and I really don't want to wait until I can get myself into a townhouse or single family home to do so.
 
i bought my acrylic tank used. it came with a couple hefty scratched but i buffed alot of them out. I kinda feel safer with a acrylic tank. I used to have a 58gallon oceanic glass, never had problems with that tank either though.
 
update:
In case anyone does a search and is interested in what I found out. Of course, insurance coverage may be different for everyone.

I spoke with my insurance rep, and with an underwriter, and found out that they have no restrictions on tank sizes or anything like that. The only restriction is that the aquarium can't be used to house "wild animals" (they clarified that to "sharks, alligators, dangerous creatures that could attack someone").

I've got a $500 deductable, and then they cover possessions and structural damage up to the caps on the policy. Neighbors inconvenienced by damage caused by my aquarium are compensated by their own insurance policy, but they can find me liable and ask that I pay for damages (my coverage doesn't help me here, it's all out of my pocket.)


I'm glad I took the time to look into this, and I'm more comfortable knowing I have coverage to protect my own belongings/house... but the issue with neighbors is still there.

I really want my tank. I think I'll go ahead and start planninbg to get it, but I also want to take every precaution that I can to avoid disaster.
 
When my dog's knocked over my 30 gallon on an iron stand ( big mistake) my insurance covered the carpet and the tank, with no problem. good luck
 
I read into this some and searched RC and googled the web. What I found was that bow front tanks have more leaking problems than any other tank. Some people even had the front of their bow fronts burst out. This was confirmed by many different owners of bows. Most people obviously don't have this problem(or they wouldn't sell bows), but neverless it is more a problem with bowfront tanks.
 
There's also a very inexpensive water alarm: it sounds a shriek if water touches it. You put it on the floor near your tank, and remember, like smoke alarms, to change the batteries. They're at least a chance to get the towels and grab the fish---or get ahead of a slow leak. I got my last one off the internet. A hardware store might have one.
 
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