I am paranoid my aquarium will explode.

S

SZB

New member
Hi everyone! I purchased my aquarium, asked a question on this forum about a stand for it and decided to DIY the stand. And while searching for more information about DIY stands somehow I ran into lots of stories of xxxgallon aquariums EXPLODE at night causing damages to livestock and of course the house. The more I read the more I get paranoid but I can't stop reading (what a masochist am I) :headwallblue:
So besides obvious reasons like someone smashing it with a bat some of the reasons people mentioned for that to happen were:
-aquarium not levelled properly causing too much pressure on one of the sides of the tank
-unnoticed crack(s)
-bad seals
-piece of gravel between the top of the stand and the bottom of the tank that created a pressure point
-something causing a crack(like a falling rock)
-stand not being the right length and/or width

So far: I am already thinking of resealing the aquarium as I bought it used and it has not been used for at least two years and conditions it was stored in were not perfect. is that a good idea at all? After what I read I absolutely can not rely on a simple leak test as some people stated they've had no leaks and had the tank for few weeks/months/years before it exploded. Obviously I'll perfectly level the stand and it will be made to fit the tank dimensions. Neoprene foam on top of the stand, secure the rocks. Glass inspection regularly.

Can anyone think of any other possible reasons why such a disaster may occure? I am trying to prevent any damage from happening as I live in an apartment building and flood would effect not only me but also people living on the lower floor. Any advice would be very welcome(I guess one of the advice would be stop reading horror stories). thank you everyone for your time and any thoughts shared.

P.S. Sorry if that seems to be too long and annoying to read. The tank I have is 38gal, 36long 12wide 20tall if that matters, stand will be made out of solid wood, possibly cedar.
 
don't forget the mantis shrimp. They can break glass.

I would think resealing it would be more of a liability if not done right.

I would just make sure your stand is level and sturdy enough to support it, then fill it up and do a leak test. I did this on my brand new tank.
 
neiltus said:
don't forget the mantis shrimp. They can break glass.

I would think resealing it would be more of a liability if not done right.

I would just make sure your stand is level and sturdy enough to support it, then fill it up and do a leak test. I did this on my brand new tank.
Click to expand...

You have a point. Thank you!
 
Honestly a tank left dry for a year is not good. We had a 55 that wasn't used for the better part of a year and was put into use for several years. Never had a problem. Our 125 was in a room that was not very level and was set up for 7 years, no problem. One of the more common issues are heaters. Put them on a controller. I always put egg-crate under the substrate to support the rock. Don't like rock sitting on glass. Remember the glass is tempered.
 
fishchef said:
Honestly a tank left dry for a year is not good. We had a 55 that wasn't used for the better part of a year and was put into use for several years. Never had a problem. Our 125 was in a room that was not very level and was set up for 7 years, no problem. One of the more common issues are heaters. Put them on a controller. I always put egg-crate under the substrate to support the rock. Don't like rock sitting on glass. Remember the glass is tempered.
Click to expand...

Yes, I already have the controller on the list of necessary thing to get. Thank you. So you say being left dry is NOT good, but then you say you had no problems. Is there a misspelling?
 
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resealing a tank isnt as simple as redoing the silicone on the corners. the silicone in the corners is more aesthetics than it is structurally binding. the silicone inbetween the panels is what holds the seal. so to reseal something PROPERLY you would literally have to take all the sides off clean them of old silicon and put everything back together.
 
hotelbravo said:
resealing a tank isnt as simple as redoing the silicone on the corners. the silicone in the corners is more aesthetics than it is structurally binding. the silicone inbetween the panels is what holds the seal. so to reseal something PROPERLY you would literally have to take all the sides off clean them of old silicon and put everything back together.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about redoing just whatever is in inside without taking it actually apart. So what do you say? Does it make no sense? Or will it work? It's not going to be properly redone, but I thought that might get the extra strength as it would be new on the inside. I might be wrong of course.
 
i dont think redoing the corner seals will affect anything and if it were to leak it would leak regardless of whether the corner seals are new or not.
 
SZB said:
I was thinking about redoing just whatever is in inside without taking it actually apart. So what do you say? Does it make no sense? Or will it work? It's not going to be properly redone, but I thought that might get the extra strength as it would be new on the inside. I might be wrong of course.
Click to expand...

That will do little to no good, depending on the quality of your work it could actually make it worse.
 
Welcome to reefing.. We all feel that way.. But we just do it..
You can inspect the joints for any air bubbles/inclusions,etc.. but even so tanks can just fail and there is really nothing you can do about it..

Luckily your tank is fairly small and if it does go its not a lot of water so damage is minimal..
 
SZB said:
Yes, I already have the controller on the list of necessary thing to get. Thank you. So you say being left dry is NOT good, but then you say you had no problems. Is there a misspelling?
Click to expand...

No misspelling, just a word of caution...just something that ups the odds for problems. I resealed a 30g a few years ago because it leaked. Seemed to solve the issue. Years later it leaked. As mentioned you have a small tank. Not a big issue as if you had 100+. There's a lot to worry about with any aquarium. You have possibly chosen the wrong Hobby. I've had aquariums since the 60"s only two leaked. You can get floor sensors for water.
 
Check it with a carpenter's level in all directions. Put water in it, heat water to 80 degrees, leave it for 2 weeks. Check it for any seams admitting water. CHeck it with the level again. This would simulate reef conditions. Likewise when you set up, put eggcrate on the bottom before rock: this assures you will not have rock rolling out of control, nor any point load on the bottom glass. Thirdly, get a water alarm, under 20.00, battery powered, from Amazon. High decibel. Then sleep sound. Aquariums usually show a crack or slow leak before they give way---and frankly, I have been in this hobby since I was six years old and I have heard of tank failures, and had a leak from a failing backseam in an ornamental triangular acrylic (later found it didn't tolerate warm water) but I have never heard of a tank exploding. My advice is simply---if the tank starts to leak, do not delay in arranging another tank to be there very soon. Remember that the things you hear of on the news or on the internet are often a sample of 1 event in a world population of 7,000,000,000, so take it in perspective. You are in the realm of 'getting hit by a meteorite', which has happened...but not real often.
 
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Sk8r said:
Check it with a carpenter's level in all directions. Put water in it, heat water to 80 degrees, leave it for 2 weeks. Check it for any seams admitting water. CHeck it with the level again. This would simulate reef conditions. Likewise when you set up, put eggcrate on the bottom before rock: this assures you will not have rock rolling out of control, nor any point load on the bottom glass. Thirdly, get a water alarm, under 20.00, battery powered, from Amazon. High decibel. Then sleep sound. Aquariums usually show a crack or slow leak before they give way---and frankly, I have been in this hobby since I was six years old and I have heard of tank failures, and had a leak from a failing backseam in an ornamental triangular acrylic (later found it didn't tolerate warm water) but I have never heard of a tank exploding. My advice is simply---if the tank starts to leak, do not delay in arranging another tank to be there very soon. Remember that the things you hear of on the news or on the internet are often a sample of 1 event in a world population of 7,000,000,000, so take it in perspective. You are in the realm of 'getting hit by a meteorite', which has happened...but not real often.
Click to expand...



Love this response!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Sk8r's response is spot on.
All my tanks are CL purchases of unknown age prior to my buying them. I set up leveled them as best I could, and check them frequently for leaks.
I don't have downstairs neighbors, but I really don't want almost 600 gallons of saltwater on my floors.
I no longer lose sleep over an exploding tank, but there are other ways for the water to escape, and those dreams occur about once every six months.
It's a risk we take to have these beautiful structures in our homes.
I haven't been in the hobby as long as Sk8r, but no meteorites yet!
 
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