My 500G Osama Reef-2

[dave.m]

If you have identified the problem both to the vendor and the manufacturer you should insist on a WRITTEN twelve-year warranty that clearly expresses that you have notified them of the condition of the seams (i.e. bubbles). See if they will stand by their product or opt to replace the tank. That will tell you how confident they are.

Dave.M

 

[ksed]

Dave is correct.
Before going any further I would act on it. You don't want it to start leaking when your tank is established.

Bubbles are a weakness in the join. The presence of bubbles does not guarantee a failure of the join, they just represent a potential for failure. The tank may hold well for several years but that potential for failure is always there and may possibly shorten the life expectancy of the tank. That is why people try to act quickly to have these joins redone or the tank replaced. You want to have peace of mind, not just now but five years from now.

Dave.M

 

[Osama]

Dave & ksed.. I will talk & write to both my installer/buyer and to manufacturer. Thanks.
Has anyone else on RC had a large tank (over ten feet long) that he could examine the long seal/glue. Most tanks I had in the past have the black plastic around them and so you cannot see the glue and I had a 320 Starphire fabd in Canada and I do not remember how the seal looked..

 

[Osama]

Refugium Sand

Refugium Sand

I placed 70 lbs of the following sand(s) in my refugium ... 20lbs CaribSea AragAlive Fiji pink, 20 lbs Nature's Ocean Bio-Active Live Aragonite, and 30 lbs Tropic Eden (not live) aragonite sand and essential Trace elements. All are fine grained sand and will not be usable in my main tank with all the pumps & flow that I will have there. I more likely will go with .5-1mm &/or 1-2mm sand in the main tank all aragonite sand... I may go (undecided) for deeper sand bed (four inches) since I cannot reach into my over thirty inches deep tank with a 1-1/2 inch header in my way as well... Will probably start with 2 inches and see if I want to add slowly another one or two inches...

 

[albano]

... I will talk & write to both my installer/buyer and to manufacturer...

I think that if you research Glass Cages, the complaints are usually about poor/sloppy silicone/seal work.
In June of this year, after 3 years as a reef tank, my 450g 8' GC ACRYLIC tank, developed a small leak, while trying to repair it, it 'popped' and became at 20" long seam split! While I was able to repair it and it's up and running now, I do not trust it and will be replacing it.
The problem was caused by poor application of acrylic 'weld' with similar air bubbles along the seams.
Also from what I've heard... Good luck trying to get help from GC!

 

[Osama]

I am afraid U are right as I may only get lip service from GC. I will rely more on my Installer who knows me and whom I trusted with everything to do with the tank. Everything is per his recommendation and his suppliers. We shall see .. he comes to take care of this project of mine on Tu & Th. I love the 10+ foot long tank and the professional enclosure (in the works) looks of it and expect it to be great and that bothers me even more thinking it could fail in the longer run..

 

[reeftanknewbie]

I like a shallow sand bed and if your looking for the benefits of a DSB then I do them remotely so as to change them out easier as they get old.

 

[Osama]

reeftanknewbie: When U say they get old does it mean I have to remove all the sand and replace it in a DSB. That I do not wish to do. I am trying to setup a system in my retirement that needs minimal hard labor at my age with a lower back issues on & off... maybe I will stick with two inches if that is the case..

 

[reeftanknewbie]

I am not an expert here but my understanding of DSB is that there are good for removing nutrients but over the years build up hydrogen sulfate.

 

[Osama]

My Seems with bubbles response from Supplier

My Seems with bubbles response from Supplier

To ALL: I am pleased with the action taken by Matt the installer & buyer of my system. As mentioned above I have trusted the guy for years and bought all what he recommended and added few more items to his list. He must be, he actually is READING this thread (impressed) and I did not have to wait till he comes on Tuesday to talk to him about my concerns. He had already stated that bubbles existed on my tank before he delivered the system to me and now voiced my concerns to the manufacturer.
Here is a quote of their response to my Installer/supplier Matt-
First a question to Albano did your system have a eurobrace they mention below and still leaked??
".. As the photos show, we add the additional interior eurobracing around the bottom. Nothing gets by that. (emphasis by Osama)
- The bubbles are in an area that actually gets relatively little sideways pressure on it.
- the total area of the bubbles occupies less than 1/4 the adhesion area of the 3/4" thick seam, plus there's still an additional 1/2" of seam the interior eurobracing provides. This is a negligible amount.
- I hope you/customer waited the full 3 weeks after mfg date before adding water. Water too soon can create bubbles.
What bothers me -
I don't see any styrofoam under the tank. Please tell me that this tank is placed upon 3/4" thick styrofoam!
The warranty would not cover the major crack that can happen if there's no styrofoam under it. At that point, the customer will try to blame it on the "bubbles" when really there's no problem with them.
Let me know-.
"
Matt was wise & kept the tank in his shop dry for a month so I would not fill it too soon..

So now that I have their email to Matt, that they know of the bubbles and they state that this is not an issue.." I will talk to Matt about insurance from them for longer term and see if he can get it.. because
and now what if in five years the tank leaks...!!! who will repair it and if it ruins my home then what!! let alone what happens to the reef itself!!. I just hope they are right about it won't fail !! I think I have to live with anxiety instead of relaxation with my reef.. How did I get into this situation of anxiety!!!

 

[SPotter]

Is there styrofoam under the tank?

 

[reeftanknewbie]

If you have identified the problem both to the vendor and the manufacturer you should insist on a WRITTEN twelve-year warranty that clearly expresses that you have notified them of the condition of the seams (i.e. bubbles). See if they will stand by their product or opt to replace the tank. That will tell you how confident they are.

Dave.M

Agreed. This is an important issue you want addressed before you get too far in your setup.

 

[Osama]

Yes Spotter Matt/Installer has Styrofoam under all 4 tanks. Main 500g and 3X65g

 

[SPotter]

Sorry you're going thru this. This part is supposed to be fun. GC has one of the shortest guarantee periods to begin with. If I remember correctly it's only 90 days. I don't know your installer and I'm sure he 's a good guy but if he knew about the bubbles he should have never accepted the tank from GC. This isn't an 80g tank, this is a custom made 500g tank that will house several thousands of dollars of livestock in it and IMO this is just a ticking time bomb, internal euro brace or not. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of damage that 500g of water rushing onto your floors could cause. Someone needs to make this right for you....either GC or your installer.

 

[TommyP]

Just read through these couple of pages. That is one very nice big tank. I love the way it has the 3 tanks below as well. Very neat and clean. Best of luck with the bubbles in the seam, having the piece of mind is always best. Looking forward to more updates.

- Tom

 

[albano]

First a question to Albano did your system have a eurobrace they mention below and still leaked??
".. As the photos show, we add the additional interior eurobracing around the bottom.
- The bubbles are in an area that actually gets relatively little sideways pressure

As mentioned, my tank is acrylic, but to correct the problem, I emptied the tank, 're-welded' the bottom seam and clamped it, 2 days later I 'welded' in an 8' long interior 'euro brace' and also an 8'x4" brace along the entire rear outside seam.
While I think that I have fixed the problem, and I'm not losing sleep over it, I am planning my next tank!

It is hard to tell from the pics, are the bubbles in the seam of front glass meeting the tank bottom, or eurobrace meeting the ft glass?

IMO, there is no chance in the world that GC will extend their warranty... That would be a legal nightmare for them! I would think that a lawyer could best advise you, as to notifying GC of your 'worries', just incase of a future problem.

 

[Osama]

Hi Steve Tom Albano.. I'll see how it goes with my installer on Tu. I have a family member in the legal profession and I hate to bother him over this issue at least not yet not now. I think Matt will have a reasonable answer on Tu...
Albano: the bubbles are in the seam of front glass meeting the tank bottom.

I'll report on more fun stuff come Tuesday.. Progress on Electrical and maybe new pictures if the lights are on. I had to move a couple of corals into the main tank from the basement sump where things were not getting the attention they deserve... They re-opened after 24hrs in their new temp home . I am going to relocate them back to the basement sump after finishing with a major water change in the sump and cleaning...

 

[Osama]

Some Fun Stuff enough with seams & Bubbles for now at least

Some Fun Stuff enough with seams & Bubbles for now at least

Some corals & frags are waiting for their new home a 700g setup and
some were placed in a 65g Temporary set up and are doing well. A bit crowded for large tangs, for few more days but doing OK for 8 weeks or so now


Others were placed in a 150g sump with lots of LR and were doing fine till I moved most of the LR to the main tank and did not do enough water changes since then.. So I had to move a few corals to their new home and watching to see if they will recover. In three days I am pleae to say they are recovering well.

Full View of tank as it stands today. Tomorrow Installer will be here and I will report on progress Tu or Wed.

 

[owenspackman]

look forward to tomorrows update and where you stand with the bubbles in the seams.

I didn't have the best time with GC back in 2009 when i used them. Hopefully they/installer make everything right for you.

 

[Osama]

Installer was able to get an extension on the warranty to start Jan 2014 for 90 days. Installer and I will discuss today as he believes if seams were to fail they would fail now within the 90 days.
Here is their answer to my installer request of them to do something for his customer like a 90 day extended guarantee for seam leakage..
" Sure- 90 day seam leak age warranty starting 1/1/ 14 applies. No problem.."
Later today or tomorrow I will report on some more fun stuff.. like tank erection progress as we have a long day of Installer working today