I was reading about all glass aquariums

[Meredith]

The quote from the book is "The intact skin of the glass gives it its greatest strength. For the same reason, guard against damaging the glass yourself when the tank is in use."

Now I am very freaked out because the tank I am getting does have scratches. Its a fair amount. The tank is ten years old, so I just figured that happens over time, but does this weaken the glass significantly? Also, I didn't see any leaks or anything in the sealant, but how worried should I be about ten year old silicone?

 

[fishfreek]

If the tank is holding water now it should be fine. If its not full now ask the owner to fill it with water 24 hour before your visit so you can see it holding water before you purchase.

I have a 10+ year old heavily scratched tank and I have no concernes over it busting. The glass thickness on old tanks is usually a bit thicker than modern tanks of equivlent size.

 

[pearsont74]

I know how you feel - the tnak i got was used and I cleaned it and touched up the seals abit and put it in my garage and filled it up and marked the water level with tape and left it for about a week and it didnt loss any water....so I can only assume Im ok, I suggest you do the same...maybe not as long. but if you get it for a good price....go for it....I found a good write up on how to reseal a glass tank and scratches dont weakin the glass, cracks or chips will though...
I got mine cause I couldnt find a 90gal for $50 and my friend was selling his to me for that...

 

[klam]

What do people do to scratch up these tanks?

 

[austinsdad]

What do people do to scratch up these tanks?

Move rocks, clean with sand embedded in the cleaner brush, etc.

 

[fishfreek]

I swear the guy who owned the tank before me must have used a brillo pad. 8O

 

[pearsont74]

I was looking to see if there was such a thing as a glass buffer that would bascially fill in the scratchs and come out clear...but i doubt they make it and if so i doubt it would be tank safe

 

[Meredith]

Ok, thanks. I feel slightly better. Now if the floor holds, we will be good to go. Has anyone put extra support under their house? Is it hard to do?

 

[pearsont74]

what size tank? Id think most house up there have 2x6 or 8's for flooring, if so you shouldnt have to worry about that unless u have a huge tank.

 

[Serge]

Ok, thanks. I feel slightly better. Now if the floor holds, we will be good to go. Has anyone put extra support under their house? Is it hard to do?

My house is +25 y.o. and the tank will be setup in the living room. Just to be on the safe side and to CMA, I added two extra joists (2"x12") where the tank is, so that when I will finally fill it up. I can safely sleep at night. Not hard to do, just a matter of having the joists cut at the proper lenght and insert proper inserts. When I have a chance, this evening or this week-end, I'll put a pic of what I did.

8)

 

[Meredith]

what size tank? Id think most house up there have 2x6 or 8's for flooring, if so you shouldnt have to worry about that unless u have a huge tank.

its 150 gallons. We rent so I don't want anything to happen to the house. We are going to put it on one of the outside walls. I am hoping this will be good enough.

 

[Serge]

Has anyone put extra support under their house? Is it hard to do?

As promised, here are 3 pics I just made for you to see. Now, probably I did not have to go that route, but I would rather be safe then sorry. My tank is a 125, all glass. Considering all the weight involved, I wanted to rest assured. HTH to put your mind at peace.

8)

 

[Serge]

Umm... Forgot to mention a few things. My tank will be near a wall/foundation. I added 2 extra joists, so now there are 4 joists (8" center to center) exactly under the tank. The total span of the joists is only 6 feet (plus whatever is sitting on the main support beams). More than likely, this is an overkill, but I think its better than having my floor starting to cave in under the weight that will be there. Rough estimate is over 2,000 pounds when all is said and done. 8O

8)

 

[Meredith]

Cool! Thanks so much!! I will have my hubby take a peek at those. My mom also suggested putting two car jacks on some cinder block holding a 2x4 up against the under side of the house where the tank will be. Does that sound like it will work?

 

[Serge]

Cool! Thanks so much!! I will have my hubby take a peek at those. My mom also suggested putting two car jacks on some cinder block holding a 2x4 up against the under side of the house where the tank will be. Does that sound like it will work?

Umm... 2x4 would twist with time. Should you go that route, I would suggest something like a 4x4 that would be perpendicular to the already existing floor joists. Note that the work I did cost me less than $20.00 for two joists. Already had the nails and 4" screws. It took me about 2 hours to do the work. Note that I am an IT person and house work/construction is not really my forte, so it takes me more time than the usual. 8O

8)

 

[Meredith]

Now all I have to do is convince my husband to battle the spiders and we will be set! Thanks again.

 

[Serge]

Hehehe.... Well.... You could make it a joint project..... You clean the work area and he does the rest. Fair? No? Glad to be able to provide some ideas. 8O

8)

 

[Serge]

Meredith, out of curiosity, how did you folks end up increasing the floor support?

8)

 

[Salttanker]

My 90 Gallon has a few scratches on it due to a small piece of sand getting stuck in the Magfloat. You wouldn't think it would scratch, but it does.

 

[OneBowl]

I second the 4x4s with pole or small hydraulic jacks solution for additional floor support (cheap, easy, no permanent damage). I actually have this set-up under our refrigerator to prevent any potential joist sag. Also, with a 150 tank, I'm assuming it's at least 6 feet long, so positioning perpendicular to the direction the joists are running would be the better way to go. You should be able to position over 4 joists this way, making the additional support an "insurance" policy. Good luck.