Ziggy953's 150 Build errrr....120 Build

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IMO, since you're soon upgrading again to the 210, I wouldn't spend the extra money on RR since you're already set on overflows.

Dude, sorry about your issues, wow that sucks. I can't imagine what I'd do if my 125 leaked like that. Kudos for not giving up, and I guess I can wait for the 72 for a bit longer.
 
The 72 is still yours. I'm going to get a 120 to replace the 150 I'm just trying to find one. The RR is out I'm looking to buy a new non RR and use the overflow setup.

In fact if you buy the 72 from me ASAP I can justify buying a new 120. I'm checking around now to find someone that has one in stock.
 
Wow, I get busy at work and miss a day of posts to come back and see this! I am so sorry to hear about this misfortune. Glad to hear you are bouncing back already, though. Good luck with the new 120.

Did you look at the foam that the 150 was sitting on to see if the edges indented the foam? Larry may have a point there with really dense foan. Add that much weight around the edge and the center might put just enough pressure on the glass to crack it. I certainly hope not.
 
I think he was right after getting the sand out of the tank I can see a little better but it's hard to tell for sure. 1500lbs of water 240+lbs of rock and 180lbs of sand can do some strange things to foam. I'm getting ready to leave in a few minutes to pick up the 120. I changed my mind and am going with a new non-RR tank. So I guess it starts again....

This one will not have foam under it. If it cracks I'm done!
 
Looking at the 1st few pics you posted of the empty tank, I see what looks to be 1" foam under the tank, and I'm assuming your stand has a solid top. If so, that is not recommended and would void any new tank warranty. Glass tanks are made to be supported by the edges. Just look at any pre-made stand. Acrylic tanks are supposed to have a solid top stand and foam under them. It's possible the foam compressed on the edges and pushed up against the bottom glass. The weight of all the rock, sand and water pushing down on the foam could have caused a stress crack.


Holy crap, never knew that! I see further down that Ziggy kinda confirms that. So , was it the foam or are you not supposed to put a tank on a flat surface.. He asks since the stand he built has a 4x4 construction but made a flat surface :confused:. Hopefully you mean the foam and not the flat surface :bawl::bawl:

Now I'll never sleep
 
I'm about 90% sure it was the foam...I'm leaving now to get the new 120 and get back to work on the tank.....UGH!!!!
 
Hopefully you mean the foam and not the flat surface
Yes...the foam. The glass is slightly reset above the plastic trim, so even if it's on a totally flat surface, the glass is still above the flat surface and all the weight is on the trim.
 
I used door weatherstripping under the edges of my tank. It's adhesive on one side and I just pressed it onto the stand before setting the tank on top. It's thin and just cushions the tank frame slightly.

I think that without the foam you won't have any more problems with cracking tanks.
 
We just got back from Centreville with the new tank....I have it outside so I can paint the back. IT is sooooo much lighter then the 150...Time for the Peekaboo Blue

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Oh k oh k it's time for the Wife's side of the horror that I woke up to this am.

After Ziggy went to work I went for a short a visit with my big sister just to get away from all the fish work. I came home and decided I would surprise the Hubby by cleaning everything up and bleaching the floor cause - well, I really don't feel it's clean unless you bleach it. I was FINALLY DONE with all the cleaning by 1:30 am and turned in for a nap (even had the fish towels soaking in the wash)! GO ME SUPERWIFE!

So, there I was asleep on the couch with our son and there was the smell again; you know the mix of saltwater, fish and worse of all the smell of a stressed coral! I was thought to myself "Oh GOD I'm going to have to use just straight bleach to get that smell out of the house." I walked out of the living room to grab a smoke and there it was... WATER EVERYWHERE - well the floor NOT in the tank! Luckily, Allen had showed me how to turn the pumps off (b/c I asked "just in case" and he said "I doubt you'll have to do that" - OH LITTLE DID HE KNOW). Then I made the dreaded call and went to get him.

The ride home was SO heartbreaking! I won't lie to you all and I say I've ALWAYS been a big fan of the tanks. Sometimes I feel like he loves them more than me, LOL probably cause they don't nag about the dishes, the laundry, the kid and so on. So, now I've just learned to except it because he loves them so much and the best thing for all is for me to just be supportive and love them with him.
So, I just sat in the car just watching him (he was so quite). When we got home I took my time getting in the house, I REALLY didn't want to see his face when he saw it for the first time.

This evening him and I had a little family meeting about what we should do (buy a new tank RR or Not... Blah Blah Blah) and I told him I would rather not get a RR since he had the overflow things already and the plumbing stuff already figured out but all in all it was up to him. Like I said SUPERWIFE! :) hehe...

Any now HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Well, I'll stop with all my rambling... HAPPY REEFING!

Oh and just so you know I'm the one taking most of the update Pics! ;-)
 
I have a question for you guys. The new tank is now on the stand without any foam under it. The problem is the tank is only touching the stand on the 4 corners....What do I do now? My top is made similar to that of a hardwood floor in that there are several solid oak planks running from front to back. I need some suggestions.....
 
You could maybe get a bunch of wood shims and slide them in all around under the tank so it spreads the weight out. Are the planks of wood bowed or something?
 
I was just thinking about this situation earlier, for myself in the future, although for a smaller tank. I was thinking that some of the planks/boards may not be perfectly flat or the unit(that I was imagining building) would not be level on top. I know 3/4" MDF was brought up before, some said it would soak up moisture, although it could be painted/finished, some said it was not strong enough(dont remember what size tank). I only know that from my small experience with MDF(subwoofer boxes, ect..) it seems pretty solid to me. Actually I have an old work bench in the garage that seems to have MDF, that was laminated on top and edges, that bench held my assembled motor/trans/+(prob ~1000lbs its a 4cyl, FWD), with out issues, but only for a limited time. Not sure how thick the top on my bench is?

Or since I'm not a wood type person, not sure exactly what they use for subfloors in houses, that could be a possibility or maybe its just MDF or plywood/chipwood?

So basically just a sheet(or 2) of at least 3/4" wood laid on the stand basically like the foam was.

Oh does AGA or the tank manufacturer have a phone number for questions, I guess I dont even know if aquariums have a warranty? Maybe ask them the recommended way to go about it. All I saw on there site is
All sides of the aquarium must be adequately supported in order to avoid stressing the seams of the tank
 
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I think I have solved the issue of flatness on the top of my stand. I do tile work on the side and I have a sheet of hardibacker board that I just finished cutting down to fit the top of the stand. I'm getting ready to put the tank back up on the stand and see what it looks like......
 
You could always do what I did, put wood board on the stand as a top, then shim the underside of the wood board where it is not touching the tank with playing cards. If its too big of a gap you would have to cut some pieces of wood to shim that spot until everything is even.
 
Well I'm test filling the tank....with FW...just to see how it reacts to the new top it is sitting on. I got in touch with a friend of mine who has been dealing with tanks for a very long time and he said it is highly unlikely that the foam caused the problem. I checked the bottom of the trim on the 150 and there is a 1/8" gap from bottom of the trim to the glass and from the compression dents on the foam it didn't dent that far. I don't think the foam caused the problem. I think when we were setting the tank on the stand we did it...caused a minor stress fracture because we had to lift it so high and we didn't have it all the way up when it sat on the stand. That and the fact that the tank had been moved at least 3 times prior to this one. Who knows....all I know is I have a lot of work to do and a 120 to fill and make sure it isn't leaking.....
 
I think a pic of the damaged tank and the foam indentation would clear it up for others. Not trying to drag out the situation.
 
That will have to wait until tomorrow...the 150 is sitting outside in the back yard.

The guy I talked to has a 240g tank sitting on a 3/4 plywood top with a 3/4 piece of foam on top of that. His tank has been up and like that for several years now. He agreed that it is highly unlikely that the foam caused the problem it could have been that it was time for the bottom to fail or it could have been the way we put the tank onto the stand. It was a heavy beast and we didn't do it as carefully as I would have liked...


UPDATE.....

The 120 is now over half full with FW. I'm stress testing and leak testing...so far so good...
 
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