Preventing Tanks cracking..

[greenmaji]

I know this happens occasionally.. I was just wondering if there was something more to keep it from happening than making sure the tank is on a level stable surface.. TIA..

 

[BrianNY]

Sure. Avoid playing baseball in a room with an aquarium, and don't hit the glass with a hammer.

I've never seen the glass crack in a tank. What does occur is the silicon joints may weaken from uneven pressure. This is more likely to happen in tanks with many joints, like hex tanks.

 

[Blucat]

Some people put a layer of foam under the tank to help distribute weight more evenly and to compensate for any unlevelness.

 

[fishyrican]

The only time I have had a tank crack was when the glass was already chipped and the floor was at a slight angle (it was an old house). The crack grew across the front of the tank and caused the tank to deposit most of its water on the floor. At 2:00 a.m.

Other than where the glass itself has a structural issue, any uneven pressure would be concentrated on the weakest link--the silicone, causing it to fail first.

 

[cJw]

I just noticed the other day that my tank isn't as level as I thought it was. :|

Any advice on how to fix this? Perhaps a shim under one end of the (wooden cabinet) stand during a BIG water change? It's only a 30g, so maybe I could pull this off?

Should I really worry about it if it's only 1/4"?

 

[TankGirl]

I would not take a chance with the tank, cJw. It is easy enough to make it level, and this way you can be confident that one pane of glass is not taking more weight of the water than the othes. Get the wooden shims for leveling windows and doors, and tap them under the stand, whereever necessary, until it is level. Then you can snap off the excess and the shim won't be obvious.

 

[greenmaji]

my moms husband had a 125 gallon crack in half across the back pain. And my gf's cousin had a 55 split across the back. the 125 was in a very old house and the 55 was in a new house.. I was thinking it had to do with settling in both cases.. I have a new trailer so settling might be an issue here.. but keeping the tank shimmed wouldnt be too tough for me..

 

[greenmaji]

Has any one seen a tank snap right across the middle of the glass from settling? Or is this super rare and I happen to have seen it twice..

 

[Guest]

I've never seen it, and I've had a LOT of tanks over the course of my 25 years.

 

[TankGirl]

I have never seen it in over 20 years in the hobby, but I have heard of it.

 

[cJw]

I would not take a chance with the tank, cJw.

Thanks for the confirmation, TG - I'm on it.