No more Wal-Mart Tanks for me

[Johnny Cakes]

I don't remember the brand of tank that came in the setup. It was one of the boxed sets that came up with the HOB filter, light, and heater. I wanna say I got a bunch of Tetra sample packets in the set. Was gonna set up a FW tank again, but I decided to go for it and move into SW.

She told me that it was leaking at a few points from the bottom. By the time I got back, the water was gone, so no more leaking, but when I put a little water on it to try to find the leak, it looked like water was coming up over the bottom frame. Doesn't look like it came from a corner, but rather from the bottom seal since it seemed to be spread out.

As for the sitter, she got an extra hundred dollars.

By the way, I forgot how much it sucked filling this thing up, I made three trips to Wal-Mart in a day to fill up my 5 gal jugs with their RO water to fill the tank. Bit the bullet so I wouldn't have to deal with the chlorinated water and the chloramines in our city water. Man I need to get an RO system installed here.

[Creamhorses]

How much did they charge you for the water....by the gallon?

Sorry to hear this turned out so bad.

CH

[BillD]

Unfortuneately, even a visual inspection won't guarantee a leak free tank. However, some tanks will seem to have more silicone on the seams. This may or may not be better. I have bought a number of new or almost new leakers, at reduced prices, and resealed them, so the problem is not rare. I have 4 older used leakers in the basement, just about ready for resealing. They are great for a cheapskate like me. However, it is disheartening to have issues with something you have bought, brand new, and paid top dollar for. I hope your new tank stays trouble free, Johnny Cakes.

[Johnny Cakes]

Originally Posted by Creamhorses

How much did they charge you for the water....by the gallon?

Sorry to hear this turned out so bad.

CH

The Wal-Mart in our area has an RO system at the front of the store. They sell water by the gallon at $.37 per. You just shove your bottle in the machine and fill it up.

[crazyred]

Originally Posted by Creamhorses

And what is the difference in weight between 50 g of freah water and 50g of salt water? And should that be a factor in the leaky tank?
CH

Quite a bit of weight difference in fresh vs. salt water. All that salt adds weight and density to the water. It could make a huge difference uin causing a tank to leak. More weight = more stress on the seal. I would buy a tank designed for saltwater if it were me. JMO

[roka64]

I think SW is about 8LBs per gallon.....? Not sure about FW.

[Creamhorses]

I did a Google search and after much fussing came up with fresh water weighing 8.33#'s/gallon. Salt water varies by the amount of salt...but the average is 8.5#'s/gallon. Ok, for the sake of this example, let say salt water weighs 9 pounds per gallon. In a 55 gallon tank, the difference is .67lbs/gallon..... 36.85 pounds.

I have a hard time believing that this amount of added weight would cause a tank to leak based on the fact that it was salt water and the tank may have been manufactured for fresh water. I didn't know there was a difference.

In any event the same amount of clean up is due when it leaks.

CH

[crazyred]

All I know is, most of the tanks I see for sale at my LFS and WM say on the box "for freshwater use". I was thinking that maybe, tanks designed for SW use had reinforced seals more resistant to the effects and weight of salt vs. fresh water. Just a theory.....and you are correct, leaking tank and clean up sucks no matter what kind of water it is.

[ferretmath]

"Johnny Cakes" said that he purchased his aquarium as a kit. It probably did say for "freshwater use only" not because of the actual tank, but because all of the sample packs of food and water conditioner that came with it was for tropical freshwater fish.

All of the kits that we sell (Pet SuperMarket) are for "freshwater use only" because of this. I have worked at PetSmart also, and their Top Fin brand (its the PetSmart brand) can be used for fresh or salt. My SW tank is Top Fin and I've had no problems. All of the Top Fin kits, however, are put together for freshwater because of all of the other things it contains, not because of the actual tank.

The only major pet store that I've seen that sells SW kits around here is Petco (well, besides Big Al's). When I was with that company, I put together a couple of those SW setups and we just used the usual tanks (in that case it was All Glass).

[crazyred]

Oh, okay....I always wondered. Not that I'll ever convert my Wal Mart tank to salt (money, money, money), but I was wondering why it said that, then, when I read this tharead I thought it might have to do with that. Thanks for clearing it up. Must have just been a defective tank.