Earthquake in southern CA

[ryshark]

We had a 5.8 earhquake in southern california today. My house is only about 12 miles from the epicenter so I was freaking out about the fish tank. I went home just to check it out and luckily everything is good. I am now thinking abou getting acrylic when I upgrade to a 180. Do you also think acrylic would be stronger against crashing live rock, movement etc etc?

 

[land locked]

Wow an earthquake like that and you are worried about your fish!! You really love your fish. I would have probably done the same. Glad your safe though.

 

[melosu58]

I`m glad you are OK RYshark. And your fish too. My only problem is that acrylic scratches too easy. I`ve never had it but I`ve heard others say that. Might be something to think about.

 

[ryshark]

Wow an earthquake like that and you are worried about your fish!! You really love your fish. I would have probably done the same. Glad your safe though.

Thanks! Not only worried about the lives of my fish and coral, but more concerned about having 75gallons of water all over my family room, carpet, furniture etc and then the thought/expense of replacing all of that in addition to starting a new reef from scratch. That would REALLY suck!

 

[harmy4993]

lol ya i am in rancho cucamonga so only about 20 mins from the center of the quake. i have an aligator head on top of my fish tank. because its cycling i have the lid off and one of my first thoughts was " i wonder if my aligator is swimming now."

wonder if anyone else worrys about the fact that there has been no noticable after shocks. with a quake that size im use to many noticable aftershocks.along the lines of an aftershock there is something rare called a prequake. we had one in cali about 10 years ago or maybe longer. its where you have a decent sized earthquake and then have a bigger one afterwords. usually between 2 and 36 hours from what i remember.

 

[ryshark]

Well if that is the case we still have about 15-more hours until we are at that 36-hour mark. What LFS do you go to living in Rancho Cucamonga?

 

[harmy4993]

i go to the petco and jan tropical fish in montclair next to the mall, and the petco in rancho by the target shopping center lol

 

[Innovator]

I prefer acrylic for tanks larger than 75g. If you are worried about the integrity of your rock structure you can use Chemgrate as a frame for the liverock to be stationed on.

 

[Ziggy953]

To answer you question I think you would be safer with acrylic. Glass does not respond well to vibration, add to that a few rock slamming into the sides and you could have a mess. Acrylic is not shatter/crack proof but it will withstand much more abuse then Glass. Oh and those scratches everyone talks about, they can be buffed out.

I think if I lived in your area I would be looking at acrylic as well.

 

[ryshark]

Yeah, I think I have made up my mind on acrylic when I do upgrade. Especially since it will be larger than a 75gallon. I'm glad the scratches can be buffed out. I actually have 2-scratches on my glass that I wish I could get rid of. I think my magnetic glass cleaner caused them from stuff accumlating on it.

 

[Ziggy953]

Believe me I would much rather have a glass tank then an acrylic one but the tank I have planned when my wife and I build our house just isn't possible with glass.

Keep in mind that a scratch on the inside of the tank can be buffed out but it the tank has to be empty to do it. Kind of a catch 22.

But for your purposes and being in a "shakey" area I would go with acrylic. Heck I get nervous when someone leans against my stand. After the 150 mess, an earthquake would probably send me over the edge of sanity.

 

[DannWunderlich]

my aunt lives about 10 miles from the epicenter and she said that her kitchen was trashed - everything on the floor, broken, and jsut a mess

so i am glad your home is in one piece.

i am jsut glad i survived the great chicago earthquake of 2008

-Dann

 

[Ziggy953]

Chicago 2008???

I didn't hear about that...when did that happen how big was it?

 

[DannWunderlich]

ya - in april we had a 5.2 earthquake with some after shocks

Earthquake hits Illinois, aftershocks reported :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: News

amazing huh

 

[Ziggy953]

WOW! I had no idea. I guess I should listen to the news more often...nah it seems to be too much bad news lately...I'll keep listen to silly talk radio...LOL Thanks for sharing the article!

 

[DannWunderlich]

yep - just trying to get more involved in the forums and learning too muck along the way

-Dann

 

[ryshark]

I didn't hear about that one either, yes pretty amazing. I have lived in California my entire life (almost 29 years) and I can hardly remember feeling any earthquakes at all. Even the one this past Monday I didn't feel while I was driving on the freeway. I was about ready to throw my cell phone out the window for not connecting to who I was trying to call. About a half hour later my wife called me and I then found out why I couldn't make a call. Nobody could!
Some day "the big one" will hit here and the tank may be the least of my concerns. With that said, I'm still going with acrylic for the upgrade, just in case.

 

[Innovator]

FYI, scratches in acrylic can be buffed out from the inside and still full of water. As a matter of fact, the process is easier when the tank is full of water and poses no threat to fish or invertebrates other than excessive water agitation (depending on whether you buff by hand or pneumatic sander).

 

[ryshark]

Thats good to know thanks. It sounds like acrylic is better in every way except cost. Stronger, lasts longer, doesnt shatter/crack as easy, lighter, can buff scratches out and easier to drill.

 

[Innovator]

Check out EverClear for their kits. I highly recommend them.