What am I doing wrong?!

[Bobrummel]

Sorry, I seem to be posting random questions daily. Trying to get back in the game after my 10 gallon college distraction with a new tank and I can't seem to get out of the starting blocks!

Bought a 36 gallon bowfront, set it up and two days in found two cracks (left upper front corner, middle front). Took it back, but the three other tanks at the store were all cracked out of the box.

Decided on a regular 29 gallon. Looked at it and didn't notice cracks. Set it up. Checked the counter top for level. It is level but may have a slight dip in the center (1/16"). Put a piece of styrofoam under the whole tank to help even things out.

Look at the tank 7 hours later and there are two cracks on the bottom fronts coming up from the bottom in/near the silicone! I don't know if the cracks were there previously and I didn't see them due to lighting or if they appeared after stressing the tank.

I am about to give up! What am I doing wrong?! Please help
(Sorry, for the long post...)

 

[Delapool]

Was the tank empty? The foam sheeting should of been fine. I used to have just a towel underneath with no problems.

Imo I'd change stores. They sound pretty dubious quality.

 

[Bobrummel]

Update

No, the tank was full...

And this is a note to self or any other newbie that is reading - If you notice a crack, empty the tank immediately! If I sat down and thought about it, I should have known this could happen, but my tank went from a 1.5" hairline crack to pouring water on my floor in less than an hour Luckily, I was still awake and was able to catch some of the water, but it was not fun.

I think I'm going to try one more time from a different, lfs, but if it doesn't work out this time, I'm done. It has left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, unfortunately

 

[Delapool]

Sad news! Hang in there. Throwing out ideas here for consideration.

So it sounds like either the tanks are a bit crappy or the tank stand/table is bowing or ... both.

Have you tried a plastic container of water on the tank stand/table to check it is not bowing? Wasn't sure if you had.

Is the foam sheet the area of the tank (not just part of it)?

What is the thickness of the tank glass itself? Someone on here will have same tank to check you are not being short-changed.

 

[Bobrummel]

Um....???

Have you tried a plastic container of water on the tank stand/table to check it is not bowing? Wasn't sure if you had.

Is the foam sheet the area of the tank (not just part of it)?
.

What do I do with a plastic container of water on the table? I'm a newbie and don't know this secret trick!

The foam sheet was one sheet that was the entire area of the tank. It actually stuck out about 3/4" all the way around to make sure the tank didn't sit directly on the edge.

When the tank was sitting on the table and filled, we checked to see if the top was level in both directions on three sides and it was level but did have a 1/16" (or less) dip in the middle of the short sides. So, not a bow, but a reverse bow?? I hope you can understand what I mean.

The first tank was an Aqueon 36 Bowfront, the second tank that burst was a Marineland 29. Both were kits from Petsmart.

Another Question: Are tanks from local lfs any better/different than the ones from mass market stores? At this point, I'm willing to pay more if it won't dump water over my floor!!!

Thanks for your things to consider! At this point, I'll take all the advice I can! This may be my last chance!

 

[Delapool]

Sorry, I meant to say to fill a plastic tub of same size and see how it goes over several days to see if the tank stand bow gets worse but sounds like you may have tested already? Basically checking the tank stand doesn't flex over time.

They should be the same quality really (i.e. last for years). I've had smaller ones from stores and larger custom made ones with no issues. It sounds really odd that they are cracked out of the box and makes me wonder if it was a rough delivery or something.

 

[Bobrummel]

Gotcha!

Ah, I understand about the tub now.

I'm going to try one more time to see if I can get a tank that will withstand the test of time. I think I'm going to go to the LFS for this one. I keep wondering whether the big box store that I went to previously just doesn't take care in shipping/handling their tanks. Out of the 5 tanks that I saw from that store, 3 had numerous cracks out of the box and the other two either had cracks that I didn't see or developed visible cracks once water was added.

I'm hoping that, even though the tank at the LFS may be the same, that they take better care to get their tanks from someone that takes more care to handle them properly. If not, I have to assume that it is something that I am doing incorrectly and am not destined for a tank at this time in my life

I'll keep you posted. Wish me Fishy Luck!

 

[mudraker]

Best fishes, Bo.

 

[Delapool]

Good luck! Something seems dodgy with those tank builds.

 

[mikem691]

Another thing I always do when putting an aquarium on something other than a manufactured stand is set the aquarium where you want it and while empty put light pressure on the right top corner. then while doing this push down on the left rear corner. Then switch from front to back and back to front and do it again. If the tank rocks on the opposite corners in any way that's bad because its going to TWIST the tank when full and will for sure crack.

 

[Bobrummel]

FWIW, update.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! I'm going to do all of them and see if I can get success on the third try!

FWIW, I looked at a picture of the second tank that I took minutes after I added water to the tank and zoomed in on the spots where the cracks formed. Yup, a fine crack that you can barely see, but it is there! I feel a little vindicated that I didn't absolutely cause the cracks by not checking level, etc. I can't imagine that the crack would appear in less than 10 minutes, would it?

I'm going to get a new tank from a different store that is having their $1/gallon sale in a few days. I'm going to be super critical of the tank I get, but hopefully, a change of store will be enough to get a good tank.

I am hoping that my LFS will also be nice enough and look at the tank for me since it kind of in their best interest that I am successful as i am going to buy all my fish from them. However, I know I am not buying the tank from them (theirs was 3x the cost), so I will understand if they decline.

 

[Delapool]

Stick at it good luck.

That's just crap from the store to have bad tanks. I mean once you get the tank they have a captive audience while you get fish, filters, gravels, plants, etc, etc - they are just shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Bob.
I agree with Mike that it's possible that the surface you are using for the tank may be causing the tank to twist. Putting foam under a tank avoids small bits of grit damaging the glass but it might not take out twisting errors. The surface has to be absolutely flat.



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Bobrummel]

Thanks, but...

So, is there anything that I can use that might take out a VERY minor twisting error?

We checked with a level in three directions without water and it was totally flat. We checked with the level again when the 29 gallon tank was filled on it and it had dipped less than 1/32" in the center of the tank from front to back and side to side but My husband thought that should be within acceptable tolerance because any counter would flex slightly with weight. Is that not true?

I took a picture about 10 minutes after I added water and saw the cracks in the picture in hindsight. I don't know if you can see the bottom right and bottom left corners, but it looks like it already had the cracks. I still don't know if that amount of time would cause the twist/crack, but I'm taking all advice and opinions.

I will definitely check the twist when we get the next tank to make sure that we are taking every precaution to safeguard this next tank.