Is my tank in danger?

[Ted]

Hi there - I had a quick question in case there are any people who know physics better than I do.

My 240 litre Eheim Scubaline was improperly aligned from the start and there is a 2 cm overhang of the tank on one side.The overhang is such that for about half of the rear of the tank there is no support. On the other-side, there is a 2cm gap, which has had some warping due to water dripping during normal waterchanges.

The tank has been filled for 16 months without issue. The tank is sitting on the Eheim cabinet made for this specific tank. Diagram attached:

Is this tank in danger of bursting, collapsing the stand, etc? I tried to drain the water to the minimum level and re-shift it but it was still too heavy. I can of course, take out all the substrate, which will enable me to move it, but doing so will destroy my beautifully planted tank.

What do you guys think? Leave it or destroy and rebuild? Thank you as always

 

[Jose]

I dont think I understand it very well but there is warping? What is it made of? I dont think glass can warp can it?

If there is a gap how come the water doesnt come out of the tank? This is really a puzzle.

 

[ajm83]

Sorry, I don't understand. Is it just sitting at an angle on the stand or is the glass siliconed together incorrectly (i.e. like a parallelogram)?

It would concern me if your picture is accurate, as the front panel seems not to be resting on anything.

 

[ian_m]

I dont think glass can warp can it?

Yes it can. My mate had his tank on a set of drawers which one leg started collapsing. This lowering leg warped the top of the unit and warped the bottom of the tank causing the tank seams tear front right and back left. First noticed by wet patch on the floor. Initially fixed by fixing collapsed leg, sheet of 18mm ply under the tank and re-siliconing the leaking seams. Fixed properly by building a decent tank stand and removing & replacing torn silicone.

As for original poster, 2cm is quite a lot and yes if it were me I would be worried. You could one day, lean on the tank whilst cleaning, add extra stress and "bang" crack one of the panes.

When I had to move my tank (new flooring), I took all the fish out it a plastic dustbin of tank water and lowered the water as low as possible, with enough water left in the tank for any missed fish to survive in (1cm ). Despite 5cm of substrate and rocks and remaining water the tank was quite lift-able between two people. My Juwel tank is quite positionable on the stand as tank has a plastic base frame. In your case I would be extremely careful when sliding the tank, back into position. I suspect you will have (in fact should have) a sponge layer under the tank, which will make getting it all aligned up much harder.

 

[sanj]

As for original poster, 2cm is quite a lot and yes if it were me I would be worried. You could one day, lean on the tank whilst cleaning, add extra stress and "bang" crack one of the panes.

I would second that. I always try to align as best possible from the start, I take it that you did not realise it was out of line until after you scaped it, it can happen. If it was a few mm I would not be so concerned, but this is close to an inch. It would be worthwhile to take everything out an re-scape, it might be a bit of effort but your plants can recover after all.

 

[Ted]

Thanks guys. It's sounding like I probably do need to de-substrate and do a replant. I guess I'll just put the fish in a bucket with an airstone, thermometer and canister filter. They won't like it...
Any chance of ammonia spike once I put the substrate back in and replant?

To answer questions above, the warping I mentioned was on the exposed piece of the stand (e.g. the fibre board) rather than the glass. I think once I place the heavy tank on it, it'll flatten it out nicely.

Really appreciate your responses

 

[ian_m]

I guess I'll just put the fish in a bucket with an airstone, thermometer and canister filter. They won't like it

and cover...when doing a major rescape I ended up leaving the fish in the large bucket over night, but that evening whilst watching a film with the family a large clown loach suddenly jumped out the bucket and flopped across the floor, scaring the poop out of the film watchers. I didn't bother with a filter, just air stone and heater. I dangled the heater from a piece of wood so it wouldn't touch the side of the bucket, as my mate once had a heater melt through the side of a bucket, luckily before he added fish, but not before causing a major carpet flood.

Any chance of ammonia spike once I put the substrate back in and replant?

Probably so either do large daily water changes or use something like AmQuel+ that can remove ammonia.

 

[Mick.Dk]

If you are really fond of your current scape - it is very possible to empty the tank of just water, and correct placement. Cover the plants with thin plastic to avoid moisture to escape. If possible, you can save half of the water in some holders. After correcting placement, just gently refill. This will basically just be a major waterchange.

 

[greenmac75]

i just moved my old substrate to new tank and had slight ammonia rise 0.6, 50% water changes for 4 days restored ammonia to 0

 

[GTL_UK]

I would move it asap...

 

[sanj]

Yes if you put fish in a bucket you must cover otherwise they will jump towards the light. I have moved tanks a few times, don't worry take your time.