Warning for all TMC Signature owners.

[Julian]

Apologies for the alarmist title, but I learned a lesson which I think all TMC signature tank owners (and perhaps other branded tanks) can also learn from.

Long story short, if your cabinet starts to exhibit any of the symptoms described and pictured below, beware that this can cause enough stress to damage the seals of the tank.

I was always really careful when doing my water changes and the cabinet was only exposed to very small amounts of water, but this is what can happen over a long period of time.

24 hours ago, this is what my tank looked like:

(TMC Signature Optiwhite 600x300x450 including TMC arctic white cabinet)

And this is what it looks like now:

(A bucket that we bought from IKEA to store our 5 year old sons toys)

When I first set the tank up almost 2 years ago, I made sure everything was level, I didn't use any padding under the tank as I read that it wasn't necessary.

A few months ago, I noticed that the top/front panel of the cabinet was warped and poking outwards on one side. Whenever I do my water changes I always refill it from this corner and as such the cabinet can get a few splashes of water from time to time, so I'm fairly certain this is what attributed to the warping. It was purely a cosmetic issue at this stage and looked a little unsightly if anything. I spoke to my brother who is a carpenter and he said that clamping 2 bits of wood to either side would flatten it out and bring it back to it's original shape. I gave this a go and it worked as he anticipated.

Fast forward to a few days ago, I noticed that the same panel of the cabinet was back to being warped again, but also there was a small gap under the front of the tank where I could fit a credit card and run it from end to end. It appeared that front half of the tank was not in contact with the cabinet any more. I spoke to a friend who is a glazier and he said that because the gap was so small it was probably well within tolerance.

This information didn't really put my mind at rest, but before I could do anything about it, last night just as I was about to go to bed, I realised I hadn't fed the fish. I wondered over to the tank and found a small puddle at the front base of the cabinet, and on closer inspection, I found a leak.

Luckily it was just a slow drip at this point, but I didn't want to wait for things to get worse. I immediately started draining the tank and removing all of it's inhabitants. It's amazing how quickly you can tear down a tank and remove all the equipment. I think it took me less than half an hour to get all the fish out, all the water drained and all of the equipment unplugged and removed.

The tank is now outside in the garden, drained of all water and only the hardscape and substrate left behind.

Some close ups of the warped cabinet.

This is the front-right part of the front panel where I originally noticed the warping and used a piece of wood clamped on either side to bring it back to it's original shape (which only lasted a couple of months before it was back to being warped again).

And I noticed something similar in the rear left corner of the tank:

There's no doubt in my mind that this warping is what attributed to the tank failing.

Getting the cabinet wet during water changes was my own fault, but it was always very minimal, and in this hobby, ultimately unavoidable. Anyone who knows me, knows how passionate I am and the pride I take in looking after my tank. It's disappointing that this could so easily have been averted if TMC (and other manufacturers) would use a better method to seal the wood, or perhaps better materials.

I can't afford to buy a new tank any time soon and I wouldn't feel confident in replacing the seal myself so it looks like I'm done with the hobby for now.

I hope my experience serves as a warning to others before they end up in the same situation!

 

[doylecolmdoyle]

None of your photos are displaying

 

[Ed.Junior]

No photos

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[BarryH]

A few were visible last night but now they've all gone.

 

[Julian]

Sorry about that, uploaded them to a different site so should be visible now.

 

[Mark Livermore]

Sorry to hear that. Good news that you found it, rather than the leak getting out of hand and ruining any other furniture/floor.

 

[Fiske]

Good for you that you catched this before everything was on the floor.

And this is why I jump through hoops to NOT put my tanks on anything made out of particleboard, mdf or what have you.

 

[Eduard18]

Terribly sorry to hear that

Envoyé de mon SM-G935F en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Ericson Sy]

Its sad, i was actually planning in getting the same set up, i wonder if they have address this issue now

 

[AverageWhiteBloke]

Just for the sake of future posters I have to jump in here. I have the same cabinet as the OP which I bought after reading George farmers review on it, at the time these minimalist modern cabinets were few and far between other than going down the ADA route, there seems a lot more to choose from now. However I haven't had any major spills other than the odd trickle running down the glass on WC change which I usually wipe away with a towel pretty much instantly. Recently I moved and had to strip down the tank and cabinet, I also didn't have any foam or anything on the bottom of the tank but this was the first time I had seen the cabinet with the tank off since setup and was shocked at the amount of warping on the top flat section where the tank sits. Having a closer look around the cabinet in day light you can pretty much see bubbles under the laminate on most edges especially the top but also on the bottom of the door and the front section which warped for the OP.

I don't expect these cabinets to be water proof totally but in comparison I have a Juwel cabinet which sat in my garage for years and a leak in the roof cause a puddle where it was but didn't affect the cabinet and I also have a Aqua-one cabinet that must be 10 years old which also shows no signs of warping or laminate bubbling. These cabinets seem very susceptible to water, in fact if some water trickles down the glass and you don't catch it before it reaches the cabinet it tends to get stuck between the glass and cabinet and the swelling seems instantaneous as in the next morning.

As such I wouldn't recommend this cabinet either, for something that should be dealing with moisture on a daily basis to me its like a moisture sponge. I ask my self if I had put sponge under the tank would that have helped but I suspect that could of made things worse by soaking up the water and holding it there until it did soak through the laminate.

Fancy the @George Farmer Aquascaper series as my next cabinet but the tank dimensions are a bit odd for me. I understand that keeping tank height low for easy access is a benefit and extra depth gives a better perspective but it just doesn't do it for me for some reason. It's also a piece of furniture in the house, not sure if they custom build though. If they had a cabinet with the same dimms as my ADA60H I would have my wallet out but for now I'll just have to monitor this cabinet and be very careful about getting water on it, not ideal for an aquarium cabinet.