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Nightmare morning water all over the floor

Barbara Turner

Barbara Turner

Member
Joined
10 Mar 2018
Messages
511
Location
Aylesbury
Hi all
Just a tip the plastic trim at the top of the tank is structural.
I carefully removed it last night, came down this morning and one of the side silicone seams has split emptying 180 litres of water across the floor. The fish were luckily alive in the bottom inch of water.

I've half taped the side up with a roll of aluminum foil tape and it now only drips slowly. I half filled the tank.
I'm guessing my external hydor heater is toast, fingers crossed for my external filter it was still spinning when I turned everything off this morning..
Now running with a spare heater and no filtration.
IMG_20180405_084958.jpg
I'm struggling to find anyone that has a aquascaping tank with a clean top edge in stock. I spoke to evolution and they won't have the aquascaper 900 back in stock till may.. I'm not sure I can afford the 1200 or a ADA tank from green machine.

I thought about trying to fix it, but there is no chance of putting the plastic trim back on as it in small parts..
Also I don't have a spare tank to put fish / shrimps in..

Does anyone know anyone closer?
I'm based in sheffield (S20 3FR) and looking for a supplier with a couple of hours..

Thanks
 
Heartbreaking Barbara!:banghead: Don't be disheartened, i know how much having a spill can hurt your resolve, unfortunately i can't help with where to buy as i'm in london and have never even been to sheffield, but i hope someone from a bit further north will chip in with some recommendations, all the best and hope you get a quick resolution. :thumbup:
 
Edvet said:
Try to get a plastic babybath, rain barrel or garden barrel to keep you over
Click to expand...
that's what i did when my 130L emptied, i had to keep literally everything fish and plants in a huge bucket for 5 days, nothing died though so it obviously worked.
 
That's a darn shame Barbara.. 🙁
Barbara Turner said:
Just a tip the plastic trim at the top of the tank is structural.
Click to expand...

What is the size of that tank and the glass thickness? Measure it and check it here.
http://theaquatools.com/building-your-aquarium/
By default it has a safety factor of 2,5, but estamiting the size of your tank i think you still at safety factor 4.. Try both and check glass thickness.

I'm not sure the plastic rim was structural, because the top has to hold the least pressure, most of the pressure is at the bottom.. It likely was more like a unfortunate coinsidence that actualy shouldn't happen if it was essambled properly by the builder. Anyway if all checks out regarding size and thickness.
Then see this..


Could be you're up and running again within a few days.
 
You can contain them in just about anything that will hold water, see if you can find a water butt, large storage tub or a second hand tank (fill it up outside and test if you don't see it holding water). If you pop a plastic bag over your taller plants/moss that will tide you over a few days and stop them drying out.

I'd do that and wait for the tank you want, rather than rushing and getting what you don't.
 
It's pretty disheartening.. When I came down in the morning, my first thought was that the water looks really clear.....

I'm 50 / 50 between moving the fish and cherry shrimps to a big container from Ikea and between leaving them put. Guess it depends if I can find a replacement this weekend.
I could possibly drive to London if anyone recommends anyone that would have stock.

Nice website Wish i'd looked at it before taking the trim off.

I've just measured the thickness at 5.5mm - Tanks measures 40 x 45 x 100cm
That Website gives me a safety factor of less than 2 🙁
looks like the plastic trim is structural...Just wish it had started to failed while I was taking it off.

A guy in Buxton at Aquatic and Pet Superstore has offered to make me a replacement braceless tank - from 12mm front and back, 10mm Sides. (£250)
Anything I need to ask? Anyone had any tanks made by him?

guessing I need to ask about Ground external edges, Type of glass eg low Iron?
little different to the 5.5mm the juwel is made from..

Does anyone else make bracless / Trim less tanks that are good for aquascaping? I came across the new aquaone tanks but they all the braceless tanks look small.
 
Thanks
tam said:
You can contain them in just about anything that will hold water, see if you can find a water butt, large storage tub or a second hand tank (fill it up outside and test if you don't see it holding water). If you pop a plastic bag over your taller plants/moss that will tide you over a few days and stop them drying out.

I'd do that and wait for the tank you want, rather than rushing and getting what you don't.
Click to expand...


for the tip on the bag, I'll do it now. I was watering the moss as often as possible.
 
Sorry to hear that is a nightmare 🙁 saving grace is at least it didn't totally let go and you didn't lose all the fish and shrimp as well.

Had a look about and cant vouch for the quality but these guys are in London
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/272599650849

Not quite the right size but close
https://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/shop/ada-cube-garden-90-p-90x45x45cm-10mm-8-hooks-incl/

Hope you find something but as mentioned above, don't just settle for an expensive stop gap you'll regret, plenty of cheap options to keep things ticking over till you can get the right tank
 
For the price difference I'd just collect the ADA90P from TGM (note weekend closure & the sale price)
 
I cracked a 5ft tank the insurance bill was very big.

Repairing/resealing a tank can and is often a problem. A friend of mine is a retired glazier its the only job he every had.

There are many reason why resealing just will not last as long as a new tank.

Many glaziers will never repair an old tank as its not worth the effort especially if it leaks again.

I had a practically brand new tank only a few weeks old leak. I took it back to the maker he took one look and threw it into the bin, he explained not worth doing even it was so new.

He gave me a new tank and I still have it.

Keith:wave::wave:
 
Has anyone bought a tank from aquariums for life (Preston) there photos look stunning.

There is a big price difference if I go slightly larger, need to check that this both braceless.
I just been reading about the difference between Ada and Opticlear and I'm not sure I'm enough of a perfectionist to be worried.



ADA Cube Garden Large 120-H 120x45x60cm / 12mm 8 hooks incl.
£980.00 - £686.00



48" x 24" x 24" (Tropical)
1219 x 610 x 610mm
Volume: Approx 450
£250
 
Info
http://www.tropicalfishsite.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-optiwhite-aquarium-glass/

My personal opinion only buy quality remembering you only get what you are paying for.

Keith:wave::wave:
What Are The Benefits Of Optiwhite Aquarium Glass

If you have or are considering the route of buying a custom made fish tank you will often be faced with the decision of whether to go for Optiwhite glass or not.

To give you some background on what this actually is we have put together a few notes to try and help you make the decision as to whether you should go for this or not. Optiwhite glass is from glass makers Pilkington and in summary it is extra clear, low iron glass with very high light transmission. Given that fish tanks are for viewing primarily this is perfect for them and why most aquarium manufacturers give the option of using it.

optiwhite-comparison-300x199.jpg

It is clear to see from the image above that the optiwhite glass on top has much clearer edges and so the green of the normal glass (at the bottom of the image) is reflected across the panel giving a slight green tinge to the whole tank when light is shone on it.

It comes at a slight premium and you can expect to pay around 20% extra for having an optiwhite panel on the front of the aquarium so for say a standard 48″x24″x24″ you may pay around £250 for the tank, the optiwhite panel on the front would add an extra £50 bringing it up to £300 for the aquarium. This may seem like quite an uplift however the clarity it gives we think makes it well worth the while. If you look at it from the point of view that the aquarium itself is often only around 10%-20% of the cost of the overall aquarium when you factor in fish and equipment too (even more when going marine), this is actually a very small increased cost so if it is the financial side of things you are concerned about then my advice would be to go for it as you will only regret it if you don’t because you can’t change it after the tank has been set up!

So that is the downside of optiwhite glass, the cost. The benefits are a much clearer view of the fish and everything else in your tank, it almost looks like the glass isn’t even there. It is common to see a slight green tinge to a tank if it is quite deep and this is purely down to the glass used not being optiwhite so this is eradicated.

You can see form the image of the tank below the green on the left side panel compared to the front panel is quite evident.

optiwhite-comparison-1-300x225.jpg

Overall we would recommend you chose the option of the optiwhite glass for any panels which are going to be viewing ones, it can’t be changed afterwards and ultimately we keep fish for viewing pleasure and this upgrade will certainly add to that.
 
Keith GH said:
I cracked a 5ft tank the insurance bill was very big.

Repairing/resealing a tank can and is often a problem. A friend of mine is a retired glazier its the only job he every had.

There are many reason why resealing just will not last as long as a new tank.

Many glaziers will never repair an old tank as its not worth the effort especially if it leaks again.

I had a practically brand new tank only a few weeks old leak. I took it back to the maker he took one look and threw it into the bin, he explained not worth doing even it was so new.

He gave me a new tank and I still have it.

Keith:wave::wave:
Click to expand...

From a professional/glaziers standpoint of view you are absolutely correct.. Resealing a tank is a time and money wasting procedure.. It takes a few hours cleaning and it realy needs to be spot on clean. All looks easier than is.. And you only got maybe $100 worth of glas in the tank, that doesn't add up with 5 or 6 hours rubbing and cleaning with a $ 60 bill per hour. Than using new clean glass is cheaper and much beter ofcourse.

But for the hobbyist in the situation not having a new tank available that soon. Than role up sleeves clean and rub a few hours maybe a complete day, apply $10 kit and you can be up and running again in 3 days.. Than you have a good temporary fix and the time to search and think over for a new tank and no need buying a new one in a split second decision. 🙂
 
zozo said:
From a professional/glaziers standpoint of view you are absolutely correct.. Resealing a tank is a time and money wasting procedure.. It takes a few hours cleaning and it realy needs to be spot on clean. All looks easier than is.. And you only got maybe $100 worth of glas in the tank, that doesn't add up with 5 or 6 hours rubbing and cleaning with a $ 60 bill per hour. Than using new clean glass is cheaper and much beter ofcourse.

But for the hobbyist in the situation not having a new tank available that soon. Than role up sleeves clean and rub a few hours maybe a complete day, apply $10 kit and you can be up and running again in 3 days.. Than you have a good temporary fix and the time to search and think over for a new tank and no need buying a new one in a split second decision. 🙂
Click to expand...


I watched a few videos online and it seemed like a bad idea.
I came to the conclusion that I had to take the bottom out first then completely dismantle the tank then resilicon the whole tank.

My other big concern that even after doing all of this, the glass is still only going to be 5.5mm without the plastic trim the safety factor is lower than I would like. If I bump it in a few years the same could easily happen again.

On the other hand, If I have to wait another week for a custom tank, dropping the water level and plastering the inslide with sealant is going to reduce the drips.

Are there any sealants/glues I can use underwater that aren't going to kill the shrimps/fish as a temporary fix?
(leaving lots of tape on the outside)
 
Barbara Turner said:
I watched a few videos online and it seemed like a bad idea.
I came to the conclusion that I had to take the bottom out first then completely dismantle the tank then resilicon the whole tank.
Click to expand...
As temporary fix the posted KING of DIY video shows what is sufficient no need to cut open the entire tank.. How long the new kit seam holds is a mater of how thoroughly you clean the corners. Cleaning out old kit thoroughle is a tidy job. Even if you cut the entire tank apart it will be hours cleaning, miss a spot and and new seams wont hold forever.

Barbara Turner said:
Are there any sealants/glues I can use underwater that aren't going to kill the shrimps/fish as a temporary fix?
Click to expand...

Yes TEC7 is such a kit.. There are also other brands polymer kits having the same properties. Oftenly used for repairing ponds or water containers or even cracked aqauriums.. It cures submersed.. It can be used on glass as temporary fix.. Because it is a polymer kit, it will absorb a few % water, that's why it is only temporary bonding to glass. glass is to smooth. The other thing is it will not bond very good to cured silicone.. A cracked panel is easy to fix with glueing in another sheet of glass.. But a leaking corner silicone seam is hard to repair..

What you could try is find a hardware store that sells plastic PVC corner profile 30 or 40mm wide profile. If not available aluminium profile can do as well. Make it the same lenght as the tanks heigth and sand the inside with sandpaper, kit this profile to the outside of the tank. The outside corner of the tank is easier to clean and degrease and kit safely. Than lower the water level in the tank low enough that no water is dripping out anymore, dry it, clean it and kit it. Wait 24 hours and refill the tank. 🙂 That's the easiest temporary fix i can think of..
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-PL...LL-SIZES-10-15-20-25-30-40-50mm-/232030527177
 
Last edited:
Splitting of tank seams is usually due to the tank being placed on a "bowed" surface causing tearing of the silicone in two opposite corners. Are you sure your stand/tank is on level floor ? My mates tank split down one corner (and started on opposite corner) due to one of the legs on his "chest of drawers" tank stand collapsing, causing bowing of bottom of tank and subsequent tearing of the silicone. He made a better stand and resiliconed tank and that was many many years ago and tank is still fine.
 
I quite like the idea of gluing an aluminum profile down the inside, drop the water level to about 100mm, once the glue has set, remove the tape and hope it will hold together for long enough to glue something on the outside.

spoke to aquariums4life this morning and the price rockets up when you go for braceless / rimless from what's listed on their site.

1000x500x500 in 12mm optiwhite is £420
1200x600x500 - 12mm optiwhite £519
1200x600x600 - 15mm optiwhite £960

Also going to take them about 6 weeks....

Glass alone is expensive though
http://www.glasswarehouse.co.uk/optiwhite-glass-low-iron-toughened-glass/
 
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