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One step forward, two steps back.

Cadfiel

Member
Joined
13 Jun 2017
Messages
53
Location
Peterborough
Sorry in advance for the wall of text.

My journey into the world of planted aquariums has not been kind.

I have, or to be clear, had a Dennerle Nano 60l tank sitting on an IKEA Bekvam Kitchen Trolley in my living room for 3 weeks, it had just finished cycling and while i was stressing about the clarity of the water and i wanted to change the hardscaping slightly overall I was generally happy with it.

After a trip to pick up some more back ground plants, some plants for the front and some new rocks and wood i drained the tank down 90% and did some re hardscaping and aquascaping.

Unfortunately, while re filling the tank disaster struck and the tank cracked. I'll get a photo later if people wish to see but the crack appeared to start the the front left hand side rounded corner, a little over half way up, and then extended in both directions across the front and to the left side sloping down to wards the bottom of the glass about half way across.

While at the time i didn't think the crack had reached the bottom on the left side, after i had moved the rapidly drained tank and i had time to check, it it appears it has reached the base but that could have been caused by my moving it into the garage. The crack across the front never reached the bottom.

I'm assuming the crack started at the rounded corner as the glass is shifted laterally the most there, about half a mm.

When the failure occurred the tank was being filled via siphon and nothing was close to the tank, the tube was in the tank and i was steadying the filling bucket with the water on a different table. The tank was just over 50% full and I was on the 2nd filling as my bucket only holds 30l.

Now i know nothing shifted as he tank and the table with the fill water were separated, the table was not knocked and the tank had been fine for 3 weeks prior with 50% water changes.

My guesses are:

1, the tank just failed or was faulty.
2, the stand isn't up to the job - its 85 CM high and solid wood but mounted on carpet and maybe its not as stable as i though.
3, its some kind of thermal failure with water at a different temperature but by my reckoning this would have been a few degrees, 5 degrees C at most.

So, anyone offer any feedback or advice. I was so annoyed for 4 days i was just going to throw in the towel and give up but I've since calmed down.

I really like the dimensions of the Dennerle 60l but now i'm nervous that something that deep that high up is going to be prone to these issues again. Why dont Dennerle make compatible flush cabinets for them i dont known but i digress.

I was looking at a TMC signature cabinet as a replacement for the stand and maybe a Dennerle scapers tank as a replacement but now i cant help thinking is 5mm glass enough. I'm second guessing myself and keep changing my mind all the time. I don't really having the budget to start all over but once bitten twice shy so have been looking at Aqua one nano 40, Fluval Flex etc as well but cant help thinking im moving backwards.

Any suggestions or advice gratefully accepted,

TLDR: Tank broke, considering replacements.

Cadfiel.
 
hello Cadfiel sorry to read about your tank ,is the top of the cabinet smooth surface ? no screw heads sticking up or a piece of gravel on top of cabinet can cause pressure and crack tank ,just had a fluval flex tank and it comes with a base matt.
 
Read your story... so sad to hear that... why dont you want to try ADA cube garden tanks? Small ones arent very expensive and they are top choice imo.
 
did you check if the kitchen trolley was level before putting the tank on it?

When the base is not level, the water will put extra weight on one of the glass panels.

Also, when the base of the tank is not completely supported by the base (i.e. if the base bows with weight), you're very likely to get a cracked tank. It's more likely to happen on bigger tanks, but it always depends on the thickness of the glass.

 
:eek:

Picked up a Dennerle scaper tank a few weeks ago second hand, quarter drained it put it in back of car drove 30miles and filled it when I got home no problems.

So think you just got unlucky .

Son has Aqua one nano with intragrated sump, think he would swap if I asked but I wouldn't. Much perfer the HOB canister filter as you can change the position of the inlet /outlets, plus can raise the height of the lily pipe at night :thumbup: yes the Heater can be seen in scapers tank along with atomiser but being able to move the filter out weights the advantage of seeing the hardware.

Height not to deep either of 50L scapers tank even have a carpet of HC
 
I guess I just need to find a suitable stand for a Scapers tank that looks good but doesn't cost the earth.

Still cursing Dennerle for not producing their own stands yet when you see George Farmer doing demos it always seems like they have custom stands for them.

I know it was not gravel and didn't think the stand was uneven but maybe, I guessed I thought the mat would account for minor variations.
 
The cube came with a base foam sheet and it was sitting on that but it seemed quite thin 1 mm, 2 mm but i think it was thinner than that at most - its still under the broken tank as its still attempting to keep my plants alive until i can transfer them but just took it for granted that was sufficient.

I see now there are other underlays that are much thicker, JBL seem to do one that is 6 mm thick but no idea if that is too thick and would cause pressure spots.

What do other people mount their tanks on?

I'm now looking at the Scaper's Tank and thinking of getting a TMC signature stand for it but as the are both 45 cm wide i have no idea what the tolerances are for Dennerle or TMC but guessing the TMC is more likely to be precisely advertised sizes and i don't want any overhang because i figure that is going to add stress to the sides.

I am wondering if anyone out there has seen a scapers tank on a TMC signature cabinet (the 45 x 45 one) and can provide feedback?

Id love to say i could get the signature tank to go with the cabinet but even at this point that's a stretch for me to replace what i had let alone upgrade but figure a decent cabinet will serve in the long term.

Id love to make one following the various guides I've seen but i have no woodworking / hardware skills and no equipment to even allow me to go down that route.
 
Did you speak with the retailer? most tanks have a 6 month - 2 year warranty against leakage

I've kept tanks on many non-trade stands, the IKEA stand should've been fine, especially short term as you describe, the degree of "un-level" would need to be rather dramatic for such a rapid tank failure

The tank manufacturer can provide an "out" in their tank warranty by requiring a specific stand but if that's not in the print it can't be used as an excuse - you won't lose anything by going in & quietly insisting on a replacement tank ... even if you choose to sell it on rather than use it

I would suggest a stand with matching legs though rather than the half wheel/ half wooden post version
The wheels in themselves may be fine IF they are rated for the weight load
 
It seems it's a crack that happened a bit dramatically ,which would indicate a fault in manafacture rather than anything you have done incorrect.Recent legislation means despite guarantees or warranties you have a product has to be fit for purpose for 6 years
 
For what it's worth, I have just setup my Dennerle 50L using the mat that came with it and it's 80cm from the floor on a chest of draws type piece of furniture. No problems so far, touch wood.

I think you probably got unlucky, perhaps there was something on the mat that put pressure on the bottom of the tank? Looking at that IKEA stand, I wouldn't say it would have caused the issue unless obviously uneven.
 
Did you speak with the retailer? most tanks have a 6 month - 2 year warranty against leakage

Well worth a try the Phrase to use is the 'Product wasn't Fit for purpose' when on the phone, usually does the trick.
 
No internet yesterday so will send them an email with a photo and see what happens. Not holding my breath but will see what happens, nothing ventured nothing gained but it seems glass failure is excluded from most cases and I guess its then down to how far I wish to push it. Thanks for every ones advice.
 
Glass failure not covered by warranty would be if you smashed it somehow, I'd certainly argue vigorously ;)
It costs them far less to replace the glass box than you (likely) paid, & the return in terms of customer confidence is considerable.
Hopefully you can keep enough water in it to keep your pants going

It's quite possible the tank was stressed during shipping or knocked about at the shop (eg, hairline crack) - in this sort of situation, it's not unusual for the tank to work fine the first few days/weeks before letting go quite dramatically
 
Thank you all for the feedback,

I emailed the retailer late Thursday and received a reply from them very early Friday stating they were contacting Dennerle but were sending a replacement tank as soon as they had one to send as they were currently awaiting delivery themselves.

The replacement arrived today but I'm at work so now chomping at the bit, waiting to get home.

I have to say the customer service was eye opening, I was expecting problems but instead got a helpful, friendly yet professional reply that was pleasantly unexpected. There was no debate, umming ahhhing or we will see. Problem accepted, replacement incomming.

So once again, many thanks to those who suggested I contact them and a huge thumbs up and respect to Pro-Shrimp.co.uk for giving me the best customer service I've received in any field for a very long time.
 
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