125G exploded!

[Henry1]

I have this 125G that sprang a small leak last April and got it replaced.
Not wanting to waste it, I kept it and recently, stripped off all the silicone rubber and reseal it.
Last week, I decided to use it as a FW planted tank in the balcony.
Put in gravel and water on Thursday and get it cycling. . . all appeared well till Sunday when I came home to this shocker! 8O

Thankfully, its located outside the house with nobody around when it happened. Looking at the aftermath, can't imagine what potential harm it can do to anyone standing nearby. . . . . Something is best left to the experts.
Hope those consider doing repair for the first time on something this big be wary of this.

Can anyone help me post the picture . . . can't figure out how to place a picture.

 

[reefland]

Wow.. glad nobody was hurt.

This board doesn't support hosting pictures. You'll need your own web site for that. And then you just post the URL to it.

If you don't have a web site to hold it on, let me know. I can host it for you.

 

[Henry1]

Richard

Thank for offering to help.
I've emailed you the pic.

 

[reefland]

Ouch.

 

[reefland]

Gonna need a bit more silicone this time.

 

[MattM]

I dunno, maybe that beer can in the corner had something to do with this!

 

[danmhippo]

Thank God it's not tempered glass. Otherwise you will have a real mess to clean up!

 

[Carpentersreef]

8O 8O 8O


Great.......another reason not to sleep at night...


Any idea how old the tank was?

Mitch

 

[Mouse]

Mitch you crack me up, im constantly feeling round the edges of tanks for leaks, thats why i was considering acrylic.

 

[Carpentersreef]

I would sure like to know the specifics behind a successful silicone job and an unsuccessful one... :?
I know that glass bends, but my concern is the air bubbles that you can see in the silicone joints. How many bubbles are too many bubbles? Do our reef lights degrade the silicone over time?

Mitch :?

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
Mouse, you won't be too self-content if I show you a pic of my acrylic tank (90 gal).

 

[SPC]

Posted by Henry:

Not wanting to waste it, I kept it and recently, stripped off all the silicone rubber and reseal it.

-I believe some of you guys might have missed this statement :wink: . My LFS owner who has been in business for 15 years and sells around 50 to 100 new tanks a year, has told me he has never, not once had a failure such as what is in the picture. I would be interested in what some of our LFS owners on Reefs.org have experienced. Is it possible that the odds of this occurring are right up there with a shark attack?
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
Did you find a baseball on the balcony? I guess those kids picked them up already. :wink:

 

[Henry1]

Posted by Mitch - Any idea how old the tank was?
It was sitting empty indoor for about 2yrs before I started it with a reef setup in Nov 1999. In April 2000 it developed a leak- silicone had gone hard and brittle and the centre brace also came off.

Left it in the balcony and last month decided to strip off all the silicone and have it resealed. Although there wasn't any bubbles in the joints, I believe I didn't apply enough silicone.

My respect for those guys who produce big solid tanks shot up several notches.

I hope the pic didn't send a chill down the spine for anyone . . . . no, its not the 'beer can' (thats a flower vase you see) or a base ball

 

[Len]

Mitch,

Relax Glass tanks, properly constructed, last longer then acrylic tanks, especially under the heat of reef aquarium lighting. I've actually have heard dozens more reports of acrylic tanks failing then I have of glass.

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
I don't know how many of you going to agree with me, but the look of the broken tank seems to indicate a hairline crack before the filling of the water. The pressure of the water in next few days cause the crack to travel all the way up to the top, and finally ruptured the front panel, despite a great silicone job.

It is defective material, not poor workmanship to be blamed. Any comment?

 

[Reefguide]

As I was reading the first few responses and saw that pic, I was thinking to myself that it looks like the tank failed due to either a hairline fracture or an external force like someone mentioned a baseball even maybe a few punks with a small rock that got washed away after the tank exploded...

 

[ColdZero1]

When I worked at an LFS we had a guy come in who's whole front of his 180 just blew off. It was inside...thats a lot of water.

 

[SPC]

Posted by Henry:

the centre brace also came off.

After this occurs there is no telling what happened to the joints.
Steve

 

[Carpentersreef]

Maybe 2 big fish were chasing each other and 1 ran into the front glass.

Mitch :idea: