My 422 planted tank glass panel just collapsed!

[eddy planer]

Hi bros,

I had this 422 tank for nearly 5 years located on my balcony.

Just last Friday around 1am, there was a loud crack sound that rudely woke both my wife and I up and realized there was a power tripped. So I heard the loud splashing sound from my balcony and realized that my 2 prized red-fin gourami ( 1.2" ft long) were on the floor with broken glass pierced into its body..finally both passed on.

Finally I got to clear the massive mess...the sand,flood, huge pieces of broken glass and the dead.

I checked and realized the front glass panel just gave way just like that.

Any bro face similar case like this before?

[tinydot]

first case i've heard...sad to hear about your loss, and the fact it happened at 1am adds more to your pain, i guess.

did the silicone glue give way? seems like a QC problem to me.

[Fei Miao]

Sorry to hear that, what's the thickness of the glass. One of the nightmares of aquarium hobbists...

[bossteck]

Sorry about your loss Eddy.
Did the tank show any signs of impending disaster before that? E.g. leaking, bluging at the side?

[eddy planer]

Thanks guys,

Glass thickness was 10mm. I believe the silicon glue gave way but there is no sign or warning like leakage or bluging at the front panel.

Anyway, i just bought another OTS 6 x 2.5 x 2.5 x 18mm thickness tank for SGD 200 with free delivery. I'll be expecting the delivery of my dream tank tomorrow. But I wont be using OTS as 2.5 ft is too deep for me to plant( backache, lah) and will still use 2 Jebo and Atman canisters (1000l/hr).

Alamak! this is my first monster 6 ft tank.... still puzzle and confuse how to set up to create new planted concept for big fauna like red fin gourami or common arowana.

Buget is tight..

any idea bro.

[bossteck]

It is most fortunate that you and your family members were not near the tank when it gave way.

So you decided to come back even stronger, that's great!

Take your time and do things right, remember to post photos if you can, looking forward to seeing your new setup.

[eddy planer]

Sure Boss!

I will take picture of my latest monster tank...any idea or concept for this 6footer tank? still very confuse...

[bossteck]

Not sure how 'active' you are at tank maintenance.
But I would go for slow growing plants, crypts comes to mind, plant once and wait... then wait... and wait some more which is just fine with me.

I wouldn't get any plants that would require regular trimming, given that it is a huge tank that's deep also.

A good size bunch of C. crispatula 'Balansae' would look good, your tank has the height to deal with them as well.

But that's just me, not sure what you would find attractive.

[aquarius]

Hi Eddy.. sorry to hear of what happened. Thank goodness non of your family members is injured by the mishap. Wah i really envy you for getting yourself a monster dream tank.

I'm wondering is there a possibility that since it's placed at the balcony, the sun's heat and UV rays makes the silicon spoil prematurely?

[eddy planer]

Thanks Aquarius,

Should be possible ...but too bad there is no morning sun and afternoon sun blaze direct on my balcony. Maybe the silicon glue just give way just like that or maybe was a poor quality.

Anway I'll check it if there is , will lower down the bind to shade my 6ft monster tank.

[felix_fx2]

Sorry about your loss,

Had similar issue with my 5-7 year old 2.5Ft tank (not sure i had it long long ago before army ) when it cracked at 1am+ while i was watching movies on pc nearly.

Please have a good look at the silicon if its done well, i didn't notice mine had a small zone which some sand got in and slowly eroded it. ( its at the base side so i could not see even a early warning. I lost my pair of yappy and balas soon didn't have time to clean my spare tank well )

I read about some people when they setup new tanks they add on an extra layer of silicon and make sure there is non dangling or chances of debris going in.

Hope this helps abit.

[BFG]

Hi Eddy.. sorry to hear of what happened. Thank goodness non of your family members is injured by the mishap. Wah i really envy you for getting yourself a monster dream tank.

I'm wondering is there a possibility that since it's placed at the balcony, the sun's heat and UV rays makes the silicon spoil prematurely?

Thanks Aquarius,

Should be possible ...but too bad there is no morning sun and afternoon sun blaze direct on my balcony. Maybe the silicon glue just give way just like that or maybe was a poor quality.

Anway I'll check it if there is , will lower down the bind to shade my 6ft monster tank.

If the issue of the quality of the silicone is in question, there might be more of the glass panel coming off as the silicone would be the same being used throughout the 5 glass panel. Or in another scenario, that front panel use a different batch of silicone from other glass panel, might be a new different batch or an old batch from a balance tank setup that was left over and re-used. Can't say for sure.

Or, the tank did not sit properly on wherever it was placed or the floor itself is not levelled. This is another avenue to look into. It is important to take note as only 1 panel came off from the tank.

[aquarius]

Which panel is facing the sun's direction, the front or the back panel?

Right now i'm concerned that the balcony may not be designed to take the weight of a 6 x 2.5 x 2.5ft. Sorry for being a wet blanket....

[aquarius]

With the unfortunate incidences from eddy and felix, it got me thinking of a few things. Once we've allocated a space for our tank/tanks, it becomes a Big Problem when we have to change an old/faulty looking tank especially if we don't have any spare tank and the fishes you have cannot be thrown into your existing ones cos the water parameters are all very different like in my case. I have a few questions i hope the bros and sis here can help :

1. What is the average life span of a tank sized 3ft and above? The reason why 3ft and above is because they tend to have more generous application of silicon on them and also makers will probably put in more care in making them since they contain larger vols of water. Is there anywhere i can read up on the life-span of a tank?

2. I heard from my mom when i was very young that once a tank is used before, it cannot be left dry for too long a period cos the silicon will spoil. How long can a used tank be left dry without spoiling the silicon?

[BFG]

Silicone, when left to dry might turn hard and lose the elasticity. When this occur, it doesn't have grip of the glass panel and it will just peel off.

[lengswee]

So sori to learn of your misfortune. Am wondering other than the 2 red fin gourami, any other fishes cos I was told that some plecos/sucker fish are capable of "chewing" silicon.

[eddy planer]

Thanks Bros

Nevermind about this i have overcome my lost ... I just found out this 422 tank was bit too old and silicon may give way due to aging process.

So now i got latest 6ft monster tank is going to serve me for another 10 yrs and i hope i can replace another one in 10 yrs time.

I will upload pix of my 6ft monster tank when i decide on what project for this monster tank in due time.

Bros,

should i got for:
1 planted tank with big fishes( aro or giant gourami or stingray)
2 rocky scape for malawi chiclids
3 vivarium with lot of bogwood ( half filled water with red fin gourami)
4 planted tank with peaceful faunas

I'm still wavering!

Let me know your thoughts

[slowcat]

While we are on the topic of silicon and tanks, I customised a 2 x 2 x 1.5(h) tank about 12 years ago, came with a plywood base and acrylic frames. $400. This was about 1996 or 1997. Money was tight.

12 years on, the tank is still in good shape so much so that I went back to the factory and got my new tank from them. Interestingly, now they use 10mm with German silicon, and my old tank was 6mm with normally looking silicon. BTW, the tank came with 10 years' warranty and I really think that it is a show of confidence in the product and workmanship.

[aquarius]

Where and what's the company's name and contact? I want to check it out. Thanks

[slowcat]

I use CR Aquarium. They have a web-site and is located at Eunos at Blk 1009. Look for Ben Lee.

Moderators, if I am out of line in putting this up, pls delete the post.