Busted Aquarium.....What a mess

[darrrth]

Hello everyone,

Well, my worst nightmare has come through. My 90 gallon perfecto tank's busted. It was late at night and i heard a loud bang and quickly ran down to the basement to check. And there it is, water gushing out from the bottom of the tank.

One of the worst experience of my life. Take a look at the pictures, not sire wy the bottom would gave out like that. It's a new tank i bought 1.5 years ago and it's sitting on a stand i purchased online called aquatic fundamentals i think.

What do you guys think? Is it a defect? I have seen busted tank but usually on the sides at the seam but not shattering at the bottom like that.

Could it be the weight of the slate rocks?

The tank that was busted was housing 2 breeding pair of oscars. They are now in a 55 gallon temp tank. I'm getting a 120 gallon once i clean out the mess and convince my wife this will not happen again i hope.....

Anyway, let me know what you guys think. I have another exact same 90 gallon tank that is running. I've since removed all the slate rocks and only have driftwood in it.

later guys...

 

[alexpie001]

you should have put some foam stuff under the tank, a crack at the bottom of a tank is always due to uneven pressure,its not the slate, the surface is not completely level

 

[darrrth]

I thought it's against the manufacturer's advice to put foam under the tank. The only support these tanks need are the 4 corners. That is why the stands created by perfecto only has supports on the 4 edges.

I wonder if i should order a perfecto stand and completely scrap my current stand.

 

[RD.]

I thought it's against the manufacturer's advice to put foam under the tank. The only support these tanks need are the 4 corners. That is why the stands created by perfecto only has supports on the 4 edges.

That's correct. Aquariums with raised plastic trim not only do not require styro under them, doing so voids most manufacturers warranty, as does not using one of their stands. Support at the 4 corners is all that is needed, as long as the stand is level there should be no issues.

 

[deeda]

I'm sorry for your loss and the hassles that come with trying to get the fish relocated into their temporary home.

I find it highly doubtful that the weight of the slate had any bearing on the bottom pane breaking. Tempered glass usually breaks when hit on the edge of the glass, not on the face. Except of course when someone tries to drill a tempered face.

I'd be interested in knowing if you find any issues with the stand itself. As both you and Bob stated, the mfg. recommends supporting the tank on its perimeter and without Styrofoam.

 

[Khemul]

I would also doubt it had anything to do with the slate. Unless maybe it somehow dropped from some height and hit the bottom. But from the pictures you don't appear to have enough to stack it high enough for that. When it comes to the weight the bottom can hold keep in mind, these tanks are designed to hold a lot more then the water. If this had been a saltwater setup it would have had up to 200lbs of sand and 180lbs of rock (granted that is a DSB and maxing the LR, but still a possible setup the tank would be expected to hold up to). Some sand & slate is nothing compared to that.

Wonder if you could get Perfecto to reimburse you for that. Doesn't seem like it should have failed like that without some major problem with the stand. As long as the stand is flat and level it shouldn't matter if it is made by Perfecto or not.

 

[darrrth]

Thanks for all the reply. This is the stand that i have:
http://www.petco.com/product/101397...ls 75/90 Gallon Upright Aquarium Stand-101397

I do have slate stacked up to about 6" high. I removed most of it to see what the damage looked like.

Could it be the oscars push some of the slate rock and it hit the tank?

And they have been digging out the sand too causing the bottom of the tank to be exposed.

If its the stand that is somehow not suitable for the tank, that gets me worried since i have another 90 with the same stand. I checked to make sure its level.

 

[darrrth]

Rd- those are some cool looking tanks.

Interesting way to stack up a tank.

 

[SimonL]

Sucks man, I had a 125 only 6 weeks old bust a side.

 

[darrrth]

i hear ya Simon. Scary thought though when a tank gets busted like that.

I might just replace those non-perfecto stand on my other 90 gallon just to be safe.