New 300 Gallon Tank, cosmetic damages... your thoughts please!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
take the canopy off and take a picture of the top off the tank,then we could better tell if you have euro bracing or not i looked at the pics as close as possible in one photo of the blue background it looks like a glass brace can be seen on top.
 
Yeah, is has glass bracing.. you can see it in one of the pics.
 
^
chances are, your tanks were older Oceanic tanks, that is how they used to make them.

as far as the question of why the trim on the tank that landmineyouth is looking at buying was removed, it may have been to accomidate a reptile screen lid, as is often used on reptile enclosures, assuming that the suggestion of a former life as a reptile tank is true.

as far as glass thickness goes, the only way to know is to measure it. if its 1/2", its not thick enough without bracing for a tank that tall and wide.

if its thicker, its probably fine.

again, I am just going by the building standards that were used pre 1995 when bracing was not often used.

on braceless tanks in the early to mid 90s, even only a 90g was made with 1/2" thick glass.

chances are, if this was not necessary tank manufacturers back then would have used thinner glass for sure.

if we have a 300g only made with 1/2" glass and its also braceless, its not going to hold water for an indefinite amount of time.

landmineyouth, I would consult the DIY board for advice on adding trim/bracing, resealing the tank etc.

good luck and enjoy your new tank!

Yes I do believe that my 180g and my 150g are old school oceanic(california custom) tanks.. X2 on the info :grinno:, I agree 100%... 300 gallons of water would make for real mess if the tank/stand fails...

----Chris
 
I over filled my 240 last night.. I can't imagine 300 gallons just on my floor. yuck.
 
To me, the stand doesn't look strong enough. The vertical braces seem like they are so thin for a 300 gallon tank. I would just buy a new stand or have a new stand made. It's worth it because you got a good deal on the 300g tank.
 
You will have different people give you different answers about the bracing.. IMO, if the bracing is how I think it is.. that's a custom made tank, so it's possible it never had trim.

I don't care if a tank is made rimless, I won't own a tank with no trim. I would rather not take the chance.

I went and checked out a 350 SW tank that was "custom made". The thing was bad.. had the "euro bracing" but it was just siliconed glass pieces on the top of the tank. I passed on it.

Get some better pics.. fill it SLOWLY, and hope for the best. At this point all you can do is try it out.
 
If the tank held water for years it should be fine now. At the most there might be a little leak where the silicone dried out but it's not going to "explode." The guy didn't have a 300 gallon reptile tank. Think about it, it just doesn't math out. Even used, or custom built this tank is way too expensive to put a reptile in it. Reptile folks would just build something out of wood. No one is going to buy that amount of glass (thick) and build a tank that doesn't hold water.


And what's filling it SLOWLY about? If it's going to leak it will leak no matter how fast the tank is filled.


Customer: "Yeah my tank leaks" Aquarium builder: " did you fill the tank SLOWLY....." Customer: "I just put a hose in it and filled it?" Aquarium builder: "No no dude, empty the tank and fill it back up SLOWLY, that should do it............" :screwy:
 
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