Bowing and crazing 300g tank

[Graphic]

Hello,

I bought a tank recently and I've had water in it for a couple weeks now. It has a couple lines of crazing that I think i may have caused during the move, however I'm not 100% sure. I finally got the sump setup so ignore the dirtiness as I'm testing the tank out. I can feel the crazing on the outside but not on the inside and the big one seems to go into the acrylic a little bit where I cannot feel it in the inside or and ever so slightly on the outside (only at the very top 2" worth in length). Please let me know if this is okay. Also the tank is bowing about 1" and I assume this is because the acrylic is only 1/2" think.

























View attachment 1202536

 

[nzafi]

What size tank? Seems like a large tank so 1/2in acrylic could be a problem.

 

[Graphic]

Okay sorry so I just measured and the bow is exactly 5/8 of an inch. So just a tad over 1/2"

 

[Graphic]

What size tank? Seems like a large tank so 1/2in acrylic could be a problem.

The tank is 300 gallons. The bow is 5/8" not 1", sorry for the confusion.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I'd corner pour weld-on #40 just to be safe. you do that and that tank should last for years.

 

[wednesday13]

Tank looks to be pretty new and in good shape to me... Contrary to popular belief all acrylic tanks bow. Thats just the nature of the beast imo, acrylic is soft, absorbs water and this is normal. Some worse than others. That crazing u see is from the stress of bowing. The part to worry about is the seams and they look good. Theres plenty of standard 300's built in 1/2". What id be concerned about is those patches glued on with silicone...no bueno.. Pop those off with a razor blade/paint scraper and patch the holes properly with weld-on #40, some butterfly plugs, or bulkheads with caps or ball valves. easy fix.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

The bowing is almost happen to most cheap commercial acrylic tank., 300G should be at least 1" thick. I knew there is online store custom built tank selling 125G with 1 inch thick acrylic. Bowing for tank below 150G seem ok...But 300G tank in long run with a bowing stress? It's pretty scary IMO.

 

[Siddons11]

My 480 gallon is only 1/2 acrylic also but has a lot of bracing. I do not have any crazing and no noticeable bowing.

 

[Graphic]

Tank looks to be pretty new and in good shape to me... Contrary to popular belief all acrylic tanks bow. Thats just the nature of the beast imo, acrylic is soft, absorbs water and this is normal. Some worse than others. That crazing u see is from the stress of bowing. The part to worry about is the seams and they look good. Theres plenty of standard 300's built in 1/2". What id be concerned about is those patches glued on with silicone...no bueno.. Pop those off with a razor blade/paint scraper and patch the holes properly with weld-on #40, some butterfly plugs, or bulkheads with caps or ball valves. easy fix.

Do you think I should brace the tank at all or not worry about it? The tank is technically euro braced on the top. Which I just learned about that, so basically has an entire 1/2" top that is siliconed around it.

I'd corner pour weld-on #40 just to be safe. you do that and that tank should last for years.

So is that just basically gluing the inside with that chemical and wiping it up and down? I will have to research the process..

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Do you think I should brace the tank at all or not worry about it? The tank is technically euro braced on the top. Which I just learned about that, so basically has an entire 1/2" top that is siliconed around it.



So is that just basically gluing the inside with that chemical and wiping it up and down? I will have to research the process..

ok so the process is you empty the tank, dry it out, clean the corners out real well, tip the tank onto the corner and pour the weld-on #40 into the corner and allow it to bond just the way it is in the corner. you dont spread anything around.