720 gallon fish tank in San Diego needs reenforcement

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Wow, I just saw this thread and unfortunately just left SD a few months back. I would have helped you out but...let me make sure I read this right. Did you say this tank is 4ft tall and the acrylic is 1" thick?

I really hope this is not the case. 1" acrylic is serverly too thin for a tank of this height. Not only is using material this thin to cut costs irresponsible it's downright dangerous and unprofessional. No responsible MFG or fabricator who knows would use 1" for a 4ft tall tank.

Im currently building a 2000 gal tank 4ft tall, 16ft long with a solid top with access cutouts and am using 2.250" thick material. This isnt over kill, it's what the math verifies.

Two options IMO/IME:

1) Repair tank and do not fill to full height
2) Cut it down to a height suitable for the thickness.

Many so called aquarium MFGs do this to save money, the end result is what your dealing with now. Sorry to be blunt and am sorry your in this situation but folks who build this way are not professionals and need to stick with bird houses or Tinker toys. Aquariums should not bow like the bags fish come in.
 
amazontank said:
Explosion wow have you ever heard of this happening where people could actually be injured?
Click to expand...

Sometimes when I'm sitting in front of my tank, I have flashbacks of this thread here

The pic in post #13 is crazy scary...that acrylic sheet looks like it tore through some baseboard and the drywall like a knife.

Apparently the builder didn't know what the heck he was doing, so that makes me feel a little better. IIRC, he used the wrong type of acrylic (extruded) and/or he used the wrong solvent to weld the sheets together.
 
Whats up aldiaz? good to see you around again. I wont derail the thread but hate to see folks get stuck with tanks like this.
 
Hey Phixer, I'm with you...unfortunately my tank isn't much better...I'm at 1.25" thick with a 10'L x 3'H x 4'H. I don't remember exactly (I think I may chose to forget), but I think my tank has about 3/4" gap (deflection) on the top and bottom when I put a straight edge to it.

From what I remember reading, Amazon's not going to run the tank at full height and he's doing what he can by looking to reinforce his seams.

Amazon, any luck getting someone to work on the tank? You can try reaching out to this place: http://www.sdplastics.com/

Not sure that they will work on used tanks though, since a lot of companies are worried about liability issues.

Hope all is good buddy.
 
Thanks so much guys for the comments!

My plan is to lower the tower 8-12 inches and fill the tank up.

Hopefully that will solve the issues of the tank not being thick enough.

Anybody want to give advice on how low I should go?
 
All depends how its made imo...my new 3,000 uses 1" acrylic and a 48" height. It can support the height of 48" in 4'x4' sections, its the spans past that cause severe bowing. I also use a full metal frame to support the glass tho. This is just one example of thinner materials working when supported right. I have a 36"tall acrylic tank in 1/2". A 31" tall in 3/8". I truely believe reinforcing the inside of this 700 is a simple task. Throw in some 1" rod inside all the seams and call it a day. Easy fix for around $200. Far cheaper than cleaning up a blow out. Come on man lol get too it. I already repaired another 500 like this while u been debating around haha...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
its better to try and fix it and learn along the way for the future than to just sit back and do nothing. It may not be a "show tank" after ur first repairs but it will def. Help prevent a blowout. Acrylic can always be made into a "like new" state with sanding,buffing,polishing so its time to bite the bullet my friend :)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Hope it works out, Wednesday has a good point.
 
Yes guys I really appreciate the comments. I did learn a lot thru these threads and my own extensive research. The reality of it is I know the tank would be absolutely worthless after I spend the day with weld 40 and Acrylic. If one of you legends/friends lived by me that would be another story!
I am a bartender that juggles bottles in a show for my profession and know I could never do something like this and make it look good.

Hopefully everybody will be happy with my decision to lower the over flow tower to 36 inches. I will make it look super cool with amazon vines and Anubias with cool waterfall.
I think it would be best for my Armatus if the tank was lower anyway since he likes to circle and jump for his Mackerel(my bold boy). When he reaches 30++ inches I will be upgrading to a 12x4x4 for his life long tank. The Armatus is less than 2 years old and pushing 22". With his growth rate and amazing appetite I will start looking for a bigger tank by the end of the year!

I will sell the 720 to an MFK member for the best deal.

I will make sure that 12x4x4 I get is the 2.5 inch thick ATM special:D
 
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