BTS-Busted Tank Syndrome

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Ok, just curious as 20 years ago they had a pretty solid rep for quality builds. Oceanic and All-Glass were two of the best large scale commercial tank builders out there. Once everyone started selling out to the likes of mega giants like United Pet Group etc IMO quality began to slip. I asked about bow front because I recall a number of people, including a friend of mine having issues with a line of bow fronts several yrs ago. I thought that it was Oceanic, but I could be wrong.
 
spiff44 said:
+1 on the thermal expansion being non-issue.. I can't see this applying on an aquarium... its not like they fluctuate temperatures.
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Hello; I guess both you and RD are refering to my post. Allow me to add some information.

The first tank had a metal angle iron frame with a metal cross brace across the top at the center. The tank was in a basement that had a full garage door. The temp in the garage would vary greatly. Sometimes the heaters in the 125 did not keep up during very cold parts of winter. While never hot, the basement was much warmer during the summer months. I had suspected thermal expansion of the center cross brace in addition to the pressure the build up of rust was placing on the glass.

The other tank was a well used 55 gallon. It spent several years as a display tank in a local Dr.'s office. Then a few years in a back room. It was moved a couple of times. I eventually set it up by a window in my living room. The back of the tank was away from the window frame the width of of a HOB filter plus a few inches to the single pane glass. During the winter the glass in the window would have ice formed on the inside from time to time. There was also a floor vent from the oil fired furnace duct work near by in the floor. The tank seam separated along a back corner. I also kept a heater near that back corner. The failure occured during the spring while I was away for a weekend. The house was closed up and quite warm for the first time when I got back from the trip.

I do not know with any level of confidence that repeated thermal expansions played a role in either tank failure. It is one of a short list of suspected possible causes. The 55 gallon is the only tank I ever kept in front of a window, before or since. Another main reason being the excess light with associated algae issues.

The good news is that when I switched from metal framed tanks to the all glass, that is the only all glass tank to separate at a factory seam.
 
spiff44 said:
Just had an Oceanic 140 center brace fall out several months ago. It was probably around 20 years old though if not more. It was still holding water but figured the brace failure didn't bode well for the state of the rest of the silicon on the tank so I got rid of it. Too lazy to mess with another reseal. It was all original.

It was on the stand it came with and was level.
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Thanks for the share spiff. I'm glad you took care of it before the problem became a disaster. It's also nice to know a tank can make it to 20 before there was an issue.

RD. said:
I doubt that thermal expansion plays a large (if any?) role in tank blow outs. Silicone is designed to be able to expand and contract under pressure, so unless it was a poorly done seam, or some other original build based reason, that silicone should be able to expand and contract a million times or more without concern of failure.

In a glass tank, the entire strength of the tank walls is in the thin film of silicone located between the panes of glass. The inner seal is only there to protect water from reaching that thin strip of silicone that is holding the glass panes together. If for whatever reason that outer seal of silicone fails, that is where one will end up having a major seam fail. NO actual manufacturer will typically state on the label that their silicone is designed for underwater use, because all silicones degrade underwater over time.

IME over the years, from what I have seen in person, and/or viewed online, the vast majority of fails are caused from build errors, operator/owner error, and very rarely from an ancient tank whose seals simply gave away from degradation. With proper care a well built tank should easily last 30 yrs.
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Thanks again for the info. RD. While I wish there where more responses, I'm glad that you've been sharing your observations and experiences. I trust your attention to detail when it comes to fishkeeping and so appreciate your replies.

With that said from what those who've been generous to share it does seem to come down to your conclusion as to the reason behind tank failures. BTS seems to be generally caused by build errors and owner error.

RD. said:
Turns out my memory is better than I thought.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=271201

It seems that both AG and Oceanic had their share of bow front blow out/leak issues.
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Again thank you for the great share of info. it's much appreciated.
 
I'm pretty sure this thread is running out of steam. As such I'd like to bring it to as informative conclusion in it's last posts as possible. In the hopes of making the thread as easy to understand as possible I'd like us to list what the exact causes seem to be. The general consensus by those who've shared their experiences concludes with the cause of BTS coming down to build error and owner error. While that in itself is helpful I'd like to be more detailed in the reasons. For instance:

Build errors
  1. Are the errors capable of being detected upon inspection upon purchase before it's filled?
  2. How easy are they to detect for a novice?
  3. To the best of your knowledge are there any brands currently hobbyists should be wary of?
Owner Error
  1. What are the errors that hobbyists make that cause tank failure? eg: tank stand not being level
  2. Either by number or list which are the worst mistakes that would most likely lead to BTS?
You don't have to give your response in a numbered response as in my example. Just try to make it as simple to follow as possible so even a new or young hobbyist can follow you to your conclusion. If this winds up being the last response in this thread I want to again thank everyone who contributed. I feel like I benefited from your experiences and appreciate it. I personally am less worried about BTS because I know now that in many instances it can be avoided because of what's been said. So again I say thank you.
 
Just to throw my last two cents in. I didn't mention that it was a seem failure after the brace was knocked loose.
 
Hello; let me add a couple of do nots to the list.

Do not move a tank with water in it. I try to always move a tank empty.

Do not stack heavy decorations, such as rocks, in a glass bottom tank. I have read of the bottom being busted when stacked rocks shifted either by fish or a fish keeper. Be careful in general of heavy stuff in a tank.

One do I now use is to protect the corners of the all glass tanks. I get some lengths of clear plastic corner protectors and silicone them to the outside corners of my glass tanks. Hardware stores often carry such for th protection of corners of wall paper. I have to trim it down so it is not so wide on the smaller tanks. This is one disadvantage of all glass tanks in that they get chips out of the edges.
 
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