So i was just wondering how bad it is for my tank to bow as bad as it does when it's full, my tank is 518 gallons roughly, it is three feet tall, when i fill it up the gap between the front and the sides is about an eighth heavy, it does not leak from the gap so i guess my question is how bad is this and is there anything i could do to stop this, i was thinking about wrapping wire around it but then i would be worried about the pressure on the corner of the tank. Any ideas????
Tank Bowing
- Thread starter canucksfan1
- Start date
ACK!
Ok, I'm a little better now.
On that size tank the edges shouldn't stretch. The center could bow an eighth.
What thickness of glass?
Gap between side and front? Are you talking about at the seal?
If you want to brace it with wire and a turnbuckle, you'll need to make corner braces to spread the pressure out more and lift the turnbuckle away from the glass. Basically a corner frame. I would do this as a preventative measure anyway.
Dr Joe
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Ok, I'm a little better now.
On that size tank the edges shouldn't stretch. The center could bow an eighth.
What thickness of glass?
Gap between side and front? Are you talking about at the seal?
If you want to brace it with wire and a turnbuckle, you'll need to make corner braces to spread the pressure out more and lift the turnbuckle away from the glass. Basically a corner frame. I would do this as a preventative measure anyway.
Dr Joe
.
the glass is 3/4 i believe, and yes its at the seal, could i use the metal that they use to do the corners of drywall to brace the corners so i can use the wire and turnbuckle, i al doing another test fill saturday i will take some pics to show where the gap is but i'm pretty sure u and i are talking about the same part
canucksfan1;1141715; said:
That's thin glass for a 500+ gal tank, and weakened seams are scary. Do your test fill outside. Part of your probelm is that the seams can gradually weaken over a period of time so it might hold water for a couple of months, and then just fail completely... I've been down this road already. If it were my tank, I'd trash it.
i will fill it and take pics on saturday i think part of the reason is because it is suck a tall tank and huge
\robkob;1141806; said:
HaHahahahaha...Yea Right. Trash a 500g tank. Oh, MY sides are splitting now!
Don't use the drywall corner lathe, there there's no support to distribute the forces.
Use 1" x 1" x 3" long hardwood to make 'L' shaped corners and put a groove in the outside center surface to hold the braided cable. (if I'm still not clear I can try & scratch something out in paint for you
)The cable gets tensioned with the tank empty of course, all your going for is enough to to keep the sides static and not to squeeze the seals at all.
Does the center flex or does it have center braces?
Before you fill it, follow all the seams around the tank (inside) to see if there are any places where the seal is lifting (it's easier to see dry).
Dr Joe
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there is a center brace, and i kinda see what your saying a pic would help tho, and i will look at the seal tomorrow and see if its all good, i just finished resealing it i test filled it and there are no leaks, but the bowing kinda scared me a bit.
yeah i definatly don't plan on scrapping the tank unless for some reason all 4 pieces of glass break for no apparent reason then maybe i will scrap it