This post is for my friend, Vitaly.
While away he got the terrible news. His 180g tank had exploded. Now I've gotten bad news about my fishroom while on vacation but never of this magnitude.
"Why would a 180 just burst?" he asked. "I don't even want to go home." Many of us can relate to this feeling. The dread of knowing of mess, and heart-wrenching loss awaits us. We made arrangements to meet up once he got back.
When he got back in town, I met him at house. This was last Friday night. We looked over the remains of his once great 180g setup. Upon inspection, it seems pretty clear what happened.
For one reason or another, his heater caught fire, melted the sump under the tank. The resulting fire caused the tank bottom to fail. The 180 gallons of water then extinguished the fire.
Please see the attached pictures.
The sump is completely melted.
The tank failure does not show the characteristics of a stress fracture, as would be expected if the failure were due to torsion, etc.
What's more, this week my wife called me at work to tell me that she had just heard on NPR that United Pet Group was recalling approximately 1.2 million heaters because of potential fire hazards. A quick Google search reveals that United Pet Group is the umbrella corporation that owns Marineland, Lifeguard, and Tetra; among others. If I remember correctly (Vitaly please chime in), his heater was a 500W Blue Line. While I'm not familiar with this brand, I'm willing to bet it's somehow related to this recall.
Understandably, my friend, Vitaly, is so disheartened and disgusted that he doesn't even want to think about or deal with anything. Who can blame him? "I'll probably just get drunk," he said to me last Friday night. I tried to encourage him to follow up. Contact the manufacturer. This was serious. He could've lost more than his 180 gallon aquarium and its residents. He could've lost everything. He could've come home to a smoldering pile of rubble. The whistle needed to be blown. This was before I knew of the recall. So the word is out, which is good. Vitaly, I still encourage you, once you're up for it, to contact the manufacturer of your heater. There's a good chance they'll make compensation for your loss.
What do you guys think? What says the public opinion?
While away he got the terrible news. His 180g tank had exploded. Now I've gotten bad news about my fishroom while on vacation but never of this magnitude.
"Why would a 180 just burst?" he asked. "I don't even want to go home." Many of us can relate to this feeling. The dread of knowing of mess, and heart-wrenching loss awaits us. We made arrangements to meet up once he got back.
When he got back in town, I met him at house. This was last Friday night. We looked over the remains of his once great 180g setup. Upon inspection, it seems pretty clear what happened.
For one reason or another, his heater caught fire, melted the sump under the tank. The resulting fire caused the tank bottom to fail. The 180 gallons of water then extinguished the fire.
Please see the attached pictures.
The sump is completely melted.
The tank failure does not show the characteristics of a stress fracture, as would be expected if the failure were due to torsion, etc.
What's more, this week my wife called me at work to tell me that she had just heard on NPR that United Pet Group was recalling approximately 1.2 million heaters because of potential fire hazards. A quick Google search reveals that United Pet Group is the umbrella corporation that owns Marineland, Lifeguard, and Tetra; among others. If I remember correctly (Vitaly please chime in), his heater was a 500W Blue Line. While I'm not familiar with this brand, I'm willing to bet it's somehow related to this recall.
Understandably, my friend, Vitaly, is so disheartened and disgusted that he doesn't even want to think about or deal with anything. Who can blame him? "I'll probably just get drunk," he said to me last Friday night. I tried to encourage him to follow up. Contact the manufacturer. This was serious. He could've lost more than his 180 gallon aquarium and its residents. He could've lost everything. He could've come home to a smoldering pile of rubble. The whistle needed to be blown. This was before I knew of the recall. So the word is out, which is good. Vitaly, I still encourage you, once you're up for it, to contact the manufacturer of your heater. There's a good chance they'll make compensation for your loss.
What do you guys think? What says the public opinion?
