Your tank is TOO SAFE! Yeah, I said it - it's TOO SAFE!

[Jc1119]

Swimming pool fail is because people are bouncing around and stressing it. If the pool was not pushed, leaned on or jumped on it would not fail just from holding water. The last time I looked fish don't run into the sides of the tank just for fun. The point is you don't need overkill just to hold water.

You haven't met some of the fish around here. lol They might not run into the sides for fun, but it happens nonetheless.

You don't need overkill, for the same reasons you don't need and spare tire, health insurance or life insurance, but it's s small price to pay for POM. It cost me about 500 bucks to overbuild my 300 gallon tank and stand. I could have saved the money and potentially risked 10X that in water damage if the tank failed.....

My tanks hold water very well and I sleep a little better knowing that they do. To each his own I guess, but there are other less dangerous things I could think of to save some money.

 

[coolkeith]

Which reminds me, we should make those monster tanks girlfriend proof also. Never know when the future ex is going to snap and want to take a crowbar to it. So it needs to be stealthy also, like a ninja. Make the tank look like a bed or something.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Short version: People who build tanks are generally speaking making an economic decision on how to expend their limited resources in order to attain a condition where they are better off than had they not made that or any other decision. The choice to add 'surplus' cost to a tank is made in the context that knowledge is not perfect and that the cost of obtaining perfect knowledge is not the best use of limited resources.

To me, any question where people weight actual costs, perceived costs, emotional costs, estimates of potential losses, estimated valuation streams of enjoyment in making a decision are making economic decisions.

A is the exact minimum cost to build a tank using perfect knowledge
a is the difference between what a person thinks is the correct cost and the actual cost
A' is the perceived value of the completed tank (self defined)
B is the maximum cost that a tank owner thinks will be caused by a failed tank will cost
b is the minimum cost that a tank owner thinks will be caused by a failed tank will cost
D is the estimated cost of a broken tank using a self determined probability distribution between B and b


1) Cost is defined at a personal level. While lumber and glass can be defined exactly, aggravation, loss of enjoyment, frustration with family members are never defined precisely.

2) Owners will define D relative to an estimate of the probability among all costs between B and b. The calculation is likely to be personal, and ill defined (at best, a guesstimate).

3) Owners will build tanks where A' is equal to or greater than A+a. That is, owners will only choose to build tanks where the perceived value equals or exceeds the actual cost to build the tank. (Step 1)

4) Owner's will in addition estimate a cost D. Owner's will build tanks where A' is equal to or greater than A+a+D. That is, owners will only build tanks where the perceived value equals or exceeds the actual cost to build the tank plus the estimated cost associated with the risk of a failed tank. (Step 2) Common saying: "more trouble than it's worth."

Thus, if A'-(A+a+D) > zero, owners will build the tank.

Therefore:

A' ≥ (A+a) + D tank is built
A' < (A+a) + D tank is not built

However, A' is static, so if each $1 added to "a" reduces "D" by more than $1, it's possible for A' < (A+a) + D to be changed to A' &#8805; (A+a) + D.

None of this addresses the issue that "a" exists. Each person can be aware of having imperfect knowledge, but decide that other courses of action are economically cheaper than spending time or money on the possibility of gaining perfect knowledge.

 

[necrocanis]

Which reminds me, we should make those monster tanks girlfriend proof also. Never know when the future ex is going to snap and want to take a crowbar to it. So it needs to be stealthy also, like a ninja. Make the tank look like a bed or something.

lol wonder who ur talking bout! lol

 

[wednesday13]

Call us haters but we know from personal experience or we wouldnt take the time to even debate about it. Im a professional industrial designer and i run my own manufacturing shop. I take pride in sharing my knowledge from the field to our community.People dont listen! There are huge misconceptions about acrylic glues and building materials on our forum. It seems people get irritated when the "real" knowledge is laid on the table.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[sashimimaster]

There's cheap insurance to increase the safety margin then there's overkill.

If you want to kill an ant do you step on it? Run over it with a truck or drop an atom bomb? Do you reeealy need an atom bomb to kill an ant? You want to make sure it's dead so it doesn't come back to bite you but come on.... I'm just saying it's a waste of time and money. If somebody doesn't mind spending the time and money that's their prerogative. But I just sit here and shake my head at the overkill.

 

[basslover34]

Originally Posted by coolkeith

Which reminds me, we should make those monster tanks girlfriend proof also. Never know when the future ex is going to snap and want to take a crowbar to it. So it needs to be stealthy also, like a ninja. Make the tank look like a bed or something.

Orginally Posted by Necrocanis

LOL wonder who ur talking bout! LOL

Hey Necro was wondering that myself... knew I had seen the movie before but couldn't place the star in it LMAO!

 

[cigars]

Everything else said aside this is MFK!!! )V(onster fish require )V(onster builds. I have to say that with large catfish or other fish smashing into the sides that may be 3' or more in size I want my tank to be able to take a beating, not just hold water. I guess if you are keeping guppies or something small this may not matter too much, but the fish is the main factor after keeping the water in. If I know I am building a 4000 gal aquarium that houses fish that may one day be over 6' in length and over 200 lbs I will for sure over build every time. i really like this discussion though. It shows people that you can hold water without much effort. now put a 100 lbs ball of swimming muscle in there and let it run full force into the side when it gets spooked and see what happens. Keep some large 3' plus catfish and you'll know what I mean. That much fish moving fast can do some real damage. They don't call them tank busters for no reason.

THIS!!! I would overbuild just for this reason, fish get spooked easily for many different reasons

 

[Redtailedcat]

at the end of the bad we can all agree its better to overbuild you tank vs under building it

 

[rustyspurs]

I overbuilt mine as it is in my livingroom and I damn sure ain't replacing a sofa, tv etc etc just to save £100 on materials.
the main problem I had when researching safety factors was the amount of 'expert' advice online.
I'm not saying their aren't people on this site that really know their stuff, indeed without the knowledge on here I wouldn't have a tank, but I also had to filter through some terrible bits of advice.
Advice that if I'd followed would have cost me £1000s.
For me In the end it's all about piece of mind, I overbuilt my tank so I can be confident that my floor will be dry when I get up in the morning. Simple as that