jedimasterben Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 http://hahgay.com Link to comment
jedimaster1138 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Marineland 120g reef tank. Dual rear corner overflows. 1 center brace. About 10 months old.I was eating dinner tonight with my wife, parents and our puppy when we heard a crack/snap/bang. Hard to tell really what it was. Definitely came from the tank but as it's on the outside wall of the apartment, ie the hall is on the other side, I thought it was some putz in the hall making noise by slamming a door. No such luck.Looks like the plastic frame snapped where the center brace meets the front frame. There's already a major bow. At the ends, the outer edges of the frames are 18 1/2 inches, end to end. At the center brace, it's a hair under 18 7/8.Pictures from above. If I have to drain and replace the tank, I probably will just give up for a few years until I move into a house. Anyone want to buy some nice coral? Link to comment
Adam_Bobomb Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Not a very high note to exit the hobby. Very sorry that happened. Link to comment
jedimaster1138 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 It sounded like a shot from a .22. I should have known better when I heard it. Are Marineland tanks made in China? I need something to curse at. Link to comment
BattleAthletics Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Holy shit is right, id call marineland. Maybe they can do something about it? MAYBE? Link to comment
jack1978 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Same thing happened to a bow front I had.....just like that, out of the blue. I cut an acrylic brace wider than the damaged area and bolted it to the rim with nylon nuts and bolts. Didn't cost more than a couple of bucks. Kept it for a month or so....then sold it. Sucks. Link to comment
jedimaster1138 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 I can't think of any solution that isn't a half-assed temporary one that isn't trustworthy over the long term. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 You could grab one of those long furniture clamp things just to hold it until you get something figured out. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Irwin-36-in-Bar-Clamp-and-Spreader-536QCN/202214077?N=c266#.Ut0HFRDnZFQ Link to comment
BluCrab Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 sorry to hear about this Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Really sorry to hear about this Link to comment
hey Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 That is just freakin heinous. I would be all over getting a replacement with a setup this large. In the mean time you could do a floor tub setup they sell some pretty large ones and hell look down aquariums can be pretty cool especially as a temp set up. Thank the aquarium gods the glass has a safety factor of 3.8 built in and that glass can take short impacts can sustain twice its rated load. Link to comment
Kellie in CA Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 How scary. I would definitely contact Marineland, that's insane! Link to comment
Rollermonkey Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Oh no! Large furniture clamp, buckets and a replacement tank! Stat! Link to comment
jedimaster1138 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Well here's what's happened since.I asked my building super and handyman to come up with a pipe clamp. While they were here the super had a good idea. Photo below. Basically it's a piece of 3-4 mm thick steel, 2" wide. It's bent at 90 degrees at the front and back, to fit around the tank frame, and with a little lip at the bottom to catch the bottom of the frame too (but not touch the glass). He even spray painted it black.We put 2 more clamps, just on either side off center, then removed the center clamp. At this point we were back at 18 1/2" wide, where we should be. I had been tightening the center clamp a little bit every hour or so from 8 am till about 1 pm when they came back from their machine shop. Anyway, we put the steel clip/brace/tie in place, with a little persuasion, and used 3 short self tapping screws to secure it to the existing useless plastic brace just so that it doesn't slide laterally. Removed all the clamps...no deflection. Given the strength of the steel, I would hope there wouldn't be much and so far, there isn't. I measured both the ends where the glass is and in the middle and we're good. Fingers crossed that this does it. As long as there isn't any glass damage, an I can't SEE any. I don't see any bowing in the glass when I look down the sides. Lord knows steel is stronger than plastic... Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Good save. That should hold just fine. Continue reefing. Link to comment
jedimaster1138 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Well we all know steel is stronger than plastic, especially the thing, possibly low end stuff they used. Even if I did get a new tank under warranty, it's going to have the same weak brace. Not that I couldn't just put this brace back on a new tank.The questions that people keep bringing up though are along the lines of... Was there any silicone damage during the 12 hours of bowing? Is there a silicone blow out in my future at the corners? Is there glass damage I can't see? Do I have enough piece of mind to leave this be for the next couple years till I move out of this place and into a house with a tank the size of a city bus (hah) Is it worth the several weeks of work, and guaranteed at least partial live stock losses to get a new - free - tank under warranty, transfer everything to holding tanks, and then back into the new tank? Link to comment
ZephNYC Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 that looks nice and clean. I need two pipe clamps but they are so unsightly, but yours look great. Link to comment
hey Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 tough call, I am not sure if I would trust a tanks seals after having it bow out that much. However if you do get a replacement, that DIY brace would be an excellent preventative measure to keep it from happening again. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Unless you have it sitting on a Marineland stand, they probably won't honor the warranty. (that's typically how tank manufacturers do it, anyway, which is retarded) Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Well we all know steel is stronger than plastic, especially the thing, possibly low end stuff they used. Even if I did get a new tank under warranty, it's going to have the same weak brace. Not that I couldn't just put this brace back on a new tank.The questions that people keep bringing up though are along the lines of... Was there any silicone damage during the 12 hours of bowing? Is there a silicone blow out in my future at the corners? Is there glass damage I can't see? Do I have enough piece of mind to leave this be for the next couple years till I move out of this place and into a house with a tank the size of a city bus (hah) Is it worth the several weeks of work, and guaranteed at least partial live stock losses to get a new - free - tank under warranty, transfer everything to holding tanks, and then back into the new tank? Some good questions there. You'll just have to weigh the pro's and con's and come up with a decision. Link to comment
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