Hi! tank cracking?

[phOOey]

hi, i'm new here so thought i'd best introduce myself. i have been keeping fw fish for many years but i have recently been intrigued by SW. Ii was going to buy and jbj 12g dx, but have heard bad stories about them. The first thing was the pump over heating, but i can just replace that anyway. the thing i was most worried about was all the stories i've been hearing about them cracking. is this common, or is it just a select few unlucky ones? i have also heard of peoples tanks being scrathed up on arrival, does this appear to be a major problem or not?

[Web Guy]

Select few...I have had mine set up now for a week and love it!!

[Chronicles]

1 month today, all is well. Stock pump replaced with mini606 right out of the box.

[ezramore]

had mine since december without cracking. IMO you would be happier starting with the biggest tank you can afford.

[Chronicles]

Most go with the nano cube for the look/design of it. The idea of having everything enclosed and behind the scenes.

[ezramore]

not saying anything bad about the 12 but i know with me anyways, everytime i go to the lfs i think to my self wow that a beutiful coral/Fish, oh wait 30 gal min space. cant get that one.

[Chronicles]

so get a bigger tank?

[ezramore]

will soon enough

[Web Guy]

Nano Tank is called a Nano Tank for a reason!!!

[Wobach]

ive heard its if you dont put them on an even or strong enough surface, the imbalance can cause the glass to break. Fair enough its easier with a larger tank, i did just that when i started a few months back, but if ya want a nano then do ya research which i presume u have, and go for it!

[dga]

heres the real scoop. nano cubes like any other glass can crack, whether its on a solid surface or not. the sheer volume of these tanks sold compaired to the amount of tanks cracking is no different than a 5 sided tank. one big difference thou, many of the nano cubes are purchased online at a web retailer. it is difficult at best to ship a glass object no matter how well it is packed for obvious reasons. the nano cube like any other tank can receive stress cracks in shipment and these are generally going to happen at the seams where it meets the silicone. this is the point of greatest weakness for cracking. this is also where the top and bottom rim is sealed by the silicone to a plastic rim where it can be hidden to the consumer. these can also be very small and thin and will only appear after water has been added. many posters say cracking happens after there tanks have been set up for some time. any cracking that might be there can still develop due to temperature differences between ambient and internal tank temps, especially if the tank is not leveled and or on a sturdy foundation. an example would be the narrow stock nano cube stand sitting on carpet. while there is not a trememdous amount of weight involved, there are still form factors to be considered when situating a tank. that again is stability and levelness. not to mention a child leaning on it, slightly getting bumped etc... if any one or more of the above factors happen, if there is a stress crack that happened in transit via from a commercial transport company or via the ride home in a purchasers vehicle, that crack will expand and the tank will fail. the huge popularity of "jbj" nano cubes must be weighed in against the number of tanks cracking when deciding for yourself if there is a problem with this tank.

[phOOey]

thanks guys, well it sounds like craking is fairly rare so i think im gonna go with it.

[phr0Ze]

I've had my DX since about Nov. No problems at all. Very easy to work with. I keep mine on the JBJ stand though. The stand really is a nice touch.

[Blu50Stang]

I've had my nano cube for about a month now, but it was in use for about a year before I got it. I must agree with dga. Cracks happen. In fact, my TruVu 240 cracked last week. However, I must say that only a small percentage of tanks, nano cube or otherwise, sold crack. We just hear about the ones that crack so often because there are so many nano cube owners.