500 Gallon Tank Explosion

[gab24m3]

Me and my friend were filling up a 500 gallon custom made acrylic tank. The acrylic was about 1 1/4" thick and had one overflow on one end. After about 2 hours of filling up the tank half with RO water and half with regular tap water it finally reached the overflow and was draining into the sump, everything was going smooth no leaks no clogs. The water level now was about halfway up the sump and low and behold

BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!

:mad2:

I heard on of the loudest booms I've ever heard, the back part of the tank just exploded, wow! All 500 gallons were everywhere I felt like I was in Niagra Falls!

The tank had been up and running for about 4 years then drained and dry for about 5 years. When we inspected the broken back part, the acrylic had broken off perfectly from the top seam.

So my questions are: Are aquariums designed to be wet all the time? Should people be concerned about storing aquariums over time and starting them back up? Did the silicon weaken over time? Has this happened to anybody before?

Anyone have any ideas?

[tangyreefer05]

Thats crazy, how did you clean up all of that water? Leaving the tank dry will dry it out faster, the silicon and ruins it.

[gab24m3]

Squeegies, buckets, mops, and a shop-vac!

[Andrew]

Dang, sorry to hear. I've stored tons of tanks for awhile and than filled them back up. Acrylic may be a different sorry but don't think so.

[checkinhawk]

i dont think storing it dry had anything to do with it.i imagine it was hit hard during storage(or dropped) and weakened the joint.they dont use silicone to joint acrylic tanks together,they use a weld-on solvent glue of some kind,probably weld#40.it may have been crazing at the seams and that could cause the explosion.check all the seams and see if you spot tiny cracks in the material.kinda like spider webs.

[samson78945]

wutta a bad way to start the day.sorry to hear about that

[delv]

Where did you store it? Was it subjected to temperature changes (hot room in summer, cold room in winter...like a garage)?
Glass tanks should be handled with care when empty...acrylic is a lot more sturdy...but there's a lot of garbage out there as far as acrylic tanks these days.
Any warantee?

d.

[gab24m3]

It was stored in a spare room, at least that's what I was told it wasn't my tank... it was my friends friend tank.

I agree with checkinhawk that it was abused in some sort of way either dropped or hit.

[nyvp]

better now then filled with saltwater and corals/fish

[gab24m3]

Thats exactly what I told him but somehow he wasn't so convinced!

[McCrary]

I can't imagine having to clean up 500 gallons of water, sorry to hear about the tank exploding.

[kappaknight]

Has acrylic technology gotten better in 9 years? (In terms of the bonding chemical, hardness of the acrylic and/or the scratch resistent-ness of the acrylic?

I was just curious...

[checkinhawk]

IMO the tank was damaged in storage or it was getting close to failing when it went into storage.i forgot to ask you,how was the stand constructed?was it steel or wood?how flat was the stands surface?did you have some kind of foam under the tank?

[Lion_Babe]

and to think I was worried when I filled my 180g. Thank goodness it was only water. But that is icky either way.

[checkinhawk]

i was worried filling my 90g,but i drilled all the holes in the glass myself and never did that before.i did fill it up in the garage and let it sit for a few days before i put it in the house.

[delv]

I'm never that cautious Checkin...unless it's a customers tank...or a public installation. Ruining 5 million dollars in IT computers because of a sprung seam is not an option. At my home there's a lot of crossed fingers...and wet downstairs neighbors...

I would just buy a new tank...one with a warantee.

d.

[gab24m3]

The stand was constructed of 2" or 3" square iron and there was no foam or anything under it.

[ionredline0260]

I bought a used 46G and left it full of water in my backyard for a week to make sure it was "sea" worthy. It was. Sounds like your friend could've benifitted from doing this

[lvpd186]

Wow, I can't imagine what my wife would do to me if that happened. Lets just say it would end any hope of getting another tank. I wonder if the stand had some imperfection that foam would have evened out or something like that. Either way sorry to hear about it.

[gab24m3]

Just to add...I say explosion because it really sounded like a mini bomb. It was so loud at first I had no idea what happened... then when I heard the rush of water then my wet feet, it hit me!

[Fish'InMN]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9566111#post9566111 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gab24m3
Me and my friend were filling up a 500 gallon custom made acrylic tank. The acrylic was about 1 1/4" thick and had one overflow on one end.

...

Did the silicon weaken over time?

As already noted, checkinhawk, if the acrylic tank was held together by silicone, I'm amazed it held up for the four years originally! I know silicone can hold overflows to glass tanks but I didn't think it could hold together a whole tank, much less 500 gallons of water.

Just a thought...

[kl3377]

Sorry about the mess. My acrylic tank broke a few months ago but I caught it in time to support it with some 2x4's until I could move everthing out. I thought acrylic tanks absolutely had to be supported across the entire bottom.

[Zoos]

Any pictures?

[gab24m3]

Have a couple of camera pics... not that great!

Filling up the tank.
http://http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1373/feqo2.png (http://imageshack.us)
Tank Broken after the boom!!!
http://http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/1015/18242171ht3.png (http://imageshack.us)

[Tang Salad]

Rough. Sorry about that. I agree tank was probably damaged during storage.

[Im14abeer]

Same stand as before? Perfectly level? I'm very inclined to believe that the support of the tank is at fault here. I know it's a pretty old tank, but my gut says sideload on that panel.

[AquaKnight407]

Yea, as previously mentioned, arylic tanks are bonded together with the joints being as strong as the arylic itself. If it was damaged during storage, I can't see how it could be weakened without breaking to the point it wouldn't hold water at all or not be obviously cracked.

Also, it doesn't sound like a joint falled, an actual panel did (can't really tell from the cell camera). Really curious if it was previously used with that stand as well. I know melev stressing using flat, completely supported surfaces with foam for his arylic sumps.

[Joe LoPresti]

Ugh,
What a nightmare, sorry to hear about your tank!!! I lost a 50 gallon glass tank once a long time ago, I can't even imagine what a headache 500 gallons must have been to clean up....
I kind of agree with the consensus here, that seam had to have been damaged somewhere. My 40 acrylic was dry for about 5 years. It's been up and running again now for about 3 years and no problems. I've actually owned the tank since 1986 (Anybody remember the company Tru Vu??????)

[saltydude]

It sounds like the stand may be suspect. I bont trust wrought Iron stand. I had one where one of the little legs on it was bent in and because of that the tank fell. fortunately it was backwards and not forward, I was able to contain the the almost disaster, if it would have fell forward it would have been a big mess.

[ChickenCannoneer]

It sounds like you filled it to fast. The tank needs time to strech a little and filling it in 2 hours was just too much for it to handle. Sorry for your loss. Tim

[davidryder]

Jeez! How cold is the water coming out of your tap?

[checkinhawk]

if the floor that the tank was stored on wasnt perfectly flat,the tank could twist a little.this twisting would want to relieve itself during filling.this could cause the tank to break the seam.i know it sounds far fetched but it can and does happen.btw did you look at the other seams for signs of crazing?look into the thickness of the acrylic sheet for spider web cracks.i will post a pic after work of what crazing looks like.i am really thinking the stand was the problem,i talked to our best guy at work and the first question he ask was about the stands construction.

[tkeracer619]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9573312#post9573312 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by checkinhawk
if the floor that the tank was stored on wasnt perfectly flat,the tank could twist a little.this twisting would want to relieve itself during filling.this could cause the tank to break the seam.i know it sounds far fetched but it can and does happen.btw did you look at the other seams for signs of crazing?look into the thickness of the acrylic sheet for spider web cracks.i will post a pic after work of what crazing looks like.i am really thinking the stand was the problem,i talked to our best guy at work and the first question he ask was about the stands construction.


My first thoughts are the stand and the floor.

Thats a big peice of acrylic to break apart like that.

That sucks...........

[raskal311]

I've had a few older tanks break apart at the seams but all were stored outdoors for a long period of time.

[antony1103]

The tank was sealed with silicone? I didn't think silicone bonds to anything but glass. From what i know, silicone only bonds to glass at a molecular level, nothing else.

[xinumaster]

The back panel might have became brittle after storing it for so long. And maybe the technology for making acrylic before (your tank might be non-cast) is not as good as it is now.

Have talked to your insurance? Maybe you can recover something from them.

[clekchau]

that's crazy and has me worried big time as i have one side with an external overflow.

[Tankgeek7]

WOW! i am so srry to hear that. did it effect you house or the floor boards

[FishMachine]

so sorry