What the ..... went wrong???

[Acuatica]

I had made a 180 x 60 x 75 (L x W x H) glass tank, sealed by the edge of each 1/2 inch thick glass and reinfoced with 1" wide 1/16 " thick aluminium L . The tank was mounted on a wood stand (i paid for it). After half a month, the tank started to leak. It looks like the leak is in the middle of the front glass. Not so big, but enough to ruin a wood floor and the stand itself. The craftsman who made the stand told me the tank was poor sealed, but i have another 240 x 50 x 70 tank setup made the same way (this one is mounted on a concrete base) and running ok since 1992 w/o any problem. I blame the stand, since this setup total wheight is almost a ton. any suggestions for being certain who to blame? if the sealing was poor, wasn´t the tank prone to break instead of just leak?. Any similar experience would help. TIA.

[Tat2dBrownDude]

The tank is 75 inches tall? Thats alot of height for 1/2 glass, not sure about the leak but I think you are lucky that it didnt bust because of the pressure on a tank that big.

Tat2d

[buiryn]

Originally posted by Tat2dBrownDude
The tank is 75 inches tall? Thats alot of height for 1/2 glass, not sure about the leak but I think you are lucky that it didnt bust because of the pressure on a tank that big.

Tat2d
I would bet those are centimeters and not inches.

If the stand wasn't flat that could cause the problem. It could also be caused by the front seal coming loose.

What's the condition of the stand? Any chance it can be determined if it wasn't level?

Since it may be hard to prove one way or the other, a compromise may be the best solution. IE: Have the craftsman build a new one for cost of materials.

If you had pictures, maybe some of the people here that's built tanks/stands could put their two cents in.

Good luck

Buiryn

[Acuatica]

I have taken some photos, but i don´t know how to post them here. I have checked the stand, and know what? the stand is 180 cms long, but the darn craftsman didn´t put any support in the middle! :mad2: i mean the stand should be this I_I_I_I and this stand is I_____I. You bet i am lucky the aquarium had only a leak and didn´t explode!!.. the corrective measures would be taken now, and the aquarium would be repaired. If any one can tell me how to post pictures, i´ll show all the issue. Thanks again.

[BeanAnimal]

JUst a silly question....

If I had somebody build a stand that I was going to put glass and water on...

I would have checked it before I put the glass and water on it! IF I didn't know a darn thing about engineering or stands, I would have found somebody who did and had it desinged to withstand the weight.

Aside from that, did the carpenter know anything about aquariums or did he just have expertise in finished carpentry?

Bean

[Acuatica]

Thanks. All this writting really worked as therapy against frustration. (too many errors in so little time)...thanks all for your concern.