And we think it's bad if our tanks leak......

[emeraldking]

Get yerselves an emergency tank as theres no guarantee you can pop down to the local lfs the next morning if it happens to you.

I've got a number of extra tanks that I can use in case of an emergency. Always good to have some extra...

 

[GaryE]

I've got a number of extra tanks that I can use in case of an emergency. Always good to have some extra...

Define "emergency".
Is that like seeing an intriguing killie, Cory or livebearer available somewhere?

 

[emeraldking]

Define "emergency".
Is that like seeing an intriguing killie, Cory or livebearer available somewhere?

Yes, as well...!!!

 

[Deleted member 149562]

The Aquadom was designed and built by Reynolds Polymer Technologies

They have a customer base around the world, including high end hotel chains, theme parks and sea life centers.

There is word that the failure happened due to material fatigue

This is a terrifying thought since there are thousands of mega acrylic aquariums world wide that could potentially suffer from this previously unknown issue

Acrylic Aquarium Manufacturers | Reynolds Polymer

Reynolds Polymer has completed many aquarium and zoo projects. Our acrylic aquarium manufacturers construct beautiful structures.

www.reynoldspolymer.com

Reynolds have joined the investigation in Berlin from their offices in Holland (HQ is in the US and they have another office in Thailand)

AquaDom Aquarium In Berlin | Reynolds Polymer

View the AquaDom Aquarium in Berlin engineered by Reynolds Polymer. This groundbreaking aquarium is the largest cylindrical aquarium in the world.

www.reynoldspolymer.com

Mega aquariums built of acrylic are a relatively new thing...at least aquariums to this sort of size and the size featured on their website including the one in Berlin. If this one failure is caused by material fatigue (acrylic gone brittle or spider cracks etc) then that will mean a potential disaster is brewing at any of the rest of these aquariums and not just those built by Reynolds but ALL of them around the world.

 

[Rocky998]

Stories on the list of: "Things Not to tell your mom about when owning an aquarium"

 

[Alice B]

I used to run an aquarium service and I turned down the people wanting to build oh maybe a 5000 gallon tank and wanting me to service it in a wet suit. I don't remember how big it was but they sounded sketchy on their engineering and I declined to be involved, It was at least a 10 x 10 x 10 ft cube, and I think it was bigger

 

[StevenF]

A lot of the fish died from being frozen, and one theory is that it was a temp of -6 deg C which caused the tank to crack.

The tank was inside a large building which was temperaturecontrollled. Also the topical salt water fish so temperature should not have been the cause.

There is word that the failure happened due to material fatigue

Fatigue is normally aissue in any structural construct. Bridges, aircraft, ships, and buildings Basically anything that gets repeatably flexed (even a small amount of flex ) can cause a crack to eventually form. The two ways to prevent it

• reinforce the areas with the greater risk so it flexes less.
• Inspect for small cracks and repair those before it gets worse.

I suspect any repalcement tank will will be buildt with thicker panels to avoid this problem.Fixing cracks before they grow is only practical if the growth of the crack is slow. If it is fast there would not be enough time to fix it.