Cracked Tank

[Cris_L]

Just thought I'd share this out of interest.

A girl who works for me has a 190 litre(i think) aqua 1 tank whick has cracked and leaked all over the floor. Fortunately they managed to save the fish but a laptop and laminate floor came worse off!

The insurance company said they'd have to get an expert out to find out why it had cracked before paying out for a new tank. I think after arguing over where one would find such an expert the company gave in and agreed to pay.

they have no idea what caused it to crack, bit frightening as I wouldnt want to wake up one morning to find 260 litres all oner my floor!

 

[lokkochaa]

Just thought I'd share this out of interest.

A girl who works for me has a 190 litre(i think) aqua 1 tank whick has cracked and leaked all over the floor. Fortunately they managed to save the fish but a laptop and laminate floor came worse off!

The insurance company said they'd have to get an expert out to find out why it had cracked before paying out for a new tank. I think after arguing over where one would find such an expert the company gave in and agreed to pay.

they have no idea what caused it to crack, bit frightening as I wouldnt want to wake up one morning to find 260 litres all oner my floor!

Its happened to me with 2 tanks, under different circumstances. The worst one was the big one! Was sitting on a table (didnt have a stand) and the water over time had dribbled onto the table causing it to bow, with the pressure beihng in one point and the pressure from the water pushing down POP!

Luckily i was in the room at the time, but man the water just poured out. Moral of the story - protect the tank base lol.

 

[MHunt]

Just thought I'd share this out of interest.

A girl who works for me has a 190 litre(i think) aqua 1 tank whick has cracked and leaked all over the floor. Fortunately they managed to save the fish but a laptop and laminate floor came worse off!

The insurance company said they'd have to get an expert out to find out why it had cracked before paying out for a new tank. I think after arguing over where one would find such an expert the company gave in and agreed to pay.

they have no idea what caused it to crack, bit frightening as I wouldnt want to wake up one morning to find 260 litres all oner my floor!

I think the only 'expert' on a tank from a major manufacturer would be someone from Aqua One themselves, but they wouldn't want to step into an insurance situation where they could be found to be liable for the insurance bill if they admitted their tank was faulty!

 

[shaz-killie]

Had it once with the seal going but not cracked. this is something we were discussing as I'm planning on creating a fish room. as i don't know how many tanks i can have in a room safely without them coming through the floor and would the insurance pay out

 

[MHunt]

Had it once with the seal going but not cracked. this is something we were discussing as I'm planning on creating a fish room. as i don't know how many tanks i can have in a room safely without them coming through the floor and would the insurance pay out

Depends on the construction of the floor in the room. I would suggest getting a structural engineer to have a look if the floor isn't solid, you may nee to upgrade the joists to tak the extra weight. bear in mind every litre of water weighs 1 kg. A 1000l system will hold 1 tonne of water, spread across the room may be ok, but I wouldn't like to say for sure. Even better, try and have the fish room on the ground floor, even a small leak or spillage could come through the floor to the rooms below.

 

[shaz-killie]

I live in flats so ground floor isn't possible, only thing that makes me think they could be solid floors is can never hear my neighbours and nearly all my walls are solid. but the fish room would be upstairs in my flat. at the mo down stairs I have a 3ft and 2x 2feet tanks. upstairs I have four 3ft tanks and a 2.5ft plus an 18" one and no creeks yet haha

was thinking of a few 18" to hold some fry till they get to shop size

 

[MHunt]

Lift the carpet, if the floors concrete then it's solid, if it's floor boards, then you're going to have to be careful how much weight you put on them.

 

[shaz-killie]

yeah there mdf sheeting down so would need to lift that to see, will do when I lift the laminate in a few weeks

 

[MHunt]

yeah there mdf sheeting down so would need to lift that to see, will do when I lift the laminate in a few weeks

Well MDF is often used instead of floorboards now so you will probably find joists under there. Unless there's an air gap to a concrete deck to allow for pipes etc and ventilation.

 

[Schmill]

and generally the MDF is rubbish compared to floorboards, (as quite often it is compacted chip-board, not MDF), and if it gets wet it 'bloats' and loses pretty much all of it's strength.

 

[Hawkins]

make sure the tank is level! i have a few small tanks which means it is not so important, but with more water comes more stress on the seals and glass.

my bedroom is in the attic, and as our house used to be a flat roof, the floor in my room is SOLID. however, it was a flat roof, so it is not level, it goes down to one end of the room.

you can buy polystyrene to stop the tank being so uneven, might be worth getting some with larger tanks

 

[saz326]

Yeah - thats not a nice thing to happen.

My ideal fish room will have either painted concrete floor or a vynal mat material. The floor will slope ever so slightly down to the centre of the room where I will have a small drain built into the floor. The drain will lead outside to the garden. a big water butt will collect the goodness! (I will be able to re-direct the flow if im cleaning the floor or removing medicated water)

I will then be able to empty water straight out of the tanks onto the floor, making water changes SSSOOOOO simple. Plus if anything pops, at least its only the fish that will have died. (i.e. not the carpet, cabinets, electricals).