New Tank Smashed In Transit......not By Me I Will Say

[craigybaby37]

Had a phone call today to say that my new tank was gunna be ready to be picked up today......however the man had an accident and smashed a load of other tanks as a result and supprise supprise one of them was mine

As the tank is being built by someone the fish shop uses all the info is comming through one of the workers at the fish shop and he said the only thing that was broken on mine was one of the end panels and that that would be the only bit that is getting replaced.

What do you rekon the chances are of the rest of the tank being unsafe now from the accident?? as ime mainly concerned about the pressure from the water pushing on the sides and if there happens to be any microscopic hairline fractures or anything?? if you was in my situation would u want to go ahead and have the tank or would u not go ahead with the sale??

Or saying that you think it would be ok shall i get a written gaurentee saying that the tank is safe for use???

 

[Amelia]

I would not take the chance. Imagine it was all set up and eventually it went. You could lose all your stock. I would think there would be a weakness now although i am no expert i dont think it is worth the risk. Its a bit rubbish as i know how exciting it is to get a new tank but it would be worth the wait to get one that has not been involved in any accidents!

 

[craigybaby37]

yea i agree with you on this 1 i just cant afford to take the risk of anything happening......like if it cracked and let half the water out its going to ruin ceilings, electrics and all sorts of stuff and who will be held responsible for it......me.

Going to ring them tomorow and explain to them and get my deposit back and get the tank build else where.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, if I were in your situation I would demand to see the damage. Could be just a small chip, no big deal, or it could have been seriously damaged. If they wouldn't work with me to inspect for myself I'd take my money elsewhere. And if they did let me inspect it and the damage looked severe enough for collateral damage to be a concern, I'd demand a whole new tank be made.

Just me


Edit: And don't forget it's not just the livestock I'd be worried about... With a tank of this size, a serious crack or seam failure could lead to SIGNIFICANT home damage. Like room, wall, foundation troubles from all that water. 300g is not an amount of water to be cavalier with.

 

[Tolak]

If you are paying for a new tank you should get a new tank, not a newly repaired & refurbished tank. Either all new, a refund, or a 50% discount, as that is the most I will pay for used equipment, 50% of retail.

Many years ago, when 5 gallon water cooler bottles were made of glass, I saw one smash on a large concrete dock. Instant 30 foot circle of water. Multiply that times the volume of the tank, or measure out 30 feet in your house to see where just 5 gallons could end up.

 

[craigybaby37]

thanks for you help with this people i realy appreciate it.......my 2 main concerns are livestock and home damage and the last thing on earth i wanna see is the ammount of damage 35 gallons of water could do its scary thinking about it.

Ime phoning them today to discuss the situation and see what they have to say......i will demand an inspection from myself before i give over he rest of the money and that i want to see the tank full of water to ensure it can take the pressure from it but will salt water be more dense therefor putting more pressure on the glass as if they were to fill the tank i doubt it would be with salt water.

If they did offer me a whole new tank to be build fair enough ide be happy with that but the only way i would truely know i was getting a new tank was if the current damaged 1 was destroyed in front of me or every panel was scratched big time so that the glass could no longer be used.

Think i must be cursed as stuff like this always happens to me ................o well ill let you know the situation later on.

 

[craigybaby37]

ok so i phoned them up and here is what was said.....the man has gaurenteed me everything will be ok. The tank is comming with a 12 month gaurentee and when i asked him about any possible damage to the rest of the tank he said there was none and that if there was any it would just crack as glass is either broken or its not there is no in between which i guess is a fair point.

He says he has a tank he uses for a sump which is the same size as mine if not a little bigger and it has a crak in 1 of the end panels and he has just put some silicone over it and its stayed fine for 7 years does that sound possible??

 

[BigC]

Yeah, sometimes it just depends as to where the cracks are and what loads are being exerted on them, sometimes a simple silicone smear will suffice where as other situations require new panels or panels siliconed over the offending crack. Every situation is different. If the guy is a reputable tank builder, then he should know what he is doing, even replacing a broken panel will/should be no problem to him. The fact that he is going to stand over his workmanship by offering a guarantee is a good testimony to this. The only thing I would be worrying about would be if there was such a smashing of tanks, will the glass shards have caused my tank to get scratched in any way, especially on the front and back panes, nothing worse than the eye being drawn to a scratch no matter how small. Other viewers of your tank may well not even know that its there but the fact that you know its there means that your eye will always be drawn to that very spot every time you view your aquarium.
So just check that aspect out before making the transaction.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

he said there was none and that if there was any it would just crack as glass is either broken or its not there is no in between which i guess is a fair point.

Well, he's sort of right. This is true with plain old window glass (which is what your UK tanks are made of) but NOT true of tempered glass. Tempered glass can easily develop tiny cracks or flaws invisible to the naked eye at first. Then weeks later that crack, coupled with the weight of the glass and any pressure it holds back can cause a spectacular failure event. Car windshields are known for this, especially single-paned rear windows. You can be driving along, not having a clue anything is wrong and all of a sudden the glass just shatters into a million pieces. There was a tiny crack that you didn't notice... until the window gave way .

That being said, seeing as how your tank is NOT tempered glass, visual inspection is a good indicator of integrity.

 

[craigybaby37]

well now that ive spoken to the tank builder and you guys my mind is a lot more at rest now about having the tank.

The shop has been using the tank builder for 25 years so he must be gd for them to of used him for such a long time. And apparently he builds his tanks different to others in that instead of fixing the sides around the base he fixes the sides on top of the base if you get what i meen??? dont know what difference this makes but the man in the shop was realy highlighting this.

And yes i will definatly check for any scratches for sure as i know how much of a pain they are as my current tank has got a few on it and they look terrible and algea grows in them and u cant get it out.

Going to be buying the extra live rock tomorow and get it cycled in my 5 gallon tank and hopefully it will be ready for next weekend when it comes to doing the change over.

 

[littleme1969]

Thats not good news and I would be asking for a complete new tank. But to just throw a spanner in the works my hubby broke hard at a roundabout with 2 3ft tanks in the back And yes you guessed it one of the tanks got broke. The bottom had a huge crack right across the middle and smaller cracks at either end. Being tight fisted as i am I decided to have a go at repairing it myself and with some info from Big C I managed to remove the old bottom and replace with new 6mm glass. No leaks or problems and the tank has been set up about 10months now. It was a 25g tank. But I never intended it to go in my living room, it lives in the fish house bit just off the kitchen. So if it did break there would be no real damage.
I guess its upto you if you want to ask for a discount and a letter with garantee, or get a new one made up

 

[craigybaby37]

well i feel confident enough to trust the man in the shop in that it will be perfectly fine as its normall window glass its either broken or its not as it doesnt work the same as tempered glass where it can have hairline crack not visible to the human eye that can crack under pressure.

 

[gordi]

i set a tank up last night i was given from someone! was a tiny hairline crack in the bottom but diddnt think anything of it due to it being so small!!

what happened? last jug of water in and cracccck the bottom of the tank went:l i now need to buy a new carpet n garage ceiling

 

[pastabake]

That's why its always a good idea to fill your tank up outside to check that everything OK, before emptying it and setting it up inside the house.

I would go with the builders guarantee, if anything goes wrong it'll happen sooner rather than later - or at least not until you decide to move it to a new location