Stressful Day

[toxik]

After 1 and a half hours we finaly got everything apart and the fish situated into our older tank.

We got home around 7:30 tonight, came upstairs after eating dinner, around 8pm we hear a hort crack noise from the tank and stand, I thought it was the stand, all clear, after 3 minutes we hear another crack, we think nothing of it, 2 minutes later it water begins dripping from the stand and all hell breaks loose.
We drain the tank as fast as possible, remove all decorations and fish.
Right now there are 13 tetras, 5 rosy reds, 2 otos, and 2 kissing gouramis in a 5g tank with all the plants we had in the tank.

After removing all rocks and water we see a nice crack

exactly like this, if you look in from the top of the tank.

Well, we bought a stand too at the same time, we disassembled it and we called the manager of Petsmart and we are returning both the tank and stand. We better get a full refund, I'm never shopping there again.

DON'T BUY YOUR TANKS AT PETSMART, THIS TANK IS A 29G AND THE GLASS IS NO MORE THAN 1/4" THICK ON ALL SIDES.

I really hope the fish make it through the cycling of a new tank. I'm forking out more money to buy a better tank from our local fish store who has tanks with thicker glass and tempered glass bottoms.

 

[Trance2006]

You do understand, it's not Petsmart nor petco who make the tanks?

Did you ever wonder that there might be many comapnies creating tanks?

Did you ever check if the tank was level?

How much did your rocks weigh in total. Anyone here knows if you are going to be putting in heavy rock you would want to put in clear plexiglass or ugf plates to distibute the weight?

Did you also know that the glass thickness depends on how many gallons the tank holds? It's a fixed width.

 

[fishfishfish]

it may have been cold water hitting the glass too fast.i always set my tank up and get water in it for a few days to make sure nuttin like this happens

 

[Trance2006]

Well from what I read the author did not mention anything on how long it had been set up and I figure it must be a new tank. I have always aimed for 75 degree water.

 

[Teelie]

Trance2006 is right and so is fishfishfish. A crack like this is usually a freak occurence caused by an anamoly or improper set up and not the fault of the store or manufacturer. It may also be you bought a vivarium tank which is not meant for filling up with water. I've seen them several times at PetCo and they look exactly like an aquarium but have thinner glass and specifically state not to use for fish.

 

[toxik]

The tank we spot level, it couldn't get any more level.
I know petsmart doesn't make tanks, i'm not stupid. But i've never had luck with them in the past with anything.


We had the tank set up cycling for the past week, we just put regular fish in there a couple days ago, the water and everything was as perfect as can be.

The tank was defective, the bottom plastic support peice never touch in every single spot, it touched on all four corners and in the center area but had a 1/64th gap where you could see the wall behind it.

Yes it was a manufactuer defect, but i'm not taking my chances, i'm taking my bussiness elsewhere... My LFS has tanks with thicker glass and termpered bottoms that well exceed the fixed width thing you mentioned.

As far as rocks, less than 20lbs, we only put maybe 1/3 of a bag of 50lbs of gravel in.


It is a fish tank.

 

[Trance2006]

I've never seen that bottom plastic support bracket ever touch the glass. I would be worried if it did.

That's their to minimise or eleminate bowing of the tanks glass.

Also theres your broblem hombre', it's not Petco's nor Petsmarts responsibility to check all the stands. Your stand bowed in the te middle. Creating a high pressure point in the middle of the glass tank. Causing it to crack. You will get this with any thickness of glass. And Tempered glass is not that good. I have fond from person experience that it only gives you a small window of time before you need to purchase a new tank.

It was your responsibility to make sure both tank and stand were level and not crroked AKA bowed

 

[windsor-aquatic]

What are the dimensions of the tank? The thickness of glass used is determined by the height of the tank; it's the depth of water that creates the water pressure on the tank, not the volume of water in it. If the thickness of glass you mentioned was indeed only 1/4in., I would think, as already mentioned, that it was for use as a vivarium, and not a fish tank.

 

[toxik]

The tank was labeled as a fish tank. That and why would it come with a lid and everything for a fish setup if it wasn't?

When i meant plastic support i didn't mean that peice that is sometimes in the center connecting the back to front. I mean the top and bottom peices of plastic that create the frame.

and in case you're reading this all wrong, the crack was on the bottom glass peice. Everything was as level as i could get it, like dead level.

 

[Trance2006]

Re-read what you wrote chris. You said the bottom four corners of the tank were flush with the tank stand. Except the middle.

Even if it did show levelness, that middle part will still exert pressure my friend.

 

[Tolak]

There is some leeway for error with setting up tanks. If you look at the weight of a full 29, and add up the linear dimensions of the base perimeter, you come out with a little under 4 pounds per linear inch. Go around your tank after filling it around 1/3 of the way with a 1 inch piece of heavy paper. If it fits under in any place for more than an inch or 2, you need to drain it & put a thin foam pad under it to compensate for either the stand or the tank.

I have plenty of tanks that don't completely touch, as well as being slightly out of level. If you can actually see light, it is unsupported for more than the gap you can see. This is a big problem, either the tank has a defect, or more than likely the stand. The larger the tank, the worse it is, I've seen some unbelievibly unsupported 10's & 20's in other breeders fish rooms. You can get away with murder with a well made 10, a 29 would be iffy, a 55 would be a box of pieces.

Add a warped stand and 300 pounds of water with 1/4 inch glass, you will have a problem. Be glad it happened when it did, these things tend to happen at 2 am, or while you are away at work.

 

[Trance2006]

Thank you for proving me right in a educational way.

I knew it was a bowed stand since he said the middle would not be flush

 

[SkydiveSonic]

What's this got to do with Petsmart? They're a small link in the chain of events, and this event probably has nothing to do with them anyway. It always seems to be the retail store's fault, never the manufacturer or end user. Not digging at you, just saying. Just be pleased you caught it in time and saved a massive cleanup

 

[trace1]

After 1 and a half hours we finaly got everything apart and the fish situated into our older tank.

We got home around 7:30 tonight, came upstairs after eating dinner, around 8pm we hear a hort crack noise from the tank and stand, I thought it was the stand, all clear, after 3 minutes we hear another crack, we think nothing of it, 2 minutes later it water begins dripping from the stand and all hell breaks loose.
We drain the tank as fast as possible, remove all decorations and fish.
Right now there are 13 tetras, 5 rosy reds, 2 otos, and 2 kissing gouramis in a 5g tank with all the plants we had in the tank.

After removing all rocks and water we see a nice crack

exactly like this, if you look in from the top of the tank.

Well, we bought a stand too at the same time, we disassembled it and we called the manager of Petsmart and we are returning both the tank and stand. We better get a full refund, I'm never shopping there again.

DON'T BUY YOUR TANKS AT PETSMART, THIS TANK IS A 29G AND THE GLASS IS NO MORE THAN 1/4" THICK ON ALL SIDES.

I really hope the fish make it through the cycling of a new tank. I'm forking out more money to buy a better tank from our local fish store who has tanks with thicker glass and tempered glass bottoms.

hiya
sorry to hear bout your tank cracking, hope the new tank is ok & all your fish are ok as well

 

[toxik]

I was more worried about the fish and plants, I've grown attached and and my girlfriend would be devastated if they died.

They're doing ok in the 5g so far.

I blame the stores first because they have they're tanks in reach of everyone so they could easily have been damage or stressed when a customer or employee picks it off the shelf.
My LFS puts all they're tanks out of reach and stores them in the back room.
I understand it could also be the manufactuer, shippers, handlers, etc fualt