Urgent Help Needed With Juwel Tank

[Akasha72]

Andy, I wasn't suggesting you'd put strain on the bar ... I actually typed that 'perhaps the previous owner abused the bar leaving you with the consequences' I also typed "age seems to be the factor in this case"
 
I wasn't suggesting you'd done something silly I was just making a point that I've heard of people resting heavy things on the bars and this can cause them to break. I said that so that anyone new to the hobby reading this is aware of what can go wrong. 
 
 
The bar in your photo's looks like the original. I suspect mine is a replacement
 

 
 

 

[andyG44]

I think I did something to the bar, as it was fine a couple of days ago. The only "abuse" I can think of is leaning and tipping a canister of 25 lt over the edge. That would be downwards and inwards pressure - certainly not outwards as by the time the canister is alsmost horizontal, well it is almost empty too.
 
As the other poster said, the glue has not come off, it has just "expanded" probably by a lot more in his case allowing the front and back glass to bulge out.
 
Your bar is what the bar on the larger Rio 300 looks like (look at my first photo). It seems they make the tanks in different ways. This bar is thinner, and is not glued onto the glass, but simply on the plastic trim. They sell them on ebay so they must be easy to remove and replace. But I would not try yanking it to see if it comes off while the tank is full, you never know (I did try on the Rio 300 and then thought what the hell are you doing)

 

[Akasha72]

I still think it's age related. I don't think it's anything you've done - just one of those things. The main thing is you've acted quickly by spotting it and asking us lot and then dealing with it once you got our replies. 
 
I had a Rio 180 before the 240 and the bar was completely different - the same as your photo. I presumed because the bar on my 240 was different it was a replacement. My tank is 2nd hand too

 

[andyG44]

Here is a random pic I took from a quick google search just to illustrate what a central brace is -
 

Jewel Rio 180 central brace.jpg
 

 
It seems this brace had originally broken, then cut out neatly, and a glass piece inserted in its place. The picture is too small to see well. But in his case the glued plastic portion still remained so all he had to do was to glue the piece of glass on the underside. He also seems to have cut out a large section of the back top frame undoubtedly to allow lots of equipment through. And he also seems to have drilled two holes on the back near the top... But I cannot see well.
 
In my tank the brace is not broken but has come sort of unglued from the glass.
 
I will call a Juwel shop to ask, as this seems to be a common problem.

 

[Akasha72]

is there any info regarding repairs on the Juwel website?

 

[Bubbelzzz]

This happends more often with juwel tanks. Especially the ones that are produced around the same years of your tanks.
Mostly caused by faulty stabilisation bars and ,if I remembered it correcly, does it also hapen because the glass is a bit thin.

you could try, adding an extra strip of glass to the front of the tank.

This is exactly why I would never buy juwel tanks. I've only had mp (eHeim) tanks and never had this problem.

 

[andyG44]

I think, the bulging happens equally to the front and to the back glass. I will try to think of all the solutions.
 
In the meantime I have emailed the German Juwel to see what they have to say about their bad designs and how best to repair this.
 
I would advise all Juwel owners to take out a good tape measure and measure the depth at the ends and in the middle, down to the fraction of a mm, and then record the reading, and do that once a week at least. For example on my half-broken Rio 180, the depth at the sides is 405mm but in the middle it was 413mm. Now with the clamp on it is back to 405mm.
 
If you thought ammonia readings were necessary....

 

[Akasha72]

I check my tank daily for signs of bulging because it's 2nd hand and I've no idea how old it is. 
 
I am in the process of saving up for a brand new one as this one is scratched on the front glass and given it's age too it all concerns me. Perhaps by the end of the year I'll be taking delivery of a brand new tank and then I can start the process of creating a proper blackwater inspired tank

 

[andyG44]

The germans said:

We can assure you that changes from the silicone joint as well as little loosing from the strap are absolutely normal.
These changes are harmless and within typical tolerances. We are using floatglass. This glass quality stands for high load capacity and scratch-resistance.
A bending will not have any impact on the stability because the aquarium is glued with an safety top and bottom frame.

 

[Akasha72]

hmm ... interesting. Well, to be fair they do use floating glass ... all Juwel bases are floating and this is why they say never to pack them with things like polystyrene. I would also agree about the build being designed to hold with the strip at top and bottom but bulging glass .... nope, sorry Juwel that would scare the heberjebers out of me.
 
What's the plan now Andy?

 

[andyG44]

Try to find a way to secure their brace or another brace somehow...

I wonder how other aquariums do it I have not really paid attention.

What bothers me is that the longer and larger Rio300 does not bow at all. Why is that little Rio 180 started doing this now. And on the forums other Rio 180 owners complaining about the same.

 

[Akasha72]

sounds like a design flaw with the 180. I'm glad I got rid of mine now!
 
The problem I think is that the tanks arn't designed to last forever and so we buy second hand expecting perhaps more than we should. It's like everything in life, if it's not maintained, eventually it's going to break. I think in this case the silicone glue is old and needs to be replaced entirely but Juwel havn't designed it to be replaced easily because they wern't expecting the tank to last this long in the first place!
 
The fault in this case is with the design and so we can only hope that they improve the design. Perhaps if enough people complain then they will look at changing future tanks - if they havn't already, I've not seen a brand new 180. 
 
I'm just wondering if one of the braces for the larger tank could but fixed underneath the existing one or one either side? From memory - and your photo's - the brace is curved and the brace in mine (the 240) is just a flat straight one. I'm wondering if a brace for a 240 would fit next to or under your existing one but I can't remember if the 180 and 240 have different depths

 

[Essjay]

hmm ... interesting. Well, to be fair they do use floating glass ... all Juwel bases are floating and this is why they say never to pack them with things like polystyrene.

Float glass is glass made by a specific manufacturing process, invented by Pilkington. [I was born and brought up in St Helens, home of Pilkington Glass, all my family worked there]. While I know it produces a smoother, more perfect finish, I was not aware of it being stronger than sheet or plate glass. Most glass is now made by the float process.
I do know that my Rio 125 was made of 6mm glass which I think is just about the minimum for that size tank. It seems that it is the height of the water that causes problems with bowing, the taller the tank the thicker the glass needs to be. My custom built 180 litre is made of 10mm glass, much more reassuring.

 

[DrRob]

The germans said:

We can assure you that changes from the silicone joint as well as little loosing from the strap are absolutely normal.
These changes are harmless and within typical tolerances. We are using floatglass. This glass quality stands for high load capacity and scratch-resistance.
A bending will not have any impact on the stability because the aquarium is glued with an safety top and bottom frame.

 
Out of curiosity, did they give you that in writing, or verbally?

 

[Akasha72]

those floating bottoms must be seriously strong though when you think of the weight of substrates ... and then the water on top