zdattank
New Member
Thank you for letting me join, I just have found this forum today. Sorry, this is long. I have a unique tank I built literally around 1997 preinternet..
It is 32.5 inches high, 25 inches wide, and about 14 inches wide using 3/8 glass. That's right it's a TALL tank that holds a calculated rough 50 gallons.
I find that with today's calculators that gives me a safety factor of about 2.5 (not the best or worst).
So over the years, I filled it once to test for leaks then moved it and probably filled it once again 10 years later after the move. I never kept water in it.
So for all these years, the tank has been sitting in the living room and I got sick of people asking when it was going to get fish in it.
So I did an impromptu fill and added fish this past week. I was very happy with the aesthetics of the tank and its large viewing area.
It was great for about 3 days as I planned my next steps with stocking it/ filtration/ lighting, yesterday I added sand to the bottom of the tank and a few hours later there was quite a spectacular leak from one of the panels.
Lucky I was home but let's just imagine about 10-20 gallons leaking out in a matter of minutes! I quickly grabbed the shop vac and a Tupperware to catch the gushing water as my wife hid in the other room because she thought the panels were going to explode.
So I have been thinking of what could have caused this leak , was it too much pressure on the glass because of the height?
I am very gun-shy on trying this again and holding that much water in my living room but I don't want to give up because this tank has potential to look really cool.
I don't believe there was any bowing of the glass, I went to refill it today just so I could look at the glass but the leak was much too big to continue. I did find my top brace is not tight enough, it has maybe an 1/8 of give on it, never siliconed in place so that did not offer any support to the silicone seal.
After reviewing the circumstances I quickly realize my silicone is pretty old and could use a refresh. After more research I am leaning towards the idea that the problem is I did not add enough silicone to begin with because at the time I was too concerned with creating unsightly caulking lines. My bottom panel which had sufficient caulking did not fail but one of my side panels did start to separate half way up the side. Judging from various videos I have seen on youtube I could have used double the caulk. I also see a lot of air bubbles in my seams.
I also think I had issues getting all the caulk set while the tank was being assembled (the tallness of it is hard to get inside) which makes me more convinced my current failure is more likely related to bad silicone sealing.
But the thought of another leak or failure makes me question everything!
My question is for any tank builders out there, do you have any advice on the tank dimensions and glass material?
Using today's safety factor calculators I would have gone with thicker glass.
I have no reason to believe the glass in 1995 was not high grade material.
Am I asking for trouble going with a tank this without any center bracing using the 3/8 glass?
I thought of bracing with some triangle shelfs in the middle, I also though of adding some acrylic square rod maybe 3/4 inch think laid vertically in each corner. I could add external vertical braces on each corner. I am actually not sure I need any bracing.
Thoughts?
It is 32.5 inches high, 25 inches wide, and about 14 inches wide using 3/8 glass. That's right it's a TALL tank that holds a calculated rough 50 gallons.
I find that with today's calculators that gives me a safety factor of about 2.5 (not the best or worst).
So over the years, I filled it once to test for leaks then moved it and probably filled it once again 10 years later after the move. I never kept water in it.
So for all these years, the tank has been sitting in the living room and I got sick of people asking when it was going to get fish in it.
So I did an impromptu fill and added fish this past week. I was very happy with the aesthetics of the tank and its large viewing area.
It was great for about 3 days as I planned my next steps with stocking it/ filtration/ lighting, yesterday I added sand to the bottom of the tank and a few hours later there was quite a spectacular leak from one of the panels.
Lucky I was home but let's just imagine about 10-20 gallons leaking out in a matter of minutes! I quickly grabbed the shop vac and a Tupperware to catch the gushing water as my wife hid in the other room because she thought the panels were going to explode.
So I have been thinking of what could have caused this leak , was it too much pressure on the glass because of the height?
I am very gun-shy on trying this again and holding that much water in my living room but I don't want to give up because this tank has potential to look really cool.
I don't believe there was any bowing of the glass, I went to refill it today just so I could look at the glass but the leak was much too big to continue. I did find my top brace is not tight enough, it has maybe an 1/8 of give on it, never siliconed in place so that did not offer any support to the silicone seal.
After reviewing the circumstances I quickly realize my silicone is pretty old and could use a refresh. After more research I am leaning towards the idea that the problem is I did not add enough silicone to begin with because at the time I was too concerned with creating unsightly caulking lines. My bottom panel which had sufficient caulking did not fail but one of my side panels did start to separate half way up the side. Judging from various videos I have seen on youtube I could have used double the caulk. I also see a lot of air bubbles in my seams.
I also think I had issues getting all the caulk set while the tank was being assembled (the tallness of it is hard to get inside) which makes me more convinced my current failure is more likely related to bad silicone sealing.
But the thought of another leak or failure makes me question everything!
My question is for any tank builders out there, do you have any advice on the tank dimensions and glass material?
Using today's safety factor calculators I would have gone with thicker glass.
I have no reason to believe the glass in 1995 was not high grade material.
Am I asking for trouble going with a tank this without any center bracing using the 3/8 glass?
I thought of bracing with some triangle shelfs in the middle, I also though of adding some acrylic square rod maybe 3/4 inch think laid vertically in each corner. I could add external vertical braces on each corner. I am actually not sure I need any bracing.
Thoughts?
