Are my tanks seams beginning to fail?

[Should I]

did everything survive

 

[THE_MAD_REEFER]

I’ve seen a few people with this issue. Honesty…I wonder if Waterbox is a ticking time bomb too? But I truly love my Waterbox and have had no complaints or issues these past few years. Unfortunately this is going to be more prone to happen with a rimless tank. It bothers me how most all rimless tanks aren’t supported by the front doors/it overhangs which to me is setting every tank like that up for failure eventually. I’d take peace of mind and support with a custom built stand over the aesthetic of the manufactured one and am not a fan you are forced to buy both and use the stand or you void the warranty. I forget if it was Waterbox or Red Sea I feel like it was Waterbox that released a brace to go under the stand to try and fix the wobbling issue.

My IM SR80 rimless has a stand the sits just beyond flush (apprx 1/8") and I know I have bumped it with tools or something that I am glad it wasnt the glass. I think Waterbox tanks are awesome tanks too. I dont think it would be hard to attached a strip of wood or plastic to act as flashing around it and provided a little protection. I would probably do something like that if I had that type of stand.

 

[Tamberav]

I’ve seen a few people with this issue. Honesty…I wonder if Waterbox is a ticking time bomb too? But I truly love my Waterbox and have had no complaints or issues these past few years. Unfortunately this is going to be more prone to happen with a rimless tank. It bothers me how most all rimless tanks aren’t supported by the front doors/it overhangs which to me is setting every tank like that up for failure eventually. I’d take peace of mind and support with a custom built stand over the aesthetic of the manufactured one and am not a fan you are forced to buy both and use the stand or you void the warranty. I forget if it was Waterbox or Red Sea I feel like it was Waterbox that released a brace to go under the stand to try and fix the wobbling issue.

New water box stands wobble. Not sure if it’s all versions or what. They do provide a brace but it isn’t in the box when you buy… so you have to ask/contact them. This means waiting for it to ship and if people don’t know to ask, it means they have a wobbly stand. It also doesn’t always fix the wobble..

A wobbly stand scares me as it seems like it could be very dangerous to children or pets.

 

[StevenL]

did everything survive

Yes. Everything is alive and doing well in the new tank

 

[reneeL]

They had some of the features on some V3 models, but not the most important ones, like the lip support to actually hold the front glass up.

We bought a 425 88gallons, the front wall has not support. However, we think if we repair the front. Add a support so that the front has a support then perhaps it will be years. What do you think?

 

[buruskeee]

We bought a 425 88gallons, the front wall has not support. However, we think if we repair the front. Add a support so that the front has a support then perhaps it will be years. What do you think?

IMO that would help a ton as it’s the main area it separates. There are examples that split at the sides, but those are a low percentage and don’t seem out of the ordinary compared to other tanks.

 

[reneeL]

So the front panel is the main fail on the rs tanks? If this is the case and we fix the lack of the front panel having support, maybe all will work out.
FYI we put clamps on the tank. The areas that had water seepage are clear now. We bought some time and I can sleep better. It was very obvious that it was about to have a leak.

 

[reneeL]

What happened to your tank???? I also have discovered algae in my corners where only silicone should be. There had been some bubbles. The bubbles expanded. We have clamps on the tank now. I could not sleep. The clamps pressure just gently forced the water out. This gives us time to repair. I bought the tank from the LFS but not new. The warranty does not pass on. It is only suppose to be less than 2 years old. Really does not seem to matter. No front panel support, failure is just a matter of time. From the information I see rs needed to fix the support.

 

[DrV4n]

New water box stands wobble. Not sure if it’s all versions or what. They do provide a brace but it isn’t in the box when you buy… so you have to ask/contact them. This means waiting for it to ship and if people don’t know to ask, it means they have a wobbly stand. It also doesn’t always fix the wobble..

A wobbly stand scares me as it seems like it could be very dangerous to children or pets.

Can confirm. I contacted them and they sent the additional brace pretty quickly, but I was surprised they didn’t include it in the original box.

 

[polyppal]

It's almost like universe is telling you not to

 

[Tamberav]

So the front panel is the main fail on the rs tanks? If this is the case and we fix the lack of the front panel having support, maybe all will work out.
FYI we put clamps on the tank. The areas that had water seepage are clear now. We bought some time and I can sleep better. It was very obvious that it was about to have a leak.

It is not believed to have anything to do with front panel not having support. As stated, the force of the water pushes OUT not down. Older waterbox tanks are also not supported (on 3 sides) and have no such issue.

Also one person had a custom stand that supported the panel and their tank still failed.

If you want to redo the tank/silicone. I would eurobrace the bottom and top. You can also support the panel but I would not rely on that alone as a fix.

 

[buruskeee]

As stated, the force of the water pushes OUT not down.

The front glass, which on a 4 foot tank can weigh over 200lbs, is trying to fall down, only the silicon is holding it up, combined with the outwards force of the water pressure. Try holding a 4 foot front glass, even making it easier by hugging it, for as long as you can - at some point you’ll put it down.

 

[Tamberav]

The front glass, which on a 4 foot tank can weigh over 200lbs, is trying to fall down, only the silicon is holding it up, combined with the outwards force of the water pressure. Try holding a 4 foot front glass, even making it easier by hugging it, for as long as you can - at some point you’ll put it down.

Regardless, the downward force is very little to the outward. Other brands used this method with no issues. Seems like crap silicone or bond issues or thin glass or crap stand flexing or all combined.

No way it is as simple as support the bottom and it’s all fixed now. Like I said, someone posted about leaking and the glass was supported by their custom stand. Tank still gave way.

I guess I just see how supporting the glass will stop the problems. My bet is the front would still pop off, maybe a bit slower.

 

[reneeL]

If it is just bad silicone, why would it pop off if redone? It seems no one fixes tanks in my area so this is going to be a long process. First, I have to get my pets out of the front panel about to go tank problem.
Now I am worried about any aquarium that I need to buy. What aquarium brand can people recommend for a 40 gallon?

 

[buruskeee]

What aquarium brand can people recommend for a 40 gallon?

I wouldn’t worry about 40g. Just go with something that checks your boxes with dimensions and features. I wouldn't stress about a tank leaking until you get to at least 3ft rimless. But really, 4ft+ rimless is where I would start staying awake at night if it wasn’t eurobraced bottom and top.

 

[brandon429]

Bump

Baddest Red Sea preemptive tank save of 2024

I got three recent tank transfer jobs completed by linking this thread to them as prep, with the pics and follow ups nobody stumbles on copying the moves. Helpful thread, right at a time where the sellers of Red Sea want to pretend this isn’t happening.