Is My Tank About to Bust a Seam?

[SpyC]

I have an IM 50ext that is level, but I noticed this afternoon that the left panel has slughtly pulled away from the front panel on the bottom right. All other panels and seams look good. is my tank about to blow a seam? We have already emailed IM.

 

[SpyC]

Jeez aqueon is more helpful than that.

Yup, and why would IM care if a tank blows in someone else's house. Shoot, even Red Sea offered owners something when tanks gailed outside of the warranty. I could unstand if the tank wasn't level, but it was and we have photos showing it.

 

[Cell]

Are you 100% positive the seam is failing? I can't tell for sure from those pics.

 

[Naekuh]

if the seam was failing, you shouldn't be able to see though those clear bands, like i think you do.

The part i noted with arrows should be glass.
But i can see sand though it, which to me thinks it maybe more costmetic then actual silicon.
Can you take a picture from the side where the front glass attaches to the side.

Also a bad seam will not be uniform like this. It looks like its a uniform line.

A bad seam has bubbles in that thick black band or the black band on the right is not uniform and looks like a mathmatical sine wave.


Im not trying to defend IM here, im just trying to play devils advocate.

Can you take a flat object, and rest it on the side glass, and see where it alligns on the front.
If you feel a bump, then it can probably be a seam.
But if it feels smooth it can be cosmetic.

 

[SpyC]

if the seam was failing, you shouldn't be able to see though those clear bands, like i think you do.

The part i noted with arrows should be glass.
But i can see sand though it, which to me thinks it maybe more costmetic then actual silicon.
Can you take a picture from the side where the front glass attaches to the side.

Also a bad seam will not be uniform like this. It looks like its a uniform line.

A bad seam has bubbles in that thick black band or the black band on the right is not uniform and looks like a mathmatical sine wave.


Im not trying to defend IM here, im just trying to play devils advocate.

Can you take a flat object, and rest it on the side glass, and see where it alligns on the front.
If you feel a bump, then it can probably be a seam.
But if it feels smooth it can be cosmetic.

The silicone has not split inside the tank yet and the bezel along with my poor photography skills create a nit of an optical illusion. The silicone is pulling away from the side pane. The space between the pane and silicone tapers from wider to no split roughly 9" up the side of the tank. we can place items much larger than a peice of paper in the gap and it goes beyong the bezel. I attached a few photos of the seam in question and an unimpacted seam from the other side of the tank.

 

[SpyC]

Are you 100% positive the seam is failing? I can't tell for sure from those pics.

Absolutely, we can feel space beyond the bezel where the silicone has pulled away from the side pane.

 

[Naekuh]

That second picture confirms what you stated...oof.. you see the sine wave im talking about.

IM wont replace it when its under warrenty?

 

[JayM]

While your situation definitely sucks, you're 7 months out of warranty. And as frustrating as it may be, they aren't under any obligation to do anything, though it sounds as if you had an actual blowout that they may have been thinking about some way to help out.

 

[SpyC]

That second picture confirms what you stated...oof.. you see the sine wave im talking about.

IM wont replace it when its under warrenty?

They will not. I guess purchases from BRS are only 1 year, but you can get 3 years from them directly. We hoped they'd take the age of the tank into consideration and at least offer a discount on a new one.

 

[Troylee]

It’s hard to tell from your pictures but I don’t think it’s failing.. that would be the last place for it to fail as it’s the strongest point on that seam cause it’s bonded in multiple directions.. glass wouldn’t deflect that much in that tiny area either.. it looks like a razor might have scarred the internal bead cleaning algae and such but joint strength is between the glass and doesn’t look compromised.

 

[Naekuh]

ACK... yeah 1 year warrenty... i was thinking you had 3 like mine...

Can't do much if its out of warrenty.

 

[SpyC]

While your situation definitely sucks, you're 7 months out of warranty. And as frustrating as it may be, they aren't under any obligation to do anything, though it sounds as if you had an actual blowout that they may have been thinking about some way to help out.

5 months and when we started the conversation with IM we thought we had 3 years. Other companies offer assistance when shortly out of warranty, but they are making us jump through hoops and no offer for even a discount. They have no faith in their product imo. Also to say the tank is structurally sound when it is not is asking for larger issues.

 

[SpyC]

It’s hard to tell from your pictures but I don’t think it’s failing.. that would be the last place for it to fail as it’s the strongest point on that seam cause it’s bonded in multiple directions.. glass wouldn’t deflect that much in that tiny are either.. it looks like a razor might have scarred the internal bead cleaning algae and such but joint strength is between the glass and doesn’t look compromised.

I don't use razers to clean the glass and avoid the seams when cleaning the glass.

 

[SpyC]

ACK... yeah 1 year warrenty... i was thinking you had 3 like mine...

Can't do much if its out of warrenty.

Yea, we thought it qas 3 years since BRS didn't give you the option to extend it.

 

[Troylee]

The best way to tell if it’s failing is take a picture from the side and see if there’s a bubble in the silicone with dirt and debris in it… doubt there is..

 

[JayM]

Yea, we thought it qas 3 years since BRS didn't give you the option to extend it.

IIRC, the extended warranty is only available if you purchase direct from IM.

 

[Readywriter]

5 months and when we started the conversation with IM we thought we had 3 years. Other companies offer assistance when shortly out of warranty, but they are making us jump through hoops and no offer for even a discount. They have no faith in their product imo. Also to say the tank is structurally sound when it is not is asking for larger issues.

Maybe ask for it in writing with a signature from them that it is structurally sound and safe to continue to use? Not suggesting you do continue to use it but I think you might see where I am going with this.

 

[Jimbo327]

For the life of me, I can't understand what I'm looking at. Is that the actual seam between glass? Or does IM make it with armored seams, and that is just the extra silicone on armored seams?

When I see seam breaks, it is usually from the front of the glass, and you see it through the glass and see bubbles etc. I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. Sorry, I don't own an IM, so not sure how they are actually constructed.

 

[SpyC]

Maybe ask for it in writing with a signature from them that it is structurally sound and safe to continue to use? Not suggesting you do continue to use it but I think you might see where I am going with this.

They sent it in writing via email. I definitely see where you are going with this.

 

[Readywriter]

The best way to tell if it’s failing is take a picture from the side and see if there’s a bubble in the silicone with dirt and debris in it… doubt there is..

Are you saying that a continuous empty void between the glass and silicone that equals and exceeds the thickness of the silicone is on the up and up?

 

[SpyC]

For the life of me, I can't understand what I'm looking at. Is that the actual seam between glass? Or does IM make it with armored seams, and that is just the extra silicone on armored seams?

When I see seam breaks, it is usually from the front of the glass, and you see it through the glass and see bubbles etc. I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. Sorry, I don't own an IM, so not sure how they are actually constructed.

That is definitely how most red sea tanks fail. from my understanding this tank does not have armored seams. The silicone is pealing from the seam on the outside which has really made documenting the issue and working with IM very difficult.