Mike and Terry's 300g Reef

[Mike&Terry]

Oh my lord so sorry to read this. Wish I was close so I can give a hand. If you have time for a real custom tank pm me and give me specs how you want it and I'll hook you up with the master of glass tanks in Texas. This can't happen again .

TUSI, Thanks so much for the kind words and support... You are right - this cannot happen again. We will be looking at custom tank builders soon, but really need to focus on getting the temporary tank up and running as quickly as possible. With Day 5 at a close, we (thankfully) still have no losses and are working hard to keep it that way.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Day 6 with our corals, fish and inverts in temporary housing... Thankfully, no losses at this point. The next couple of days are going to be crazy, busy cleaning and setting up the temporary tank. Wish us luck - we need all the luck we can get right now...

 

[underwaterfirefighter]

I am beginning to seriously question if this was a good purchase.

 

[Mike&Terry]

I am beginning to seriously question if this was a good purchase.

Dave, if we had it to do over, we would have gone with a custom tank builder from the start. Having said that, there are a lot of these tanks out there that have not had seal issues. These mass-produced tanks are appealing as you get a lot of bang for the buck. In the end, it's all about minimizing the risk and planning for the unexpected.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Our Japanese Swallowtail Angels (G. semifasciatus) in the 180g stock vat last night:

 

[iReef86]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. You two are the strongest reef aquarium enthusiast I have ever met. I know you will come back with a vengeance! And it will be even more gorgeous! Yell if you need anything! I am not too far away! About 4 miles from Chester Aquaria.

 

[underwaterfirefighter]

As mentioned above you guys are the most dedicated refers I think I've ever heard of! I know you'll come back from this stronger and better than ever!
I agree with the fact that the 300 DD is a lot of bang for the buck. And we really love the dimensions! As we discussed previously the warranty with using the Marine Land stand sounds strong. And since it is already in the house (which was an accomplishment in itself) I think we are going to move forward with the build. We wish you guys the best of luck with everything and can't wait to see your reef back in action!

 

[Mike&Terry]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. You two are the strongest reef aquarium enthusiast I have ever met. I know you will come back with a vengeance! And it will be even more gorgeous! Yell if you need anything! I am not too far away! About 4 miles from Chester Aquaria.

Christian, Thanks so much for the kind words and offer of help - very much appreciated!

As mentioned above you guys are the most dedicated refers I think I've ever heard of! I know you'll come back from this stronger and better than ever!
I agree with the fact that the 300 DD is a lot of bang for the buck. And we really love the dimensions! As we discussed previously the warranty with using the Marine Land stand sounds strong. And since it is already in the house (which was an accomplishment in itself) I think we are going to move forward with the build. We wish you guys the best of luck with everything and can't wait to see your reef back in action!

Thanks Dave and best of luck with your build - we'll be following!

 

[FDAWG]

Mike & Terry,

Would you buy another Marineland again?

 

[Mike&Terry]

Mike & Terry,

Would you buy another Marineland again?

No sir.

 

[maroun.c]

Very sorry to hear about this happening. Wish I was closer to help. On the bright side I can only imagine what the come back will be.
I hope all your fish and corals make it through the transition fine.

 

[Kris Belgium]

ppffff, just reading this.... good to see that everything is still alive !!
I never trusted this mass produced tanks, now I know why again. A custom made is so much better !

Hope you start real soon.
To close with a positive note... be back with a stunning scape;)

 

[Mike&Terry]

Very sorry to hear about this happening. Wish I was closer to help. On the bright side I can only imagine what the come back will be.
I hope all your fish and corals make it through the transition fine.

ppffff, just reading this.... good to see that everything is still alive !!
I never trusted this mass produced tanks, now I know why again. A custom made is so much better !

Hope you start real soon.
To close with a positive note... be back with a stunning scape;)

Thank You Maroun and Kris for your kind words of support! We learned a lot after the first failed tank which helped us to be much better prepared this time. Keeping stable parameters in the 180g vat is a challenge, not to mention our wrasses are in tight quarters in the 4'x2' frag tank, so getting the temporary tank online is top priority right now. Once that is done, we will be able to start working on the rebuild plan.

 

[Lbfnp]

Wow, so sorry to hear of your bad luck. I have been drooling over your tank for a couple of years. I know that you will come back stronger than ever. I hope everything survives and does well. One day I hope my tank is as beautiful as your was and will be again. Best of luck moving forward.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Wow, so sorry to hear of your bad luck. I have been drooling over your tank for a couple of years. I know that you will come back stronger than ever. I hope everything survives and does well. One day I hope my tank is as beautiful as your was and will be again. Best of luck moving forward.

Thank You so much for your kind words, compliments AND especially your support! We truly are appreciative!

 

[KoleTang]

That's too bad Mike and Terry. I'm glad to see the community and LFS are supporting you guys so well.

Our tank is not a stock 300g DD. It was custom built by Perfecto (Marineland) and there is no question that the seal rupture is due to a defect in this case.

How can you tell it was a defect?

At this point I'm seriously considering installing a drip tray/drain pipe mechanism into the new 120's stand.

 

[prsnlty]

Wow guys! I just caught up and read what happened! I am soooo sorry. I had just joined r2r back when the first one broke. Thankfully you have a lot of good people helping out :D I would be there too if I lived closer :(

 

[Mike&Terry]

That's too bad Mike and Terry. I'm glad to see the community and LFS are supporting you guys so well.

How can you tell it was a defect?

At this point I'm seriously considering installing a drip tray/drain pipe mechanism into the new 120's stand.

Lucas, After our first disaster, we brought in a structural engineer (he also has an aquarium) from Seattle to consult with us on reinforcing our floor and building the tank stand to ensure the tank was properly supported (and then some) and there would be no deflection issues.

When Perfecto built this tank, they broke the bottom pane while drilling closed loop holes and had to replace the glass. They also did a very poor job of sealing the center overflow box (the overflow box actually peeled away from the glass (completely on one side, partially on the other) two weeks after the tank was installed. The vertical silicone seams between the glass panes on this tank are 1/8" wide, except for the back lower left and the back upper right which are about 1/4" wide. The left pane tilts OUT at the top rear about 3/32" perhaps more (hard to get an exact measurement with the messy glob of silicone on the outside. The right pane at the top rear tilts IN the same amount as the left tilts OUT.

So we took a look at the vertical seams on the 200dd temporary tank. They are 1/16" and while the silicone is sloppy and the side panes appear to tilt in by 1/16" in the rear, at least they are mirroring each other.

We have always installed the thick black shower liner material under our stands. Funny thing, with both of our seal failures, the water didn't actually end up inside the stand, but made it's way onto our counter tops and into the floor in front of the stand and also onto the floor inside the side cabinets (where there is no liner - we're going to change that with the rebuild).

Wow guys! I just caught up and read what happened! I am soooo sorry. I had just joined r2r back when the first one broke. Thankfully you have a lot of good people helping out :D I would be there too if I lived closer :(

Thanks Jackie and yes, we are lucky to have great friends and local club members who have been real troopers to help us out. We can't thank them enough.

 

[Mike&Terry]

Well Day 7 came and went (much too fast), but we got a lot accomplished.

The tank stand has 3 coats of poly, the temporary tank has been cleaned, water tested and placed on the stand and Mike is working on the plumbing.

 

[falconerr]

Looking good! Keep up the good work mike.