Tank storage when not in use?

[Lylelovett]

Hi all,

I have recently dismantled by 150g setup and need to put it in storage. It is a Starfire Eurobrace tank purchased 7 years ago from SCAquariums (before it got sucked into Empire).
My question is, what sort of heat tolerance can the tank/glass/silicone handle? I'd like to put it in a shed outside. Here in Arizona the head in that shed gets up around 110-125 in the summer. Does anyone have an experience whether or not the tank's integrity will stay intact in storage like that?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
J

 

[KrisReef]

It might be better to sell it than to store it, especially if you don't anticipate refilling it for 1, 2, 3,....N+1 Years?

The silicone is guaranteed to "last up to 25 years" on many tubes of caulk but those are typically considering a low pressure window application. A shed will have less UV exposure but the heating and cooling expansion of the materials combined with oxidation is not going to preserve the holding strength of the silicone. The tank probably will not fail if you leave it in storage for 1000 years but in 5 to 10 years I would (in the AZ furnace) not expect the sealant strength to be increasing so that it is stronger when you refill it.

Add to that having the glass box to work around in a shed where it might get grazed or bumped or knocked over if you are going in and out much?

If you sell the box now, you will take a loss on purchasing power but having some cash now might be worth much more than the tank is worth later. If you never refill it, or if it has deteriorated and dangerously weak or that you worry about it's holding power when you do refill it, there is a lot to think about and I need to go eat lunch. HTH.

 

[old_salt]

Hard to say. My 50 year old "all glass" Atlas aquarium, which sat empty in a SoCal garage for a decade, still holds water just fine.