Okay Fishorama,
As always, thank you very much for your reply; sorry, again, for the delay in responding -- I got some very bad news about a parent after I posted my original questions and had to deal with that, emotionally...
Darn! 10 years seems kind of a short time but seals don't last forever. You can reseal it...not super hard, prep is all...
Yeah, we're not trusting ourselves to seal this tank; besides, it has already been taken outside by some handymen we hired who came today to move it outside (along with some other stuff we needed them to do around the house). Ironically, within minutes of being in front of our house, some lady stopped by and asked if she could have the tank to house her bearded dragon, as she has been looking in Craigslist for a suitable aquarium...
They're supposed to come back later tonight, her and the husband or her and the son.
You say seals don't last forever -- but how long SHOULD they last, on average? I mean, will EVERY tank eventually leak and crack? What is the point of this hobby if we have to keep going through this?
A standard 75g is 48 x 18 x 20 high, is the possible new 1 different? It's my favorite tank size & shape. You should make it as level as you can using shims under the stand, not under the tank. I've had tanks not perfectly level in 1 direction (either side to side or front to back) & they were ok up to ~1/4 inch off or so. Do the best you can, use a level.
Yes, we like the footprint of the 75 and the fact that it's deeper rather than taller -- a big issue we had with the previous Marineland 60 we just lost. As for leveling it, yes, we know about the shims; we are planning on getting the handymen guys back to install the next one we buy, and they will ensure it is level...we are even going to have them put the tank first on our first floor to do a 48-hour leak test and then come back to move it upstairs to our loft, where it belongs.
Is the tank on carpet? That can compact in time with the weight & often padding doesn't go all the way to the wall.
Yes, it is on carpet; we were able to tell there was a forward lean when we set it up, and it didn't look too safe being that the tank was super-tall. But I never drained it to fix the lean. I couldn't see how this could rupture seals though; I mean, just from leaning forward a little the water could cause a failure in the glass ON BOTTOM?
That being said, are you suggesting we CANNOT install a tank on carpet? At all? I believe our padding goes all the way to the wall, because this was the exact same spot where our previous tank was that sprung a crack in back and leaked, taking out the room it was in and the living room below -- the contractors put new carpet in and we even had another handyman contractor we were friendly with come by and reinforce that area beneath the tank when the living room ceiling was open and being worked on. He guaranteed us the ceiling could hold the weight of water from these tanks, no problem.
Too heavy tanks don't really fall through the floor, it's more a gradual sag. Try to have the tank span 2 floor supports if you can tell. Most are 16inches on center, very old house may not be. Near a wall is much better than over "open space" below. There should be wall support in the basement or crawlspace if you have 1. I don't think I go with any tank larger than a 55g or maybe 75g at most without knowing...
We are DEFINITELY not going with a tank any bigger than the 75. That is GUARANTEED. And the tank is DEFINITELY not in the middle of the room; it is against a wall (with enough room for filters and hoses and all that).
Some people put styrofoam between the tank & stand in case of imperfections (the "pink" insulation slab kind from a hardware/big box store, it can be painted I believe). More of an issue with rimless tanks that the entire bottom sits on the solid top stand. Rimmed tanks sit on the rim running around the outer edges so stands often only have wood or metal where the tank touches. An obvious burr or other imperfection could matter, I've never seen that. Run your hand along to feel for that.
I've seen the syrofoam you're talking about -- but I have also heard/read that this isn't necessary, at least with the rimmed tanks. Here's the thing, though: I was considering using that "egg crate" stuff to put between the bottom of the tank and the substrate to protect the bottom glass from scratching (when our decor or gravel is moved around)...do you know anything about that stuff? I know it's used more in Chichlid tanks due to the heavy rock work, but our decor will just be comprised of gravel, plants and a large two-piece sunken pirate ship decoration.
We are also considering going with an ACRYLIC tank this time around rather than a glass one, due to our worries about shattering and leaking, but I will address this later on...
As for why you first tank cracked, I don't know. I've never had that happen (knock wood). Tank bottoms are often tempered glass but not the sides. With heavy rockwork (like for African cichlids), people often use lighting "egg crate" diffuser grid under the substrate to keep any pointy bits from contacting the glass & possibly causing cracks...Could that be a problem with your ship decoration? I'd think it very less likely...I have "very lightly" clunked tank glass with rocks...OMG! I was worried at the moment, but no issue.
Whoops -- realized afterwards that you answered my questions about those "egg crate" pads. Sorry.
Our first tank cracking, I was advised, was due to me taking scalding hot water and then cold water concurrently to clean it when it was empty after our goldfish came down with a bacterial infection; someone advised me that the extreme temperature changes with the water during the cleaning could have weakened the seals. That tank cracked down the back and caused flooding into our living room below, and our house needed to be redone in certain areas. It was a certifiable NIGHTMARE.
But here we are again, with a SECOND leaking tank -- both different brands -- and I don't know if it's the floor they're on, something we're doing during maintenance or just bad luck.
Before we set up the 60 gallon Marineland this last time for our two goldfish, the tank was sitting dry and dormant for quite awhile....it was suggested to me that the seals may have dried up and became brittle, weakening the glass....but the leak this time was slow and from the BOTTOM.
As for seal failure, it happens. If you use a razor blade to remove algae & dig into the silicone it could be bad. Just algae growing under the seal can eventually weaken it. & sometimes there's a thin siliconed area that may fail sooner than more robust seals. Look for bubbles in the seals, those are weaker places.
We never used razor blades to remove algae (only a soft brush/pad designed to reach into the tank on a stick) and I never noticed it under the seals.
