Pressure Crack- HELP

bschuhart

bschuhart

Members
OK- Yesterday one of my 20H's got a pressure crack:angry3:, when I got home from work all but a 1/2 inch of water was gone, heater burned up, but my 3 week old angel fry survived so far. My nefew works for ServPro, so he came over and we pulled up the carpet, trashed the padding and 2 industral fans are running to dry the carpet and walls (the water wicked up about 6" in the dry wall) all this from 20 gallons!

So to the real question, I had 3 -20H's on a sturdy, level This Ends Up coffee table. What do you think caused the pressure crack in the bottom glass of the tank? The 2 other tanks have been set up since October and NO problems, this tank was only set up for 3 weeks and was brand new. I just get the feeling that it really isn't a tank defect.

A plug for Exotic Aquatics:), they gave me and new tank and heater and didn't even check the reciept. The heater was one of the new Marineland Stealth Pro w/ red/green LEDS. It's supposed to have a saftey shutoff when out of water, I guess that dosen't work.

Should I put some kind of styrofoam under the tank, I think I saw someone do that.
 
fischfan13

fischfan13

Banned
Was the tank level?
Was the weight evenly distributed UNDERNEATH the tank?
Any pics of the stand that it was on?
 
bschuhart

bschuhart

Members
bschuhart said:
OK- Yesterday one of my 20H's got a pressure crack:angry3:, when I got home from work all but a 1/2 inch of water was gone, heater burned up, but my 3 week old angel fry survived so far. My nefew works for ServPro, so he came over and we pulled up the carpet, trashed the padding and 2 industral fans are running to dry the carpet and walls (the water wicked up about 6" in the dry wall) all this from 20 gallons!

So to the real question, I had 3 -20H's on a sturdy, level This Ends Up coffee table. What do you think caused the pressure crack in the bottom glass of the tank? The 2 other tanks have been set up since October and NO problems, this tank was only set up for 3 weeks and was brand new. I just get the feeling that it really isn't a tank defect.

A plug for Exotic Aquatics:), they gave me and new tank and heater and didn't even check the reciept. The heater was one of the new Marineland Stealth Pro w/ red/green LEDS. It's supposed to have a saftey shutoff when out of water, I guess that dosen't work.

Should I put some kind of styrofoam under the tank, I think I saw someone do that.
Click to expand...

tanktable.jpg
 
bschuhart

bschuhart

Members
I had 3 20H's in a row, with the ends facing front. In this pic I turn the the tank with the front facing. I think I might know the issue, I shimmed the corners of each tank under the black frame to make them perfectly level in all directions. They were no more than 1/4 off. I was told that wouldn't matter if they are off a little (with small tanks)only if there was a high point under the tank, maybe that was it (the boards in the middle of the tank)?

If I use this table should I put a piece of styrofoam under the tank or even a piece of 1/4" plywood?
 
maddog10

maddog10

Members
The insulation will help, the tanks will level out after a brief amount of time.
The tanks are built pretty cheaply nowadays, so if you did have a high point it was probably enough to let the glass break.

I don't trust the auto cut off on the heaters (I have all Stealths), so I always turn the power off to the tanks when doing water changes.
 
bschuhart

bschuhart

Members
maddog10 said:
The insulation will help, the tanks will level out after a brief amount of time.
The tanks are built pretty cheaply nowadays, so if you did have a high point it was probably enough to let the glass break.

I don't trust the auto cut off on the heaters (I have all Stealths), so I always turn the power off to the tanks when doing water changes.
Click to expand...
Sure I alway turn the heaters off after getting shocked once. This leaked out all the water before I got home. I sent an email to Marineland about the issue, I'll let everyone know what they say. Not a problem since Exotic Aquatics gave me a new tank and heater.
 
C

Cartel

Members
Im with mike I use to always unplug my stealth heater and never had a problem with it. Then I got lazy and said the heck with it it has auto shut off. Well after about 3 weeks of doing W/C like that mine died. I don't know if thats to blame but you always gotta have someone to point the finger at right?
 
YSS

YSS

Members
maddog10 said:
The insulation will help, the tanks will level out after a brief amount of time.
The tanks are built pretty cheaply nowadays, so if you did have a high point it was probably enough to let the glass break.

I don't trust the auto cut off on the heaters (I have all Stealths), so I always turn the power off to the tanks when doing water changes.
Click to expand...

None of tanks are perfectly leveled. Especially, my 265G tank is leaning forward a bit due to floor issue (I think). From front to back, I think there is about .25 difference in water level. May be I should be worried about it. :unsure:
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
YSS said:
None of tanks are perfectly leveled. Especially, my 265G tank is leaning forward a bit due to floor issue (I think). From front to back, I think there is about .25 difference in water level. May be I should be worried about it. :unsure:
Click to expand...

Most of my tanks are not perfectly level either. I think that as long as you have the bottom supported evenly (on a frame/stand/styro), there shouldn't be too much a concern as long as it is somewhat close to level.

(At least, that's what I keep telling myself....)
 
Charlutz

Charlutz

Members
bschuhart said:
I think I might know the issue, I shimmed the corners of each tank under the black frame to make them perfectly level in all directions. They were no more than 1/4 off. I was told that wouldn't matter if they are off a little (with small tanks)only if there was a high point under the tank, maybe that was it (the boards in the middle of the tank)?
Click to expand...


I agree that's your problem right there. If you put a shim under the tank frame, you are creating a gap between the frame and stand, or in this case, table. The tank may be level but if there is a gap between the frame and stand, once you add water, the weight will flex the glass and crack it. Better to shim the stand to the floor. As others have said, it's not too big a deal if the tanks aren't perfectly level. Much more important that the frames are flat to the stand. IMO
 
YSS

YSS

Members
Tony said:
Most of my tanks are not perfectly level either. I think that as long as you have the bottom supported evenly (on a frame/stand/styro), there shouldn't be too much a concern as long as it is somewhat close to level.

(At least, that's what I keep telling myself....)
Click to expand...

That's a relief. All my tanks are sitting evenly on the stands.
 
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