210g RR AGA Leaks nightmare

[TyLee]

I have a 210 gallons reef ready All-Glass reef tank that leaked last night. At around 3:00 AM the rattling noise of the power head running dry woke me up and I found the bottom front of the aquarium was rushing out water. The tank was 1/4 full and I was able to save some water and live stocks. My problem is I don't know if I should get a new tank or have the old tank fixed. If the leaked tank is fixed, will the tank's integrity be compromised and leaked again in the near future? Is there any professional tank repair person in Austin area who can come to my house and fix the tank if I decided to fix it? Any suggestion is appreciated.

Tai.

[cmanning]

Ouch.! A tank blowout. And a big one, too.

2 things would influence my decision if this happened to me:

1.) Was it an installation error (not perfectly level, properly shimmed) stand or was it design flaw (glass not thick enough),

or was it improperly assembled, (hard to tell by looking in most cases).

Cost of repair to old versus cost of a new tank.

Biggest factor in my mind: --> Chance of it happening again if it's a design flaw in the way the tank it made. (Glass not really thick enough, or "barely" thick enough.)

or joints improperly acid washed/seamed.

Have you been able to completely empty it yet ? --> Only way to see what exactly happened to the bottom.

Let us know when you find the root cause/extent of damage (to the tank).

[TyLee]

Tank is level and stand is from the same manufacture (All-Glass). The seams at the bottom center front pane failed. I bought this tank from Austin Aquatics Innovations about 4 months ago when they went out of business. I was told the tank was used for about 2 weeks when I bought it. Tank is 72" long, 24" deep and 26" tall. Glass is 1/2 inch thick. This is what I have http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/cla...ion-series.htm#

[cmanning]

Sounds like it failed from too much bow-out pressure on the long side

and just pulled itself away from the silicon.

You can probably get AGA to fix/replace it (under warranty if only 4 mos old,

I would think). Especially since it's on their approved stand and level/etc..

But If I were you - I would ask them if you can trade-up to an Oceanic

(didn't AGA buy Oceanic some yrs back?) with 3/4 inch (no less) on anything > 200 gal.

the thicker glass just "flexes" a lot less under pressure, (it still flexes,

but not nearly as bad as the 1/2 inch does on a 6-footer) so theres' a lot less pull-away

pressure along those long seams - it even lets the "brick" (no center brace needed) design

exist.

Drawbacks: - the 3/4" are 50% heavier, and cost a LOT more. But , after this experience,

you are probably ready to go to 3/4.

[Headless_donkey]

I would check the stand and buy a new tank. Fixing a tank that size is risky because of the HUGE amount of water as you already know. There are very few people, especially locally, that are experienced in fixing glass tanks. Most of the time glass repairs mean adding extra pieces of glass that tend to be unsightly unless covered up. For what it is worth River City has a sweet 185 right now with dual corner overflows. If you come by today I can show you. It might work depending on the amount of rock you have.

[Entropy]

I am not sure if a used tank would be covered under warranty, so I might leave that detail out if you try to get it replaced under warranty. The good news is that it should still be covered. The hard parts is going to be getting it swapped out since you will have to deal direct with AGA. Still, that is where I would start. Getting the tank replaced at little to no cost would be the best scenario in my mind.

[TyLee]

Thanks for all the suggestions fellow reefers.

I think I am going to buy a new tank for now. Need to put my livestocks back to their presidential suites ASAP. (in 40g rubbermaid tub now)

I don't know if I can get a replacement tank from AGA, if I do I will put it up for sale.

My fish need a new tank ASAP.

These are what I have:

2 x 6" yellow tang

2 x 3" yellow tang

1 4" sail fin tang

1 5" powder brown

1 6" emperator angel

6 green chromis

1 5" pink square anthias

2 3" lyre tail anthias

[Carlos@River City]

Your new tank is here.

[caferacermike]

PM me if interested in selling the old tank. It would be perfect for some of our other critters, Mike.