Help ASAP!!!!!

[jpeavytx]

Came home from class today and found the glass bowing out in my tank a little bit.....Look at the top of the tank and the brace that holds the top together in the middle is broken in half. What do I need to do abou this. Will the glass give way and break? My LFS that I bought the tank from is closed on Mondays, so there is nothing I can do today about anything. Someone please help I don't want 55 gallons of saltwater in my apt, neither does the apt. complex. I have a pic of what the thing looks like.

 

[vasilithegreek]

see if you can go to the store like a hardware store and buy some bench clamps..the kind that you use to attach to a work bench..a hardware store should cary one that extends out as far as your tank..thats the only addvice i could give you right now

 

[maroonclownfan]

Second that...it would be a good temporary fix. Careful not to over tighten though!
Good luck.....MCF

 

[jpeavytx]

Should I drain about 5 gallons of the water out so it puts less stress on the glass? Anyone ever seen something like this happen before? I'm guessing somehow I can get a new top piece for the tank? Lord I don't want to think about switching everything to another tank and basically starting all over again.

 

[jedininja]

Sounds like a big problem. I've never have had anything like that happen to me. But it sounds like your tank is falling apart. I would remove as much water from it as possible to lightened the stress on your tank ASAP. Dont remove too much that the live rock or anything else is exsposed, but the more you remove, the less stress on the glass.
I think Vasil has the right idea, except I can think of a different type of clamp that might work better. I dont know what they are called though. Its like a thick canvas belt that movers use to strap fridges to thier carts. Its like a big belt that you can tighten. You may be albe to use that and tightened it around your tank while you are waiting for the tank store to open up.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[vasilithegreek]

Yeah if i were you i would empty a little bit of the water out..and if you do get the clamp put some towels or somthing were you clamp the outside of the glass so it dosnt put pressure on the glass as much and a little more resistants on the towels or what ever you use....is it bowing on the lower half the middle or the top half of the tank

 

[spruce]

I would sugest when lowering the water level that you stand to the side of your tank and not infront of the bowed glass. If it snaps while your infront it could hurt bad. Also, keep kids away from it altogether.
Whos the manufacturer of the tank? Hopfully your warrenty will still be good and the manufacture will replcae it.
Might want to get ready to evacuate all living from from your tank into some sort of temp setup. Buy a big $10 rubermaid tub and while your lowering the water lvl put the water in the tub. If you have a spare heater then place that in the tub as well.
If you think its gonna snap then I would get all living things out of it and into a temp setup untill you can get the scoop on what the manufacture will do for you.
I personally wouldnt feel confortable "rigging" it back together.

 

[jpeavytx]

The tank was bought new about 3 months ago or so. It does have a warranty and I'm sure my LFS will get me a new tank ASAP. Just took out 5 gallons and it looks to have relieved some pressure already. The tank is just bowing out at the top in the middle. The tank is made by Ocean View Aquariums.

 

[vasilithegreek]

...in my opinion i would try and see if you can handle putting the stuff you have in the tank and put it into some rubbermaid containers or somthing for now...and get the new tank if you can..the tank probally needs to be resealed..yeah and dont stand in front of the glass you never know ..good luck

 

[marinerock]

HI JP.....
THESE GUYS ALL HAVE GREAT IDEAS....WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST
IN ADDITION TO THE CLAMPS OR BELT , IS MAYBE GET 2, 2X4 ...ONE FOR THE FRONT AND ONE FOR THE BACK SO WHEN YOU CLAMP THE GLASS IT DISTRIBUTES THE PRESSURE FROM THE CLAMPS EVENLY....USE TWO OR THREE CLAMPS FOR EVEN DISTRIBUTION...
MY FRIEND HAD A BRAND NEW 300 GAL DELIVERED...FILLED IT
WITH WATER AND THE FOLLOWING MORNING THE FRONT
GLASS WAS TOTALLY BOWED...HE EMPTIED IT AND THEY
DELIVERED A NEW ONE....
I ALSO THINK YOU SHOULD JUST GO WITH THE RUBBERMAID
IDEA AND EMPTY THE TANK....BETTER TO BE SAFE...
GOOD LUCK...
REGARDS...
MARINEROCK

 

[jpeavytx]

If I'm going to put all the livestock into the Rubbermaid container how would I go about making sure my water perameters dont get out of wack? Can I put my skimmer in there and help alleviate some of the waste of the fish? Also should I put some of my LR in there with the fish so they feel a little more secure? I would also put one of my PH in there to move the water around also.

 

[jpeavytx]

yeah i have a hang on the back skimmer so i can use it just fine......is there anything else i should be worried about while putting these fish in the temporary holding tank?

 

[vasilithegreek]

put the heater in there also so the temp dosnt drop...and the rock is good also so there can be somewhere for them to hide and not get stressed

 

[broncofish]

evacuate all your living things, if your lfs or the manufacturer notices any kind of markings that resembles clamps or pressure you warranty will probably be voided...and yes I speak from experiance, you always find out how crappy your LFS can be when it means they lose money

 

[jpeavytx]

Good news everyone. The lady that own the LFS, her house is attached to the store and she lives there. I just happened to go by and see if anyone was there. To my luck she was, happily she got me another tank and said bring back the other one whenever you get everything switched over. Man this is going to take some time to switch everything but I'll sleep much better tonight. Bought a 18 pack and i'm about to be off to work for a few hours. I'll be back and update everyone when i'm done.

 

[jpeavytx]

Just finished moving everything. Talk about a pain in the rear end. Hopefully everything will be ok in the end. All of the fish are back in the tank and the water parameters are pretty good. Hopefully it will not go through a mini cycle.