A Fish Owner’s Worst Fears

HI everyone,
Just thought id tell you about my worst fear that I secretly have in regards to keeping fish. I actually fear my tanks breaking, I mean leaking, cracking or just exploding. I know that might seem funny but I truly fear this might happen due to the pressure of the water on the glass. So I am constantly terrified. My largest tank is 30L and I would love nothing more than to get a bigger tank, but what scares me is the bigger it is the more chance it might break under pressure. Have any of you had any of these things happen? Have you heard of it or know someone it happened to? Or am I just being silly?
Id like to not worry about this, but it constantly plays on my mind.

 

what size tank and how thick is your glass?Never heard any of that,if your tank is factory made,I wouldnt worry about that kind of thing

 

It doesn't sound silly at all. We all have our fears.

 

The tanks range in glass thickness from 2-3mm. I have 2x30L 3x20L 3x15L and 1x5L tanks. I think they are all factory made. I try not to worry

 

I Understand fully I have a 125g and if it shatters /leaks /cracks ... I know it would be a real bad day ..actually just saw a video recently of a girl hanging over a balcony and then falling onto a small tank not only did she probably really mess herself up badly but the tank was completely destroyed

 

Some things you can do to prevent an issues: a level stand, factory tanks, no direct sunlight.
At any sign of fatigue or failure of silicone, replace.
Most importantly, enjoy our fish!

 

Then you don't have anything to worry about,just relax and enjoy this hobby...mine have thickness 2 cm 90 gallon..

 

HI guys, thank you for your comments and advice. I will try to feel better about it but its in the back of my mind. Just thought someone else out there might have the same fear as me. And yes it would be a real bad day if it happened. I didn't know to keep them out of sunlight, so that's a good one ty

 

I am the same way. Everytime I hear a loud noise, I get up and go check my tank in the livingroom. There are always possiblities but they are slim.
You could always make a nice pond if you live where it doesn't get too cold

 

I'm like that too, 2 months ago I set up a 75 gallon and every time I come home the first thing I look at is the floor to see if it's wet.

I also feel like I need to call my insurance company and ask them to add water damage caused by aquarium to my policy. Just in case. Especially since I recently had bamboo floors installed.

 

It is absolutely not funny as a fear. There is a lot of water in any tank and can cause a lot of damage, not including the cost of the tank and all the stock. I always had that fear which is one reason why I was originally so hesitant. My 3 year old helped me over tat bump with every time we went to petsmart she kept asking for "pretty fishies", but I still have the small fear, and just check my tank daily for any signs of even the most minute water leakage.

 

I Understand fully I have a 125g and if it shatters /leaks /cracks ... I know it would be a real bad day ..actually just saw a video recently of a girl hanging over a balcony and then falling onto a small tank not only did she probably really mess herself up badly but the tank was completely destroyed

I saw that too. It was one of those oceanic biocube tanks. No reason for the tank to break unless something crazy like that happens.

 

I have the same problem with my canister filter lol...I bought it several months ago, and every time I walk into the room, first thing I do is go see if the floor near the canister is at all wet or has any water spots on it...I can just see it draining the water onto the floor one day.
on another note, I have a 5 gallon aquarium that I noticed has a crack in the back bottom corner...the tank doesn't have a plastic rI'm around the top and the glass is crazy thin because it's a 5 gal. it's been holding up really well but it's definitely time to retire that tank...lol idk what I'm waiting for after typing this honestly lol

 

cheese someone to tell you to go get a new one? Soooo go get a new one..

 

I have the same problem with my canister filter lol...I bought it several months ago, and every time I walk into the room, first thing I do is go see if the floor near the canister is at all wet or has any water spots on it...I can just see it draining the water onto the floor one day.
on another note, I have a 5 gallon aquarium that I noticed has a crack in the back bottom corner...the tank doesn't have a plastic rI'm around the top and the glass is crazy thin because it's a 5 gal. it's been holding up really well but it's definitely time to retire that tank...lol idk what I'm waiting for after typing this honestly lol

This is the reason canister filters scare me. I am thinking of putting a canister inside a 30gal tote, just in case it leaks, and have the intake tube shorter, so if it does leak, it would only leak out 20% of water

 

HI guys! Thanks for all your comments. I know I'm not alone in this thinking now.
Lets just hope my fears don't come true and I haven't jinxed myself!

 

I Understand fully I have a 125g and if it shatters /leaks /cracks ... I know it would be a real bad day ..actually just saw a video recently of a girl hanging over a balcony and then falling onto a small tank not only did she probably really mess herself up badly but the tank was completely destroyed

I SAW THAT!!! What in the name of God was she doing?! I watched the video and upon seeing the tank underneath her I immediately thought "Oh god no she's going to smash into the fish tank!" It looked like her left knee smashed the front pane off the tank, and judging be that alone, she's got some pretty nasty injuries. I'm annoyed at the fact that the person filming didn't even help her in the slightest. I guess we know where their priorities lie...

 

We're the fish ok??

*Were.

 

We're the fish ok??

*Were.

Don't know... don't even know what happened to the girl... That's the internet for you. Ten seconds of video with no story before or after.

 

My largest tank is 30L and I would love nothing more than to get a bigger tank, but what scares me is the bigger it is the more chance it might break under pressure.

If you're talking about catastrophic failure of the glass, it might set your mind at ease to know that the bigger the tank volume the thicker the glass used

 

Hehe thanks Aqua! Since posting this thread I have looked at bigger tanks, and I even have the nerve now to get one because they actually look more secure than my small ones! I still have my phobia about it but I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a big tank, I probably won't sleep or leave the house but yea I'll have a big tank lol

 

And the center braces actually do work for the larger volume tanks.

I knew a guy who cut the brace out of a 55 gallon for his oscar tank. Lasted about a week before it decided to bow out too far.

I have fears about tanks and canisters, too. More so with seals leaking than actually spewing fresh fish into the room. But my fears are calmed when I see success stories of 20 year old tanks still getting use without sealing them again. Not advocating it, by the way and I still have that fear

 

You can but acrylic tanks. Acrylic is ten times stronger than glass.

 

I haven't heard of acrylic tanks, hm might have to do some research on them, thank you

 

Biorbs are made of it.

 

Acrylic tanks have their pros and cons so I would suggest really researching them before going that way.

I don't fear the glass breaking on mine, but I do have a fear of a canister leaking like Grimund does. I waterproofed the inside of my stand like one would a shower because of that fear. Looking at my current empty 40 gallon breeder, I can tell it's solidly built.

 

Acrylic tanks are nice. They aer usually clearer, and stronger. HOWEVER you have to be very careful when you clean them. They scratch extremely easily.

 

When I was younger I had a 10 gallon I had lots of fish in that tank (didn't know anything about anything back then) my tank had cracked I forget how it cracked but I'll never forget it cause while going to the store to get another tank my rainbow shark jumped out of the container that he was in .... Sadly I didn't make it back in time

 

What do you guys think the worst tank fears is mine I think would have to be when fish fight

 

When all my fish aren't temp compatible and are cramp in a small tank!!

 

Neon Tetra disease and tank leakage, so my tertas died, and then my 40 gallon goldfish tank developed a leak 3 days later, so I had to really give the old tetra filter etc a clean, and then put the goldfish in temporaraly. So, 6 detahs, broken tank later, I have 3 goldfish in a small aquarium. And I can't do anything about it as of yet.

 

One of my worst fears did come true when I had to euthanize Blue Water, female betta, with clove oil. She fought and won twice on some kind of bacterial disease, the second time she even had a loss of scales that completely healed. Unfortunately, she was not able to fight it out a third time and was just suffering too much so I had to put her down humanly.

Now my second fear hasn't come true *knock on wood* that would be my 40 gallon breeding exploding all over my apartment's living room floor.

 

well I have several 125+ gallon tanks. My biggest fear is if any of them crack or leak when full. Another is fish jumping out. I had a silver arowana jump out and died. there was even a lid on the tank. So it just shows just how strong arowana are.

 

A tank that explodes or cracks cause the insurance paper work would suck.

 

Definitely, tank leaking or bursting.

Mine has survived a couple pretty significant quakes though...Uhoh, I may have jinxed it...

 

My worst fear is that my toddler bumps into the tank and it explodes/falls over on him. I am getting horrrible scenes now so I better stop writing

 

Definitely my worst fear had to be tanks leaking or breaking or anything that involves water not being where it should be. I've even had dreams about it or rather nightmares

 

Both have come up on me in the last couple weeks.... Leaking tank and mystery deaths.

My RCS tank decided to start leaking last week and I've had two suicides in one tank, and two mystery deaths of perfectly healthy fish I two different tanks and another mystery illness that I had to euthanize out of fear of something unidentified being contagious and quick deterioration of the fish.

Other than that catastrophic tank failures of large tanks and communicable to human diseases have got to be my more unrealistic fears.

 

Add to the list in the comments!

The fish jumping out of the tank

 

Cat getting into aquariums
Aquarium smashing/breaking
heater over-heating and boiling fish