Corner of bottom trim broke off?

I have a 75 gallon tank that I've had up and running for about a year now. I heard the sound of something falling near my tank. I went over to check and part of the lower trim, specifically the back right corner completely broke off. There's no leaks at the moment or anything..

I'm just wondering if I should be concerned about any potential issues arising from this, or if I should just silicone it back on and forget about it. If necessary I can get a picture of the area.

 

What made the piece break off?

 

I honestly have no idea.. On further inspection I notice about half of the trim on the back of the tank is very loose, whereas the trim on the front of the tank is still sitting tight.

My only guess was it wasn't sealed on well to begin with. I'll edit this post with pictures in a sec..





It appears the tank sits on the trim, something that is very concerning to me given the entire back of the tank is in that regard without a trim.

 

The trim might be there just for looks, but you should at least glue something on that corner of the tank to support the glass.

 

The trim might be there just for looks, but you should at least glue something on that corner of the tank to support the glass.

I'll do that in the morning then. I'm out of aquarium silicone so I'll pick up some in the morning to do the job. I still have the whole piece that broke off, and I can silicone the back piece tight against the tank again. Hopefully there won't be any problems.

 

My fear (and it very well be unfounded) is that stress somehow caused the trim piece to break. I'm not sure if the trim pieces are a stressed member, or just there for decoration.

 

My fear (and it very well be unfounded) is that stress somehow caused the trim piece to break. I'm not sure if the trim pieces are a stressed member, or just there for decoration.

Seeing as it is on the outside of the tank you may want to use something stronger than silicone. I would suggest using Goop Marine or Plumbing version. Another option would gorilla glue. Reason being is this is a stronger hold. If you use this option you'll need to clean off as much of the silicone on the outside as possible. Careful to not pull the silicone off, simply use a razor, wipe down with alcohol or vinegar. I'd also suggest lowering 50% of the water to avoid extra stress on the tank seam while the glue sets.

 

Looking at your tank is it sitting straight on the timber or does it have foam under it. If it is directly on the timber I would be concerned that there may be some unevenness and there is extra stress going to that corner which has caused the trim to crack and come off.

 

The trim is now breaking on all sides of the tank. I think I'm going to do a tear down to repair the tank.. That's a lot of fish I have to rehome

 

my god I bet you are worried

 

I know my LFS will take the fish I'm just worried about leaks

 

Have you thought of putting them temporarily in Rubbermaids while you do the repair/replace?

 

I suppose that's doable but I don't know how quickly I could get a replacement trim

 

I have had a scare with a tank last year it was a 170litre tand and got damaged when we moved in the corner same as you ..on the outer glass broke off it seemed ok until the next day then a massive flood thank god I had a spare tank scarey ..god I hope you are going to have gud look

 

The tank is coming down. The stand is the culprit.. The corner of the tank is splitting.. I have most of the fish in a bucket ready to go to the LFS but I'll hold on to the angelfish gourami bristlenose pleco and gbr in a 20 gallon high tank until I can repair the 75 and replace the stand.

 

My fear (and it very well be unfounded) is that stress somehow caused the trim piece to break. I'm not sure if the trim pieces are a stressed member, or just there for decoration.

This is exactly my thought when I read the first post saying you heard it fall near the tank. My fear would be you are getting uneven pressure on that corner of the tank which is no bueno.

And glad you caught it early! What size tank is it? Would it just be safer and cheaper to replace the tank? Is the stand uneven? Going forward are you going to use foam or some sort of cushion?

 

The tank is coming down. The stand is the culprit.. The corner of the tank is splitting.. I have most of the fish in a bucket ready to go to the LFS but I'll hold on to the angelfish gourami bristlenose pleco and gbr in a 20 gallon high tank until I can repair the 75 and replace the stand.

ahh you poor thing I bet you are glad it happend when you were there ....it may of been to late otherwise

 

Ok so.. What I did was take the tank down, take the fish back to the LFS (Except for the angelfish, gourami, bristlenose pleco and german blue ram.) When I was taking the tank down I noticed what was most likely the culprit..

On the back LEFT corner of the stand, the wood that connected at the corner were completely split. The stand must have started falling apart under the weight. The stand was adding a lot of pressure to the trim because the stand was falling apart. Even the center brace on the stand was separating from the front side of the stand.

I took the stand to my LFS with the receipt and they replaced it for me for free (even though it was out of warranty, they did it because I'm a good customer they say.)

So now I'm left with a brand new stand, but the tank is missing the trim all around the tank. I asked the LFS about it and they say they won't be able to get me a replacement trim, I called the chain store that I got the tank from and they say they won't be able to get me a replacement trim.

Now I have no idea where I can get a new trim for the tank.. And honestly I'm fed up with this to the point of just considering saving up the money for a new tank (Can't afford one right now) and upping the size to a 90 instead of a 75.

This time I'll be adding a foam cushion between the tank and stand as well as a safety measure, and will also make 100% sure the tank and stand are level when setting it up again.

As for the fish, for now the four fish are in a 5 gallon tank with the 75's filter, heater and lights and will have to remain there until the new tank is set up, or I rehome them.. Whichever comes first.

Any suggestions guys? Replacement trim? Or just get a new tank?

 

That's why I make my own stands. Anyway, do you even need trim on the bottom? Allot of trim is for looks. All my tanks are trimless. All long as the stand it's on is even then there shouldn't be an issue. I use poster board under my tanks

 

Ok so.. What I did was take the tank down, take the fish back to the LFS (Except for the angelfish, gourami, bristlenose pleco and german blue ram.) When I was taking the tank down I noticed what was most likely the culprit..

On the back LEFT corner of the stand, the wood that connected at the corner were completely split. The stand must have started falling apart under the weight. The stand was adding a lot of pressure to the trim because the stand was falling apart. Even the center brace on the stand was separating from the front side of the stand.

I took the stand to my LFS with the receipt and they replaced it for me for free (even though it was out of warranty, they did it because I'm a good customer they say.)

So now I'm left with a brand new stand, but the tank is missing the trim all around the tank. I asked the LFS about it and they say they won't be able to get me a replacement trim, I called the chain store that I got the tank from and they say they won't be able to get me a replacement trim.

Now I have no idea where I can get a new trim for the tank.. And honestly I'm fed up with this to the point of just considering saving up the money for a new tank (Can't afford one right now) and upping the size to a 90 instead of a 75.

This time I'll be adding a foam cushion between the tank and stand as well as a safety measure, and will also make 100% sure the tank and stand are level when setting it up again.

As for the fish, for now the four fish are in a 5 gallon tank with the 75's filter, heater and lights and will have to remain there until the new tank is set up, or I rehome them.. Whichever comes first.

Any suggestions guys? Replacement trim? Or just get a new tank?

what a nightmare you are having you have been so lucky it never collapsed ....do you think it will be worth fixing or just get another tank ?????? I wish you were closer to me as I have loads of spare tanks ...

 

Depends, do you want to buy the trim, wait for it to arrive, remove old silicone, add new silicone, then add new rI'm and wait for it to cure? Or get a new tank and have more piece of mind with it and have it under some sort of warranty? lol. Can always sell this old one as an animal cage for someone....reptiles and such to offset costs. Sometimes a new tank is just the easiest and safer way to go. You might even be able to find somewhere with a Dollar per Gal sale going on.

Its up to you really. If you want to go through the work you can get new frames through

 

I appreciate the thought @safzola. I'm going to try removing all of the trim and taking lots of pictures for you guys to help me assess whether it'd be safe without the trim. I don't think it's going to be though so I'm contemplating just replacing the tank.

As for making my own stands.. I'm probably going to next time if this stand somehow started having problems. I can finally sit down and relax a little bit now that all the work is done though.

Edit: Slug I'm just going to get a new tank and put this current tank for sale on craigslist or something in the near future. A bit pricey to buy new but I can get a 90 gallon pre-drilled tank from my LFS for about $350 (I want to put a sump on the tank if I go african cichlids) and I'd have a lot more peace of mind with a new tank with no history of problems.

 

That's why I make my own stands. Anyway, do you even need trim on the bottom? Allot of trim is for looks. All my tanks are trimless. All long as the stand it's on is even then there shouldn't be an issue. I use poster board under my tanks

Really really depends on the glass. Some of these commercially made tanks have thinner glass and its not always a good idea to go trimless. Custom tanks beef the glass up specifically so they can go framless/rimless.

For the record I use neoprene under mine.

 

just get a new tank or even a decent second hand one ...you have had to much bother with your stand and tank time for a change

 

So I've decided at this point I'll sell my 75 gallon aquarium online advertising it as good for reptiles, and put that money aside and save up to buy a new or used (in good shape) 90 gallon. That was a lot of work taking care of everything so suddenly I just want a break and would rather just get things that work.

Or maybe I should consider getting myself a bearded dragon or something ;D

 

ahh you have to get fish its so relaxing or take a step like me and go marine reef ...expensive but wow and I have only just got my 300 litre tank on thursday so I have tropical and now marine it is so amazing

 

That's what my thoughts are, I'm either going 90G african cichlid or 90G FOWLR (Reefs are way too much for me when they get that size, my 29G reef is enough in that regard ;D

 

I am realizing that lol I nearly passed out with the price of live rock

 

I'm going to avoid using live rock altogether for anything except spreading coralline algae. Probably going to use reef saver rock from Bulk Reef Supply so I can pay maybe $2 a lb.

 

I would try contacting the stand manufacturer and see if they will pay for a new tank. I doubt you'll get anywhere with them, but nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.

 

I already got the replacement stand the LFS replaced it as soon as they saw the damage on the stand.

 

What I meant was see if the stand manufacturer will pay for a new tank, since their defective stand caused damage to your tank.

 

What I meant was see if the stand manufacturer will pay for a new tank, since their defective stand caused damage to your tank.

My bad, I misread it the first time. That is pretty unlikely but I'll give it a shot in the morning.

 

Don't worry, I misread stuff also. Yeah, like I said, I don't think you'll get anywhere with them, but it doesn't hurt to ask. The worse they can do is say no

 

True. It does seem pretty unlikely, but I'll give it a shot. I'll let you guys know when they inevitably say no.