what can i use this for now?? darn it

[agreeive?fish]

well i moved several months ago, i went to start setting up my 175g bowfront and noticed the bottom trim is broken about 1/3 of the way in from one end with small kids its not worth the chance of a blow out to me.. i thought i heard a crack when i moved it but wasnt sure with all the other noise around at the time..

i have 2 other tanks a 200g and a 210g so its not a major issue ill just have to cut down my dream fish list (which willmake the wife happy)

what can i use this tank for now

a planter? i can kill tresteralplants easier than i can grow weeds in my lawn

a terrarium?(assuming it still holds water) as a small amount of water wouldnt put much strain on it would it?

any suggestions before my wife finds out and claims it for a porcilin doll display

[nrbelk]

Lizards!

[Floowid]

^^^

[Allmost]

SNAKEs lol

but 175 is big ! Id paint the sides and make it a smoking room away from the wifey LOL hahah

well GFs in my case lol

[sunil6784]

Depending on where the crack is, you could silicone some pieces of plexi and make a small "pond." Throw in a heat lamp, sticks, rocks, sprinkler system, lizards, frogs, fish and you have a pretty neat jungle terrarium.

[MCCOOL]

Here is a picture of my 29g terrarium, it houses a red eye tree frog. the false bottom and background are made of great stuff, and the background has pots great stuffed in to hold plants.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/jmccool03/1279566382.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v618/jmccool03/1279566401.jpg

[MCary]

Can't you replace the trim?

[MCary]

Can't you plastic weld the trim, glue, it, brace it. Does it really provide that much support? Isn't the silicone enough?

[agreeive?fish]

Can't you plastic weld the trim, glue, it, brace it. Does it really provide that much support? Isn't the silicone enough?


MCary

i honestly dont have a clue on an answer to the above questions,as far as replacing the trim i dont know , i just found out about the crack just before i posted my origionalpost so i havent checked into anything but i do know that oceanic now longer makes the i75g bowfront but all glass makes a 155g with the same foot print.. but i have heard numerous times about issues with bowfronts leaking and since its the bottom where all the pressure would be iam leary of it now 175g of poop filled saltwater on the floor would not sit well with the wifey in her 6 month old house

[Neogenocide]

I would check around, I'm would bet that you can still order a new frame for it. Remove the old one, install the new one, voila...tank is good as new.

Scott

[mallorieGgator]

Get a leopard gecko for your kids. My hubby and I have 4 and they're great...just don't get it from a pet store. :( Go to www.geckoforums.net and look through their vendors and read the care sheets.

[BloodyWelsh]

the trim on the bottom is more or less for decoration, as long as the silicone isnt "compromised" the tank should still be fine.

[agreeive?fish]

i guess iam gonna do a water leak test today and see from there... i have my wet/dry vac handy .. i sit for hours last night trying to cut my fish wish list down to accomidate the loss of this tank space and its not getting anywhere when you figgure in my must haves and the wifes must haves the list just dosent move enough to compensate for the space loss

the problem is i have to do the water test indoors because the current temps outside the evap rate would be way to fast to notice a seeping type leak

[Flame_Angel]

You can usually get replacement trim for aquariums as that have them, but I think he's concerned that if the trim is cracked, the glass may be also. Agreev, you won't know if it's broken there until you take off the trim. If the glass is unbroken and the silicone is intact, you can still safely use the tank.

[agreeive?fish]

GOOD NEWS...no its GREAT news

the glass and silicone are fine bnack to my origional stocking plans (after setup/cycle and the winning lottery ticket

[jerseyhokie]

the trim on the bottom is more or less for decoration, as long as the silicone isnt "compromised" the tank should still be fine.

This is contrary to everything ive ever been told. Hydrostatic pressure will be greatest on the bottom. The tank is designed to hild the pressure without the brace new, but i wouldnt trust it after a few years. Hear so often about people "making" their own rimless only to have it collapse and flood. My 2 cents, with a tank that big, look for a new frame. 10 or 20 gallons and only 12" deep it wouldnt worry me but 175 does.

[agreeive?fish]

This is contrary to everything ive ever been told. Hydrostatic pressure will be greatest on the bottom. The tank is designed to hild the pressure without the brace new, but i wouldnt trust it after a few years. Hear so often about people "making" their own rimless only to have it collapse and flood. My 2 cents, with a tank that big, look for a new frame. 10 or 20 gallons and only 12" deep it wouldnt worry me but 175 does.


my thoughts as well,i got a call in to a couple places about getting a replacment strip, also got a call in to a couple of my aircraft buddies to see what plastic welding/adhesive products are avaliable( i have been retired and out of the field for a few years now and things change).. i am in no hurry its been sitting for 6 months so a while longer is not gonna make any diffrence in the long run.
it worries my wife more than me but since i want to continue to live with her and my kids its gotta be redone/fixed/replaced before i go any further..

[Flame_Angel]

This is contrary to everything ive ever been told. Hydrostatic pressure will be greatest on the bottom. The tank is designed to hild the pressure without the brace new, but i wouldnt trust it after a few years. Hear so often about people "making" their own rimless only to have it collapse and flood. My 2 cents, with a tank that big, look for a new frame. 10 or 20 gallons and only 12" deep it wouldnt worry me but 175 does.
Except that the pittance of a plastic trim piece isn't going to be able to hold back the weight of that water if the silicone and glass decides to let go. The trim is there for just that...trim. With rare exception, plastic trim gives very little in the way of structural integrity.

[MCary]

Another thing you can do, it to band the bottom with fiberglass tape or metal banding if you can keep it from getting wet, then just cover the band with trim around your stand.

[agreeive?fish]

got a email into the tec dept of the mfg..waiting for a reply as i got tired of stupid voice mail(voice mail is the worst invention ever concived)

[Flame_Angel]

If you do discover that the tank is busted, I'll echo what someone else said earlier...turn it into a beast of a terrarium!

[agreeive?fish]

ok i got a reply from the mfg technical support dept.

basicly the bottom trim provides little if any structual integrity for the tank.. the tank is safe to use... the top trimis the one that provides the strucual support

so the tank is gonna be used for the fish i origionaly planned to use it for but the wife is very keen on the terium idea mainly the small lizzards or colorfull tree frogs so it looks like ill be buying a tank tomake a terrium out of thinking a walmart 55g or something off craigs list with small frogs and or lizzards(research time) with a pool of guppies (or the like as long as they are small and colorfull) and plants of course (water and trestreal)

tjamks for all the replys

[Jormungandr]

sucks you decided to buy one now, the petco tank sale just ended

[agreeive?fish]

sucks you decided to buy one now, the petco tank sale just ended


oh i have enough honey do's and my own projects to occupy my time until next years tank sale.. i have a lot of research to do before i start a tarerium