1600 gallon aquarium explodes!!

[Floyd R Turbo]

One of our LFS's got a used 1600 gallon acrylic (1-1/2" thick) tank and has been spending the last couple months prepping, piping, building rock display, etc. They filled it starting Wednesday and at 12:30 pm yesterday afternoon, the bottom seal along the back edge gave out and the backside ripped off, dumping all the water (it was full) in 5 seconds. Apparently, they caught it on the store surveillance system, which is brand new and 16 cameras.

Here's the thread about it on our local reef society website. The owner has chimed in a few times. Luckily, he's still alive - he was standing behind the tank when it happened.

http://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/Community/DiscussionForums/tabid/78/aft/21436/afnp/64895/Default.aspx

[t4zalews]

there's no video..i really wanna see the video of this thing blowing out

[Floowid]

We had one let go on us when I worked for a small shop. It was a used acrylic, only about 500 gallons but as tall as it was wide, nearly a cube. It had a little of the spider cracking you see deep in the acrylic of old abused tanks. We were just leak testing it out in the back, and it was nearly full when the front seam let go. Half of us were expecting it and it still scared the crap out of me.

I have stayed far away from used acrylic tanks since.

[Floyd R Turbo]

The video will not be available for about another week. They said it was an insurance thing. I'll let you know when it's up. I want to see it too!!!

The person that was at the register said she didn't even really hear it, there was just water everywhere all of the sudden - no loud bang or crash. Weird.

[t4zalews]

i just picture people being carried off in water to the streets...

[s.reef]

It links to a video. Thats crazy

[TenKreefer]

http://www.whotv.com/news/who-story-aquarium-bursts-120310,0,643901.story

[sedor]

Better in a commercial business that is built to withstand mishaps like this than someones house. Still, that sucks!

[meatball87]

Wow that sucks glad he has insurance

[prop-frags]

Dang - you can see the guy behind the tank running off to the right - it looks like he heard it start to give out just before the back blew out...

[jpsika08]

Wow, it looks like an in-store Tsunami! thanks for sharing.

[tozzi]

Wow that stinks!

[t4zalews]

to be honest...it doesnt look like it caused any damage. Just squeejee <--spelling outside. no harm no foul.

I almost bought a 240g used acrylic tank...if this would of happened to me I would have been SOL

[cdsheid]

No way i saw that tank i go in their regularly. I saw the post and had to see if it happened to be in west des moines ia and i couldnt believe it was. That has to suck it was going to be a great tank.

[Blakeup295]

whoa..

[dzfish17]

After watching that it does make me a little nervous about my tank exploding. Does anyone know how old the tank was or who made it?

Dave

[edandsandy]

Glad no one got hurt....

[Beaun]

Glad no one got hurt....

+1, that has the possibilty of seriously injury.

[cowdust9]

******* is the company that makes the tank

[Floyd R Turbo]

I wonder why that got ***'d out?

[viggen]

hate it when tank manufacturers get bleeped out.....

It would be interesting to know what the actual cause was for the tank to break like that. did the previous owner stress it, did it happen when it was being moved or something somewhere else. I was told by my tank manufacturer (starts with a Ten) that drilling the top for a bulkhead weakens the tank, which is what I figured so I didn't drill it.

[caliking]

I never knew Acrylic could explode like that..

[Floyd R Turbo]

The tank is not repairable by the way, the break did not happen at the seam, the bottom panel split so any repair attempt would be futile. It is now only good for a hamster cage. Or an Iguana cage?

[Bamm Bamm]

I guarantee you they have another claim like that on there insurance and theyll be getting canceled and having a very hard time finding new insurance that really sucks to have happen

[scubasteve06]

Jesus christo!!!

[JTR0510]

i bought a used 300g and same happened here but luckily it was outside while water testing it. said never again to acrylic

[Floyd R Turbo]

I just heard from the staff that insurance covered the total replacement cost fora brand new custom built tank. 8 weeks to arrival!

[noobtothereef]

******* built the tank, and ******* is building them a new one, same dimensions but with thicker material, tank dimensions are 120" long x 48" wide x 60" tall. Tank was not under warranty but theyre insurance is paying for a new one at $26,000, tim the owner is a smart guy and has a writer on his insurance which it allowed the insurance to pay for ther tank and all the damage caused to the store, without that they would be screwed. Its crazy that ******* built a 60" deep tank with 1 1/4" in the first place....

[noobtothereef]

i better not post the manufacturers name, i dont understand why they bleep it out, everybody dogging on glasscages tanks and that never gets bleeped out

[Floyd R Turbo]

FYI Tim is not the owner as far as I know, Scott and his wife are. Tim might be part owner, but not that I've heard.

$26K. WOW.

[Floyd R Turbo]

The replacement 1500 gallon tank is due in about 2 weeks.

[dzfish17]

Thats the same co. that built my tank. They wanted to use 1" on my 46" tall tank but I had them use 1.25 just to be safe. Im sure glad I went with the thicker acrylic. I think the reason you cant use that name here is because there was a problem between them and RC many yrs. ago.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Does it start with a T and end with COR

testing *******

That's the only one I know

Yep that was it. it has ENE in the middle.

[palmer373]

wow i always thought t.enecor is a good tank manufacture, i guess not for using 1 1/4" acrylic on a 60" tall tank?

[bruce 1]

That was Bad!!!!

[sfsuphysics]

I just heard from the staff that insurance covered the total replacement cost fora brand new custom built tank. 8 weeks to arrival!

wonder how they managed that, I get my car totaled and they give me a hookey depreciated value check for it... of course I can't say my car was brand new either... not saying the aquarium did :) ... but if they did they'd be smart not to talk about how a used tank they got for cheap broke :D

[Floyd R Turbo]

They probably have a total replacement cost policy. Plus it's business insurance. Plus it's probably extra premium. You can't really compare a car to this as value depreciates over time quite differently.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Just an update, the new tank was delivered about 2 weeks ago. It got damaged in shipping, so they sent it back. The manufacturer said they were going to try to repair it. I don't think they are destined to have this tank.

I guess the damage was on one of the upper corners along the edge. I stopped in just after they sent it back. It was not a happy day for anyone there.

No definite word on when it might come in...

[nuccadoc]

The 400 I service is from the same company. Their tanks have a lifetime warranty as long as nothing has been modified.


Scott

[Reefnut2010]

Guys, used glass tanks are more likely to go bust than acrylic ones !! The key is to make sure all seams are safe. I bought a used 125g acrylic tank and to be safe had an acrylics shop secure all seams. The tank looked beat up. They made it look brand new !! Best $285.00 I ever spent. The tank, stand,canopy and MH lighting was had for $195.00, so not a bad deal altogether. My tank has been up for over a year. Hopefully it will be up for many more.

[Floyd R Turbo]

It's baaaack!!

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9865.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9867.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9868.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9866.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9869.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9871.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2011%20Aquarium%20Pics/Miscellaneous/Seascapes/IMG_9870.jpg

[anbosu]

Wow that thing is massive.

[dahenley]

i was just about to bump this and see what the status is, but you beat me to it!!!

(thats going to be a noisy tank with that waterfall overflow.....)
do they plan on attaching some kind of pipe to the drains to act like a Durso, or are you not sure??

[Dave1NC]

Hey FRT are you going to set up an ATS on this bad boy?

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yeah, an ATS in the overflow, single sided, 48" wide and 72" tall with about 30 54W T5HOs. That would be the bomb.

I don't know if a durso is in the works, I would imagine if they were going to do it, it would have been done already. The rest of the plumbing is in place

[dahenley]

if a ATS is going in the overflow, then there is no need for a durso.

[Floyd R Turbo]

I didn't say I was doing it. I said it would be the bomb. An ATS that big would have some design issues, taller screens cause more blockage on layers lower on the screen and lose efficiency.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Plus I've got 6 others to build right now...way behind!!

[Floyd R Turbo]

So in case anyone wants to get an earful about how poorly ten e cor builds tanks, go into this store and ask them. Here's a list of what I know of just from stopping in there a few times:

1) After they received the tank the second time, they discovered that after they put the corner round on the outside corners to eliminate the chip, they polished but they didn't buff. So there's a 4" wide or so area up and down 2 of the corner joints that is all hazy.

2) There are vibration marks from cardboard casing that need to be buffed out

3) The drilled the bulkhead holes too far down. They built the sump and stand, and they had the specs, but they in their infinite wisdom forgot to follow them, so instead of being able to 90 right out of the bulkheads down to the sump, they had to do 3 90s.

4) they didn't make the teeth on the overflow tall enough. Again, they had the spec, but just forgot to follow them. They were only like 2" and needed to be closer to 6. As a result, their 14,000 GPH pump system had to be dialed back to 2000. They got the go ahead from ten e cor to make the teeth bigger on their own (!! ON THEIR OWN?!!??) and now they're up to 4000 GPH. But they want to put 2 big dump tanks on it, which right now would overflow the tank

5) They built the tank so that the OUTER dimensions would equal 1500 gallons. With rockwork and all, it actually only holds 1250. And that includes the sump.

All this, for the ultra low price of around $22,000.

[sfsuphysics]

Yikes... I know the store probably doesn't have much money to spend for lawyers, but that would get me cursing up a storm demanding it be rebuilt AGAIN, and again and again until it's done right, to specs that I paid for... or I would simply ask for a refund as they obviously can not keep their contracts.

[deathy17]

that had to suck

[Khazmodain]

Wow I was seriously considering a T e n e c o r for my 180g in wall build. Anyone have any other tank brands they recommend for a 180g acrylic? That is a nightmare... I actually stopped in to see that tank yesterday and everything looked good to me. But I wasn't trying to check out the teeth of the overflow or anything... i was too impressed by the massiveness of the whole thing.

[pmrossetti]

how thick are the walls of the new tank?

[Floyd R Turbo]

I think they're either 1-1/4" or 1-1/2"

[dzfish17]

They made my tank in 08 and I am very pleased with the quality and service that I received. The guy that I dealt with no longer works there so maybe they have had some problems with quality control. I've heard good and bad things about them. My tank arrived exactly as ordered. I guess time will tell as far as the tank staying together.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Iowa Pet Foods & Seascapes in West Des Moines, IA

New tank cycled up and stocked

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7haUsVHTGI

Also their 600 gallon tank, which most of the corals came from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T84OJyVajhU

And their 2000 gallon pond, which used to be a shark tank (hard to see much in this one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1BH8XppyyQ

[fronty]

I tried doing research on the company you guys are referring to. It looks like they went out of business.

[dahenley]

they are no longer in businiess.
they actully just shut down less then 2 weeks ago.

[Floyd R Turbo]

As one of the guys at Seascapes put it, "Couldn't have happened to a nicer company"

[dahenley]

Floyd.

can you give us some updated VIDEO/Pics of the tank?
iowa is a little too far of a drive for me to come check it out... haha

[Floyd R Turbo]

I'll try to remember to bring my camera next time I stop in there. The tank is awesome looking.

[Floyd R Turbo]

You asked for it, here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP0yL0RaTLE

[prop-frags]

looking great...thanks for sharing that update!

[Floyd R Turbo]

Pics from the other day

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1653_zpsecfd183b.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1654_zps44a9cdb6.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1655_zps2af6d545.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1656_zpsdd1ddd8b.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1657_zps6a51ccae.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1658_zps0bdd83f4.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1659_zps1d543a4e.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1660_zps286d10d0.jpg

http://i611.photobucket.com/albums/tt191/FloydRTurbo/2013/Misc/Seascapes/IMG_1661_zpsb401a588.jpg

[Lordhelmet]

That is one massively awesome tank.

[Noamurmac]

that is a huge tank! I am glad the fella who was filling it is ok when the seal let go!

[sfsuphysics]

Damn Floyd I thought we were in store for take-2 of exploding 1600 gallon tank

[Floyd R Turbo]

LOL I hope not! I think their insurance would drop them if that happened. Tank company that made the new one went out of business right after they got it. The shipping company chipped the tank and they sent it back and they rounded off the chipped corner, then shipped it back and it had rubbing marks on it because they didn't protect it right. Then they discovered that they had not cut the overflow teeth as deep as they specified, and drilled the drain holes too low (on a tank that they made the stand for, and the sump for). No wonder they went out of business. So I wonder now that they out gone, can we post *******?

[Floyd R Turbo]

Nope. Ten e you guess the rest. There's a reason they went out of business. The hobby is better off without them around.