What are the odds of 370 Gallon acrylic tank failing?

[romeorose]

I am thinking about buying this Tsunami 370-Gallon 120"Lx24"Wx36"H Rectangular Acrylic Aquarium from fishtanksdirect website for $4,925 for a Fish Only Live Rock setup.

Here's my question....

What are the odds that at some point in time this aquarium could or will fail and start leaking water or all together just burst apart at some point all of a sudden?

I mean that's ALOT of water and I think that could do quite a lot of damage to a home, as well as maybe be a safety risk I mean if 370 gallons of water pour out all of a sudden what's to stop that from pouring into electrical outlet strips and electrocuting me or something.

Plus here's another thing, this is almost $5,000, if I buy this, I need it to last for my life, I'm not going to want to ever buy this twice.

By the time I add on the stand/canopy, equipment, rocks/fish, I will have almost $10,000 in this... So I just want to get an idea on how high the risk is of this tank failing before I commit to this large of a financial investment.

Also, one last question.....

Would a tank of these dimensions be suitable for an adult Emperor Angel??? Because that's the main reason I want to get a large tank.

I also will want to put 5 different Tangs, a clownfish, a flame angel, and several gobies in with it.

I plan on having VERY -minimal- rockwork in the tank, just enough to give the fish enough hiding places, but defenitly not a WALL of rock that you see in most tanks, I want to aquascape an Island on one half of the tank, and leave most of the other half of the tank free from rock, I want the fish to have plenty of swimming room, plus I want to use this tank to divide a large living sleeping space, a room on a concrete grade slab, a big room 24 Feet wide and 36 feet long. I want to use the tank to sort of divide the sleeping part of the room from the sitting area part. So I like the idea of being able to see through the tank.

[mcgyvr]

No one can say it won't ever fail...

[homer1475]

Agreed.

Too many factors involved on saying if or when it would fail.

Just remember, its a glass/acrylic box holding water it could fail at any time. It's the chance we take when keeping aquariums.

[McPuff]

You may also want to consider the depth (front-back) of the tank. 24" seems like nothing for a 10' long tank. Right after you set this up you'll wish you had gone with at least 36" or maybe even 48". You would not regret that choice I'm sure!

[nereefpat]

I'm getting more like 450 gallons.

At that size, I'd rather have acrylic than glass. Will it fail? Depends on how it is made, panel thickness, bracing, etc.

Plenty of room for the 5 tangs, the flame angel, and get as many gobies as you want. The emperor angel would be fine as well. Although at nearly 15", you could argue that a little wider back to front would be better.

[billdogg]

You may also want to consider the depth (front-back) of the tank. 24" seems like nothing for a 10' long tank. Right after you set this up you'll wish you had gone with at least 36" or maybe even 48". You would not regret that choice I'm sure!


This.

IMHO, a tank that long and that (relatively) narrow will look strange and be difficult to aquascape. I would suggest at least 36" width as well, and probably go shorter just due to the difficulty of getting to the bottom of a
36" deep tank and issues getting good lighting unless it will be a Fish only system.

Will it fail? Probably not, if constructed properly and set up correctly.

[ca1ore]

I just bought a tsunami tank from them. In my case it's a 400/450, 96" long x 36" wide x 30" tall. They appear to calculate tank volume based on internal dimensions rather than external (which is the way most tank makers claim size). Measured from ID, mine is 400; from OD, 450. I did ask them to go up a thickness - so 1" acrylic instead of 3/4". Not because I necessarily thought 3/4' was insufficient, but because the cost difference was modest and the peace of mind priceless. In your case, the 36" height is driving up the cost - probably requires 1 or even 1 1/4" acrylic. May want to consider 120x30x30; it's $700 cheaper.

My tank is still dry, so no experience with its ability to hold all that water; the build quality is excellent though.

[Sk8r]

New, less chance than old, unless there's a manufacturing defect. Otherwise, dependent on thickness of walls, design, including bracing, and proper manufacturing. i had a 100 gallon that after a number of years began to develop crazing on the top bracing (hairline cracking of surface); and the rimless 50 gallon sump began to bow. I have a rimless 30 gallon sump that is 7 years old, and it was bowing so badly after two years I reinforced the rim with aluminum channeling strips, which stopped it.

[Timfish]

Just FYI but there are different ways to build a tank to insure a better life expectancy. Thicker than standard panels to give a more glue surface and rsist bowing that torques the glue joint over time. Using a 2 part self-polimerizing adhesive like SciGrip's #40 gives a much stronger glue joint than single part adhesives. Having a steel frame top and bottom helps improve life expectancy. Having a FRP frame for top, bottom and all four corners is probably the best bet for longevity (here's one system done that way: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2292029 )

[Tripod1404]

With a tank that big, I would make sure my home insurance policy covers damage caused by a failed aquarium (not the damage caused to the aquarium but damage caused by it). Talk to you insurance agency and make sure they put the words "damage caused by aquarium" in there.

They will insist water damaged is already covered, but if tank fails and you call them, they insist that part only covers damage due to plumbing. So just to be safe, make sure word "aquarium" is in the policy.

Actually, with a tank that big, you might want to insure the aquarium and livestock in it as well :).

[mcgyvr]

Oh and BTW... Now that you asked.. Its going to fail..

Odds increase anytime you think or talk about it..
Blame Murphy...