Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank) - split

[AkoAung]

Originally Posted by StevieK

So, what's the bottom line ... Is ATM going to honor their warranty? It has not been 5 years.

Originally Posted by nineball

So no, ATM will not honour their warranty ...........


Am I upset with ATM? Yes I am. I am not going to have ATM define me or this community's accomplishment. I am not going to discuss this aspect of the build anymore and I need all of you to help me do that.
Peter

Bravo, Peter. That's the kind of emotional fortitude and wisdom that's made you successful. And thank you for that.

[Newbie Aquarist]

Peter, as said before, your tank has been an inspiration to countless number of hobbyists including myself. When I was doing my build and had question, you and Mr. Wilson took the time out of your day to offer assistance and ideas no matter how many questions I had. I will always be grateful. Enjoy your hobbyist vacation and I will be looking forward to 2.0. Once again Thank you sir. Wishing you, your wife, your family, and close associates the best.

[swissgaurd]

peter looking forward to the new build. drop off tank would be awesome.
the stand will need some serious engineering.
an overhang reef would suit it fine.
this tank will be even better.
are you thinking glass or acrylic.
I know for glass a lot of Americans come to Ontario to purchase there tanks

vic

[CuzzA]

Just throwing my 2 cents in from a non engineering perspective, so take it for what it is... but I've always imagined having a true reef environment. Where there is a drop off, reef crest, lagoon and beach. Perhaps slope the tank bottom up and create a structure and flow to keep the sand on the beach. Just a thought. Whatever you guys do, I'm sure it will be fantastic.

[klipprand]

Originally Posted by albano

Unless you are requesting rimless or crossbrace less, that is beyond ridiculous, especially for a tank only 24" high!... 2 of my tanks 48"x24"x27"h that are over 20 yrs old, filled and refilled too many times to count, that I believe are ~5/8ths, are still in perfect shape.

Hi Albano, I was requesting no cross-brace, but not rimless, what they called Eurobraced - slim outerbrace for maximum tank access.

[Nammy]

Bump

[Floyd R Turbo]

Originally Posted by Nammy

Bump

why?

[vanmo92]

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

why?

My thoguhts exactly. Seems like one of the more popular threads for like...years. SMH

[kolakao155]

Dear Peter,
My name's Michael, I come from Slovakia and I'm spending two months in Indiana University hospital doing observership getting better at what I do. I was thinking about contacting you and paying you a visit to see you magnificent tank, as the distance is much closer than from my home country, when I've read the last pages of this thread. I was really shocked to find out that the best build I know is no more. It is difficult to understand why, but these things happen, so I wanted to wish you all the best and all the luck with build no. 2.
If anything, in next two months my help in anything is availiable to you.

yours

Michael

[KritikaL]

a truly moving story.

I remember when i was first starting out in the hobby and i looked at tanks like peter's and just thought it was mind blowing... To hear that its broken and is gone gives me a horrible feeling inside!

I hope you get another tank Peter! I cannot wait to see what you do next!

[slosht]

Peter and Shawn,

Just read what happened. What a shame your once beautiful tank has been destroyed. I haz a sad...

Hopefully you choose to move on to Tank 2.0, I do like the concept drop down tank that Mr. Wilson posted.

[sarens]

ok you said to have everyone keep giving you inspiration so I waited a little while to chime in, please do your dream 2.0 you will love it and everyone will be overjoyed to follow along, not just due to your knowledge but also your descriptive and excellent writing style

[pciscott]

Peter first off very sorry for your loss and your positive attitude is inspirational. My tank is a big part of my life and after reading your thread you will have Tank 2.0 as this hobby becomes you.

When you do get down to Tank 2.0 something to think about and can be incorporated into your granite bar top is a back splash. My tank has a built in 1" steel lip the tank engages in and the bottom pane is then glued on the outside as well. This 1/4" steel strap is welded to the stand and would keep the panel from opening up as added protection. My back-splash covers up about 2" of the bottom of my tank and covers this lip. This allows for the tank to be braced on the outside similar to a external top brace on a large glass aquarium. Also the back-splash keeps any glasses or anything else on your bar top from hitting the tank and scratching it. This is on my 400 and while my tank is glass I think this added external brace would offer some added protection. The back splash hides the sand line which in my opinion is very hard to keep clean even though you do loose a little viewing length so a extra couple inches in height of tank helps.

Anyway terrible loss and one thing I have learned in this hobby is you will regret if you do not go bigger with Tank 2.0!

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by DNA

Originally Posted by mr.wilson
On their website is states lifetime warranty for aquariums up to 300 gallons...

This reminds me of an American made toolbox I bought many years ago.
It had a lifetime guarantee stated in big letters so when it broke I got the document and got ready to claim a new toolbox.

Then I noticed the small print. The toolbox was only guaranteed "for the lifetime of the product".
That meant the toolbox was guaranteed until it broke.
I really dislike deception in business so Plano has been on my blacklist ever since.

A big imported local tank had it's warranty void because the stand was not bought with it.
A much higher quality stand was built on site. This is another example how companies free themselves from their guarantees.

I'm pretty sure there will be compensations.

I remember as a kid when my dad signed us up for a membership at the local video store. He asked "is the lifetime membership based on my lifetime or thecstore's?". Let's just say I haven't rented a VHS in a long time.

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by klipprand

Just wanted to chime in briefly on acrylic thickness related to panel length. I have requested a quote from Midwest Custom Aquarium for relatively small 120 gallon aquariums 4'x2'x2'. They would not do less than 1" thickness for a 4' panel. This makes me think on a much larger aquarium like Peter's that the walls thickness should be much greater.

Midwest Custom Aquarium has made a few tanks for me including Peter's 134 gallon bowfront quarantine tank and a few of our sumps.

They do excellent work, have reasonable prices and get the job done on time. They are a pleasure to work with.

[traumajeff]

Originally Posted by nineball

Am I upset with ATM? Yes I am.This part of the journey has been extremely disturbing and depressing for me but that stops here with this post. I am not going to have ATM define me or this community's accomplishment. I am not going to discuss this aspect of the build anymore and I need all of you to help me do that. The high road is the better road in this case, especially if we are going to embark on Peter's Fish Tank 2.0.

Peter

Funny thing happened the other day... I was pumping gas right next to one of the owners of ATM. My immediate thought was to ask him how they were handling this issue (just out of innocent curiosity, as I hadn't kept up on this thread)... then my phone rang. Never did talk to him.

I finally got to catch up on things today. Guess it's good I didn't get that chance!

I'm not sure I could contain myself as well as you did in this post! Much respect for that! It really speaks volumes as to your character and your beliefs! Thanks for sharing and many positive vibes for 2.0!

[GOINGBROKEFAST]

I agree 100% with your thoughts on letting go of the past. The future always holds more than the past, and moving forward show integrity on your part.

[hcrk]

Just wanted to say that I was profoundly shocked and saddened by your description of your recent aquarium disaster.

As someone who has been keeping a very large reef tank (800 Gallons) operating continuously for about 18 years (you may at some point have come across my old Reefcentral thread at http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=373673) I must admit that very affected by your very detailed description.

I think that this may well have been magnified by the fact that I also experienced a very severe reversal about 15 months ago, when my home lost power for 7 days (in mid winter) while I was away on vacation in Africa. Unfortunately, this resulted in the loss of about 70% of fish, that I had been caring for as long as 17 years (including a blond Naso, Purple Tang, Chevron Tang, Achilles Tang etc. etc) and almost all my corals.

As I truly enjoy the hobby and as it is not in my nature to give in to adversity, on my return to my home, I made the decision to do whatever is necessary to bring my aquarium back to it’s former glory.

Frankly, as creating a stable marine ecosystem is more a complex art than a science, it has been a bit of a challenge, and after more than a year I still have not been able to completely restore matters (although I have successfully repopulated the fish inhabitants, I am continuing to experience problems with corals).

In any case, I sincerely hope that you are able to “bounce back” from this disaster and btw as we are in fact “neighbours” (although we have never met), I would love to hear from you so that we can perhaps assist one another in overcoming both current and future problems.

[nickjj]

Peter I am truly sorry for your loss.

I was very lucky to have seen your aquarium in person with a local Reef group when you first started your build and it was truly inspiring. You are a real advocate of best practices for the hobby and marine life in general.

I know that you will come back stronger with Peter's Fish Tank 2.0 especially with Shawn's help right from the beginning. You have one of the best resources in your corner in Shawn to ensure you further improve on everything good that you put into your system.

If you are ever in need of any help I'm just around the corner in Hamilton. Don't hesitate to ask, it would be my honour.

Good luck and all the best.

[csantanavaz]

Originally Posted by nineball

And now for the tank………..The insurance adjuster observed that it was obvious that the rupture happened as a result of the bottom seam of the acrylic panel giving way and two fractures occurred dealing with the distortion from water pressure. This was in his professional opinon a manufacturers defect. There was no prior warning. The panel was cleaned twice a week from the date of installation without a day missing in that entire time. As anyone who has followed this thread knows I wanted to be prepared to share this tank on any day or night without any excuses for the condition of the tank or its inhabitants. I wanted to keep this tank pristine and I did. My annual maintenance cost was $100,000 per year to have the tank cleaned and inspected three days a week and we never missed a single day of that schedule.

Apparently, the house insurance will only cover the water damage NOT the tank or the priceless contents therin. My only recourse then is to establish a dialog with the tank manufacturer in hopes to replace the tank.

I share my thoughts at this point with this community, as this kind of event is not unheard of to members of the large tank forum. Most of the impact of this is emotional. I know everyone is going to say that it is financial not emotional. Let me explain. After the cleanup I had breakfast with my closest friend who asked me what I wanted to do with the future? All of my immediate responses focused on costs to reestablish the tank. He pointed that out and asked me if cost was NOT an issue how would I feel. I hadn’t really thought about that and I realized that I would probably love to do it again only better.

Imagine starting with the accumulated knowledge and experience that we have gained in the last five years and it’s a no brainer. We would have the tank of the century. I am retired and I have learned that this hobby is a very respectable way for someone like myself to spend his time. I have felt well supported by this community in the past and would presume to keep that family together and even grow it substantially.

Again, anyone who has followed this thread knows well I have avoided any discussion whatsoever of costs associated with this build and tank. The reason was that I didn’t want the dialog in on the forum to focus on the finance rather than the accomplishments in discovering best practices in the hobby. I loved sharing the evolution and accomplishments with this community and taking pains to thank those that helped along the way. This has been a community tank that has benefited from some of the best, most passionate players in the world. Folks from Thailand, Romania, Australia, China, United States, Germany, Great Britain, Spain, Russia, Brazil, Peru, Greenland, Iceland, Italy to name but a few, have either visited in person or contributed through this forum community.

I started this journey with limited knowledge and yet we (the folks in this forum) succeeded as a group in building a world-class aquatic marine environment that has been visited and admired by some of the top personalities in this industry. In fact You Tube credits views from 135 countries for a total of 850,000 visitors. Add to that over 2,250,000 views from this community and we can all take a bow.

I feel some relief in sharing this devastating experience with my RC family. I now need to go back to the tank and do some more thinking about where to go from here and perhaps let some of the pain soak in with regard to what has just happened. Stay tuned, as I will keep you all informed of what is to come.

Peter

I have been reading this from start to front today on the trains to and from work. Just got to this part. Genuinely stunned and so sorry for your loss. Ive only been in the hobby properly for a short while and I cant imagine how sick you must have felt.

All the best with the recovery.

[Dino]

Sorry folks but I had to remove a few posts. If you have the desire to donate money you're more than welcome to pursue that through private channels. We can't allow soliciting for donations though due to past experience with some bad apples.

-Dino
RC Staff

[dodgerblew]

Good call Cody. Thank you. Now back to Peters new build

[mr.wilson]

Originally Posted by nickjj

Peter I am truly sorry for your loss.

I was very lucky to have seen your aquarium in person with a local Reef group when you first started your build and it was truly inspiring. You are a real advocate of best practices for the hobby and marine life in general.

I know that you will come back stronger with Peter's Fish Tank 2.0 especially with Shawn's help right from the beginning. You have one of the best resources in your corner in Shawn to ensure you further improve on everything good that you put into your system.

If you are ever in need of any help I'm just around the corner in Hamilton. Don't hesitate to ask, it would be my honour.

Good luck and all the best.

Good to hear from you Nick. Your help was invaluable with the Ripley's Aquarium project.

[nighthawk26]

Where do things stand at this point?

[maboleth]

I followed this thread and Peter's youtube videos for two years even though I was just an anonymous visitor here. I created this username just to express my sympathies and shock of what happened here.

It's relieving to hear that none of you got hurt. Though my greatest sadness comes from the fact that only 10% of those beautiful creatures survived. I cannot bear to think about the fear and stress they felt when their world collapsed in seconds.

That got me thinking about this tank. I won't talk about ATM specifically, but generally speaking, 5 year warranty, whether they want to claim it or not, is extremely short period for this kind of thing. Because that only means that after 5 years, you are left alone and anything could happen. Reading between the lines could tell us there's a reason they opted only for 5 years for +300gal tanks and not 10 or more.

You rebuilt your house and basement, not to mention everything else you did to make it work. In the end this tank was just a framework of the much much bigger, huuuge world, dedication, passion and investment. It should have been rock solid and last a lifetime, not a single digit warranty years.

I don't want to sound as a smart ***, I'm just very sad how this sea world collapsed, thinking what shall be done in the future to avoid these kind of failures at all costs.
Since you will custom build your new tank from scratch (fingers crossed!), please choose and insist on a manufacturer who will be ready to claim at least 10 years and be extra responsible on the craftsmanship.

Stay strong and take good care! Greetings from a fan in Serbia.