55 gal center brace failure

[HarleyK]

Yikes, I noticed last night that my center brace connection to the front of the frame had cracked, and there was already a quarter inch gap: The front glass pane was blowing out. Sorry, I didn't take a picture at that time but instead got two pieces of wood and a clamp as fast as I could, as a temporary fix at least for the night. I tightened the clamp to eliminate the gap, not sure if it shows up on the last picture. I am headed out this morning to find a brand new 55 gallon in one of the fish stores around. Wish me luck.

 

[Deadeye]

That happened to me a few years back. I heard a loud pop and didn’t think much of it. I returned a few hours later to find the whole thing bowing out. It was the perfect excuse to upgrade…

 

[kno4te]

Dang that sucks. Good luck!

 

[HarleyK]

. It was the perfect excuse to upgrade…

Haha! The 55 was actually an upgrade from a 33 gal a few years ago. Same footprint, I could keep the stand.
This is the first time I had a tank go bad within just a few years. I'll have to look into a warranty claim. Aqueon has a 5 year replacement warranty on this size tank...

 

[duanes]

I used 2 similar C-clamps on my 180 after an earthquake pulled apart the seams.
They lasted until a stronger quake made the tank unfillable.,

After that tank came apart, I bought one with euro-bracing


The last couple tremors its held up preet well.

 

[HarleyK]

duanes yikes, earthquakes, and fishkeeping don't mix well...

 

[HarleyK]

Out with the old, in with the new

 

[HarleyK]

I normally try out new tanks by filling them up in the garage for several days, just to make sure there isn't a slow leak. I don't have that luxury today, so few hours have to do.

 

[HarleyK]

Just about five hours between putting the plug on the filter to get started on the tank swap and plugging it back in.
Not the way I had planned on spending my Sunday, but much better than mopping the floor.

 

[HarleyK]

Just to close this story: My LFS where I had bought the tank told me to contact Aqueon customer service and wished me good luck. They no longer sell Aqueon tanks after customers had their new tanks fail sometimes within months.
Aqueon customer service didn't apologize for my tank failure, was totally transactional and issued me a complete refund. Yes, I needed the original receipt, which I still had. But it was a couple of years old and the thermal paper print was illegible with the naked eye. I had to experiment with cell phone photo and a Xerox to bring out the original print. Lesson learned: make a photocopy of the purchase receipt!

HarleyK