over the past 2 days ive been filling the 8x2x2 tank to test my sealing job and what not... anyways, this morning i get up, and the tank was half full, no leaks, and i go to fill it to the 3/4 mark and these 2 glass braces in the middle of the tank... they both detatched and fell into the water right as i hit the 3/4 mark, and i broke out my tape measure and found the middle of the tank now is a half inch wider than either end. i stopped filling and am in the process of redraining the tank. no other damage that i can see, it never started leaking but that is still highly disturbing to me... officially at a loss for words now. sigh. at the suggestion of nickisue im going to try to put them back with more silicone... altho apparently there was enough load on it that the stuff pulled off the glass cleanly... so scary.

Please do take care you get it resealed properly.
I've just been reading a thread on MFK with a guy having the same problem.

www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showth...highlight=300+busted
He didn't fix the braces properly and 1 hour after refilling the tank EXPLODED!
I'm not kidding, you need those braces to work perfectly!

Call the guy you bought it from too. Geeze such a long narrow tank... Go to a hardware store maybe, they might have ideas if you find an oldtimer.

it held all day before i drained it...

ouch! that is too bad Win.... how thick is your glass?

in most tank that i had built, whenever a tank size exceeded the 4 ft mark,
i usually recommend an angle bar bracing, top and bottom. aside from being a
carrying support, it really prevent the sagging that tends to break the glass
panel. for 5ft tank, a flat aluminum strip or flexiglass in the middle across
could help hold on against sagging. there are times if it did not sagged,
sealant on the corners dis-integrate.

its half inch thick.

i just thought i might just get some pipe clamps for making tables maybe... maybe...

Win wrote:


But it's supposed to go longer than a day....

Noddy wrote:




:angry:

I'm sorry you're having trouble with it Win, I know how excited you were to get it tested and set up.

Silicone don't stick to old silicone so remove old stuff well. give lots of time to dry and make sure you get a silicone that will hold. I recommend a High modulus marine silicone like "bond it" premiere HA6. Close call win )))))

iknow marcus! i cleaned the old stuff out with a razor and washed it with iso alchohol and evertyhing i resiliconed is holding fine! i just didnt think id have to redo those braces like that! i didnt for a couple reasons, mainly i couldnt see under there and didnt wanna be blindly jabbing around with a razor blade lmao! but yean with them out of the way... i can clean it up really nicely...

BUT THE ONLY PROBLEM NOW.... there is no longer that half inch wider opening so i have NO CLUE how the hell im going to get them back into that opening!!!

im going to get some construction grade adhesive specifically for glass, or epoxy that shit back in. i dont trust silicone at this point for this job lol... its all above the water line so i should be able to get away with non aquarium approved product. and i am definatly going to build some kind of brace for that... i cant trust something that i have seen fail now to do the job by itself!