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Re: Exploding glass, unven floors, 90 gallons, should I be worried?



>I have slightly uneven floors, the cement slabs are
>not that even, and Ive always been kinda concerned.
>
>Are there any warning signs that my tank is going to
>go?

Well, just from reading other people's horror stories over the years, I'd
say most people see the *silicone caulking at the seams* fail before they
see a glass panel fail. The caulk can seperate from the glass a bit and
usually will produce a rather slow leak. It's repairable too -- but results
in some serious effort to do it right.

As others here have said, it is your stand rather than the floor that will
have the most effect on your tank. I'm not a big fan of the foam-under-tank
method of evening the base, since it isn't all that difficult to make a
wooden stand properly -- and the wood will work better. I just don't think
the force a piece of foam can generate on a gap will result in enough
additional support to have any real benefit. The LFS-sold steel stands that
I have seen are *terrible* though. Absolutly under rated. Every one I have
seen for the larger tanks (90+ gallon) will very noticeably bow in the
center resulting in about 1/8" or more of a gap between the stand and the
bottom of the tank. For anyone who wants a steel stand, have a welding shop
make it! Use some heave steel angle stock.

If you are in area where you don't have to worry much about aesthetics, but
are worried about a leak, you could put a large plastic tray under your
tank that would help to contain anything but a catastrophic leak. If you
can't get a tray big enough, you can order a sheet of 1/16" polyethelene
that can be rolled to save on shipping, and then you can easily cut it and
glue it to form a big plastic tray.

     -Bill

*****************************
Waveform Technology
UNIX Systems Administrator