tank bowing

[Billy]

I just picked up a 48"long x 12" wide x 19" high tank for use as a
community planted. Upon filling to check for leakage, it bowed out in
the top-middle nearly a full inch! Is my concern justified? I've
never had a tank bow like this before.

--
Billy
----
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[Tynk]

Drain it now.
A tank that has bowed out that much may bust at any time.
It could be fine like that for any number of yrs, but all of a sudden
today's the day and you end up flooding your home and killing fish.
A tank shouldn't bow that much and one that does wasn't made right, or
is missing it's middle brace.
Now....if it's a new tank....take it right back to the store and tell
them it's defective...it bows and should not.
If it was used, try and get your money back if it was somebody you
know.
Or eat the cost, and either sell it (Sold for NOT fish) or use it for
something like a reptile or amphibian tank, or small mammal home, etc.
Just don't use it to hold any more than a few inches of water.

[Steve]

Tynk wrote:
> Drain it now.
> A tank that has bowed out that much may bust at any time.
> It could be fine like that for any number of yrs, but all of a sudden
> today's the day and you end up flooding your home and killing fish.
> A tank shouldn't bow that much and one that does wasn't made right, or
> is missing it's middle brace.
> Now....if it's a new tank....take it right back to the store and tell
> them it's defective...it bows and should not.
> If it was used, try and get your money back if it was somebody you
> know.
> Or eat the cost, and either sell it (Sold for NOT fish) or use it for
> something like a reptile or amphibian tank, or small mammal home, etc.
> Just don't use it to hold any more than a few inches of water.
>

My 14 year old 90 gallon tank, 48 inches long, 24 high and 18 wide, is
filled to the top. I always knew that it bowed out in the middle;
measured it just now, and it bows out about 1/4" in the middle.
Steve

[NetMax]

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
>I just picked up a 48"long x 12" wide x 19" high tank for use as a
>community planted. Upon filling to check for leakage, it bowed out in
>the top-middle nearly a full inch! Is my concern justified? I've never
>had a tank bow like this before.
>
> --
> Billy


A one inch bow over only 4 feet would make me nervous. With those
dimensions, it might be a reptile tank. Check your tank's glass
thickness. According to
http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/glass-thickness.html your sides
should be 10-12mm thick and the bottom 12 to 15mm thick. Another option
is to silicone in a crossbrace, if the sides & bottom are close enough to
spec.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[JUSTIN BOUCHER]

Acrylic tanks have a tendancy to bow more than glass, however, 1" on a 48"
span is a lot of bowing! My next guess would be that the tank was designed
for repiles or the like, not to be filled with water.
As suggested from above, I would return it (if new). If you are unable to
return it, sell it as a reptile tank.

Justin

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
> I just picked up a 48"long x 12" wide x 19" high tank for use as a
> community planted. Upon filling to check for leakage, it bowed out in
> the top-middle nearly a full inch! Is my concern justified? I've
> never had a tank bow like this before.
>
> --
> Billy
> ----
> Beta-Tester
> WinExtra
> Home Socrates
> http://www.winextra.com
> news://news.winextra.com
> About our newsgroups:
> http://www.winextra.com/Default.aspx?tabid=36
>
>

[Billy]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> A one inch bow over only 4 feet would make me nervous. With those
> dimensions, it might be a reptile tank. Check your tank's glass
> thickness. According to
> http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/glass-thickness.html your sides
> should be 10-12mm thick and the bottom 12 to 15mm thick. Another
> option is to silicone in a crossbrace, if the sides & bottom are
> close enough to spec.
> --

Wow. I hadn't thought of that, stupid of me. The side and front glass
is only 6mm thick. With the frame, there is no way to measure the
bottom glass. However, I have 2 75's, (All-Glass, same length, just
deeper and wider) and the front and side glass is only 7mm. I can't
quite wrap my head around Mr. Hunnam's graph, though.


billy