How long will it last?

[T1000]

Have you guys ever wonder how long will your fish tank last? before the silicon give way?

had a bad experience just last nite...no not my own tanks but belonging to my brother...his 4ft tank silicon gave way & leaked! he has got a 18in arowana inside! this is his second leakage!

have search internet for an answer but a lot of numbers were observed...some say 4-5 yrs, some say 17-18 years!

after the bad experience my brother had, i can't help but kept wondering when must i replace my tank which is already coming to 4 yrs.

[Mudskippy]

Normally a tank can last at least 5 yrs plus, max not sure, depend on quality of silicon used and the skills of tank maker.

Since it is already 4 yrs old for ur tank, for peace of mind, it is time for a new one...:) Prevention always better than sorry...;)

[SoToNgMaN]

Normally a tank can last at least 5 yrs plus, max not sure, depend on quality of silicon used and the skills of tank maker.

Since it is already 4 yrs old for ur tank, for peace of mind, it is time for a new one...:) Prevention always better than sorry...;)
1 of my 4 feet by 2 feet tanks easily 10 years leh ... those without bracing or center brace one ..

[akoh]

Past experience : 10 over yrs ! BUT each time the leaking start after I did some maintenance work on the tank eg pruning and replanting the plants or shifting the drift wood etc SO ! like the saying goes : If it ain't broken Don't fix it ! :D :D

[Mudskippy]

Smaller tanks tend to have longer usage time, since the water pressure on the glass is relatively smaller compare to bigger tanks ie. 6ft and above.

It is not a joke for a 6ft or above tank "explose" suddenly... Again, it really depend largely on the skills of tank maker who did the work, and type of silicon used...

[T1000]

Smaller tanks tend to have longer usage time, since the water pressure on the glass is relatively smaller compare to bigger tanks ie. 6ft and above.

It is not a joke for a 6ft or above tank "explose" suddenly... Again, it really depend largely on the skills of tank maker who did the work, and type of silicon used...

agree...no joke! my parents freaked out when they saw my bro's tank leaked! flooded the whole living room!!! water gushing out unstoppable...i was so afraid the aro will panic & started whacking around in the tank...sure gonna make the tear at the silicon worst!

i guess this is a case of poor tank worksmanship:mad:...2 times in a row...

[Edmundo]

Normally a tank can last at least 5 yrs plus, max not sure, depend on quality of silicon used and the skills of tank maker.

Since it is already 4 yrs old for ur tank, for peace of mind, it is time for a new one...:) Prevention always better than sorry...;)

Raise both hands and both leg...... quality of silicon and workmanship very impt...... i do agree that there are tank maker giving competitive rates, however, there are certainly different betw....

If the tank is constantly used, and on the basis of from a reputated tank maker... easyily 10 yrs...... provided one dun decomm it and dry it under sun or exposed to chemical, i.e Thinner to remove water mark etc......

[Edmundo]

agree...no joke! my parents freaked out when they saw my bro's tank leaked! flooded the whole living room!!! water gushing out unstoppable...i was so afraid the aro will panic & started whacking around in the tank...sure gonna make the tear at the silicon worst!

i guess this is a case of poor tank worksmanship:mad:...2 times in a row...


Twice at the same place? what did your bro did to the first leak? hepatch the leak of re-silicon it?

Re-patching will n0t last......... a correct method is re-silicon....

[lyh]

Actually leaking abit still ok, at least still got time to react. What I'm more afraid is the silicon give way and the whole front panel falls off. That one more jia lat.

By the way resilicon will not last if you do not do a good job like scraping off the old silicon CLEAN and everything. Last time I resilicon my 2ft tank and it lasted for only 2 yrs before it started to leak again. :(

[T1000]

Twice at the same place? what did your bro did to the first leak? hepatch the leak of re-silicon it?

Re-patching will n0t last......... a correct method is re-silicon....

i think he replaced the whole tank.

and indeed i was very afraid the whole front glass panel may drop as i got a very panicky aro inside that is dashing around!

[Edmundo]

Actually leaking abit still ok, at least still got time to react. What I'm more afraid is the silicon give way and the whole front panel falls off. That one more jia lat.

By the way resilicon will not last if you do not do a good job like scraping off the old silicon CLEAN and everything. Last time I resilicon my 2ft tank and it lasted for only 2 yrs before it started to leak again. :(

Poor workmanship............... :D

[Edmundo]

i think he replaced the whole tank.

and indeed i was very afraid the whole front glass panel may drop as i got a very panicky aro inside that is dashing around!

what is ur glass thicker? IMHO, workmanship is really veri impt...... i.e. cleaning of glass before bonding of silicone, how well is the silicone been cured etc.....h0w need is the silicone applied...... actuali another point to note, i see some LFS sell new bare tank, often, they display them outside and often exposed to sun, after prolong exposure, the silicone bonding definitely deteriorate..... this may be a possible caused aso.....

Frankly speaking, so far i haven experience any tank leak before..... rather blessed....... hope it will n0t happen to me.... :)

[T1000]

as the title suggested....my 4ft pleco tank is really seeping water from its base:mad: eheim tank somemore! only used for 4yrs:mad:

spent the last 2.5hrs transferring my plecos to a 2ft tank and another 3ft fibre-glass tank....siong:(

[SoToNgMaN]

definitely not a joyful event ....

but definitely a good time to visit a reputable tank maker for a bigger tank .. :D

[akoh]

as the title suggested....my 4ft pleco tank is really seeping water from its base:mad: eheim tank somemore! only used for 4yrs:mad:

spent the last 2.5hrs transferring my plecos to a 2ft tank and another 3ft fibre-glass tank....siong:(

Bro, look at the brighter side ! time to upgrade to bigger tank ! 6 footer ! :)

[T1000]

wah! all so poisonous one....keep asking me to upgrade bigger tank:D
come to think about it...its the best excuse now:D

[Edmundo]

wah! all so poisonous one....keep asking me to upgrade bigger tank:D
come to think about it...its the best excuse now:D

big tanks can keep more plecos and bigger in size aso..... most importantly u dun have to comtemplate to offload some in order for others to come in...... most imptly... L24/L64 whip beri long....no big tank hos to let it grow nice? :D

[T1000]

big tanks can keep more plecos and bigger in size aso..... most importantly u dun have to comtemplate to offload some in order for others to come in...... most imptly... L24/L64 whip beri long....no big tank hos to let it grow nice? :D

another poisonous one:)

[akoh]

wah! all so poisonous one....keep asking me to upgrade bigger tank:D
come to think about it...its the best excuse now:D

No lah ! with the increase in area of silicon contact of thicker glass and also due to lenght of glass panel on bigger tank particularly a 6 footer, the ultimate tensile strength should logically be more than the smaller tank ! in this case a 4 footer ! this theory sure jalan one ! :D :D

[T1000]

No lah ! with the increase in area of silicon contact of thicker glass and also due to lenght of glass panel on bigger tank particularly a 6 footer, the ultimate tensile strength should logically be more than the smaller tank ! in this case a 4 footer ! this theory sure jalan one ! :D :D

talking about strength, my eheim tank cabinet design kinda funny, the wood base is centrally supported by the cabinet below, so due to the water seepage, the two corner of the wood base (width wise) start to 'pock'!!! if i didn't notice....the whole tank surely gonna come crashing down:eek:

[SoToNgMaN]

will full bottom euro bracing resist leaks better?

[akoh]

Yes, especially for bigger tank.

[NKS8]

Have you guys ever wonder how long will your fish tank last? before the silicon give way?

had a bad experience just last nite...no not my own tanks but belonging to my brother...his 4ft tank silicon gave way & leaked! he has got a 18in arowana inside! this is his second leakage!

have search internet for an answer but a lot of numbers were observed...some say 4-5 yrs, some say 17-18 years!

after the bad experience my brother had, i can't help but kept wondering when must i replace my tank which is already coming to 4 yrs.

boss the answer is HENG or SUAY. put in other words depends on:

quality of silcon
skill of tank maker
what type of fish you keep
has the tank been dried for a period to time
has the tank or support be shifted before
strength of support

my experience, some tanks at farm used for 20yrs and still doing fine, some 3 year leaked liao.

[lyh]

Has anyone experienced his/her tank suddenly explode because of the water pressure? Or will this happen in the first place?

[NKS8]

Has anyone experienced his/her tank suddenly explode because of the water pressure? Or will this happen in the first place?

once, almost cannot see daylight and go six feet under!!!!!

[T1000]

siong man...tank delivered at around 3pm yesterday, now then i finished setting up the tanks:o

effective size of tanks is 7x2x2 (effective cos its two tier 3.5ft):D

top housed the larger specimens, bottom housed the small ones (now got more space liao:D)

[SoToNgMaN]

7x2x2?

thats a pretty big tank I'll say

[T1000]

7x2x2?

thats a pretty big tank I'll say


effective length:D
its actually 2 tier 3.5X2X2