melev

Well thats true, at least you know what the failure is. I'm sorry to see that you are yet again having issues with a leaking tank Marc. This definitely makes me want to steer clear of marineland tanks though to be honest. At least the custom ones.

Am I looking at this right? Looks like there is no brace around the top by the overflow and that the tank maker was relying on the silicone to hold the seam together by itself. Maybe I'm missing something...

Blennyman, you are right there is no top brace on that end. but the separation is not the front and back from the end panel, it is just the acrylic facade from the end panel...should have no structural value at all?

Here is what happened though. The tank was probably cut and put together at 60-70 degrees and that acrylic is bowing because it is at 80 degrees and plastic is more susceptible to heat expansion. the acrylic really should just be stuck to the glass not made to be part of the end.

Marc have you called or wrote marineland just so they know what is up. Because this definately appears to be an engineering flaw that would need to be addressed at least for future tanks, mainly mine.

Interesting... The black acrylic and glass definitely would have a different coefficient of expansion. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/li...ents-d_95.html. If I had to guess, I think you are right midnight, in that the acrylic expanded and pushed the seams apart. The coef for acrylic is >> coef for glass. The thing is that if there were a brace at the top of the tank, the acrylic likely would have bowed (wrinkled?) instead of pushing out the seams. If that IS the case, I'd say marineland doesn't have any business selling this type of custom tank - this type of failure should have been predicted before it left the shop... They committed two cardinal sins here. 1) mixing materials (glass and acrylic) and 2) omitting a structural brace on top of the tank. Bummer Marc.

Also, they may technically get out of a warranty because of the printed piece of paper, but we'll get a chance to see their customer service in action when a situation does fall outside of the paper guidelines. Hopefully this is covered. How does your livestock look Marc?

I am thinking that IF (a big if) you are able to some how get that hole mended in the side you could possibly throw some hang on overflows on the tank so the water no longer finds it's way into the silicone again and possibly run with that for now to buy a little time for a more permanent solution is decided on. If I could afford to take the time off from work Marc I would be on a plane now to help in any way possible!

Another thing to consider is that, yes silicone will not seal if an area is wet but there are other products that could possibly work in the meantime. I have used the two part epoxy we use for coral frags to seal up a steady stream before and it is still holding to this day (I promise it was nothing major or even a leak that would damage anything.) I know thats not what your looking for but it may be worth a try. Or anything else along those lines, I don't know what the active ingredients are in WaterWeld or if they are reef safe but it is also useable underwater or on wet surfaces.

Originally Posted by Midnight

Here is what happened though. The tank was probably cut and put together at 60-70 degrees and that acrylic is bowing because it is at 80 degrees and plastic is more susceptible to heat expansion. the acrylic really should just be stuck to the glass not made to be part of the end.

I've not looked inside the overflow in a few months, but remember that I took that picture with the tank half empty. With the water pressure up to the teeth, the black acrylic would abut the glass evenly.

I'm waiting to hear back from Marineland, they are aware of the situation. I just had a friend ask me what I'm feeling about the situation, and I'm simply rolling with the punches. These are issues beyond my control, and in the end they need to decide if they want to get involved or not.

@matt: Even with the printed design being sent out prior to it being built, its a design hey approved and signed off on. Which in my mind still makes them liable to honor their warranty. Regardless of all that though I would think just for publicity sake alone they should get on top of fixing the tank as this mishap going on with a meticulously maintained custom 400g that did nothing but show off their craftsmanship at a VERY young 13-14 months old has failed in this manner is a HUGE amount of negative publicity.

Sorry to hear this!

Yeah - ideally they would either bless the design or make you sign a waiver. Regardless, the cost of the tank is really a small fraction of the actual cost you'll pay to remedy the situation (blood, sweat, tears). On a lighter note, if you send me some of your refugee coral, I promise to take pictures for you every once in a while!

Is it possible the weight of the drain pipes is pulling downward on the external overflow box, causing it to separate? How are the drain pipes supported when they route under the stand?

On your other pic showing the leak, the drain pipes appear to be closer to the tank at the bottom than they do at the top where connected to the overflow box. I don't have any personal experience with overflow boxes, so I'm not sure how rugged they might be in this regard.

Seam looks compromised that is for sure. Something is not right with that silicone seam, now the water is in the seam you can see what a poor job they did during construction. The way the seam bubbled leads me to believe the silicone didn't cure properly.

The white, is moisture in between the silicone. It is the same thing that happens to a coffee table when you put a hot cup on it and the moisture gets beneath the finish.

Marc that just makes me sick, I wish you the best of luck getting this ironed out

Wow Marc, so sorry to hear you are dealing with this. It's always my suspicion that silicone is a fickle sealant and on large projects there are so many elements that can affect its performance. One thing you can do as a temporary fix is use Splash Zone which can be found online and at any decent marine store. It adheres to anything, cures under water, and is made for a salt water environment. Obviously this failure will mean the tank will have to be dismantled, but this epoxy will give you more time. I would also strap the entire tank to keep the hole from growing. Marineland may have better suggestions of course, but from my experience, that's what I would do. Once again, sumps in the living room!

Originally Posted by jlemoine2

Is it possible the weight of the drain pipes is pulling downward on the external overflow box, causing it to separate? How are the drain pipes supported when they route under the stand?

On your other pic showing the leak, the drain pipes appear to be closer to the tank at the bottom than they do at the top where connected to the overflow box. I don't have any personal experience with overflow boxes, so I'm not sure how rugged they might be in this regard.

The overflow box itself isn't loose, it is still firmly glued to the tank and looks perfect. That is why I couldn't really understand where the leak was coming from, but it was obvious that it lost its integrity because the tank was drained down but the leak continued slowly until the overflow section was completely empty.

I've done my best not to tug or put pressure on the overflow, even when siphoning water out of it for the QT. I didn't lean my arm on it as I held the tubing because you just never know.

It has a glass strip glued beneath the overflow horizontally across the full width of the tank to help support it.

Wtf? I'm headed to bed man. My day was bad but this is beyond my scope.I'm looking at my brand new but as yet empty 180 and I'm staring at those seams and saying "hmmm..." I wish there was some way I could help you Marc. The only plus i can think of is at least you were home to catch it.Damn...

Really looking at the pictures I would hazard a guess that the acryllic panel was forced into place and sealed after the tank was assembled thus pre stressing the silicone seams at that end of the tank. The bowing and fracture lines look obvious to me. i'm not an engineer and i know that doesn't help you Marc but i think the builder should be on the hook for this no two ways about it.

any updates?