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Up at 5am.. to water all over the floor.

4K views 32 replies 10 participants last post by  brownmane 
#1 ·
I woke up this morning because my dog was growling, turned on the light in the living room and...

the front of my brand new 29g has a crack down the front.

Thank God my dog woke me up or I' would've woken up this morning to a living room of water. I rushed and got my python and emptied the tank. Luckily I just had a few plants and some driftwood so my plants are floating and my driftwood is soaking.


This was a 29g starter kit I got 2 weeks ago from Petsmart. Im worried they arent going to take it back because I dont have my receipt.. I did use my pet perks card and I have my top-fin "bag-o-useless-info" with the free fish food and stuff. Has anyone had any experience with them in this situation?


I need to try to get a new tank today, I have a shipment of plants arriving today or tomorrow. This stinks..:-(
 

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#2 ·
Yeah that sure does stink. Luckily you didn't have it fully stocked. Did you pay by credit or debit card by any chance? You could print a copy of your bank or credit card statement that shows the transaction.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
#6 ·
if you have too many problems with petsmart, you can always try contacting topfin directly. a lot of the time manufacturers care more about their reputation than chain stores do and will do more for you.
 
#8 ·
Just called them, they said they will take it back since I know the exact date I bought it. I also printed the transaction off of my online billing.

And both my plant shipments should be arriving today, just in time! What a crazy Friday..

Any ideas what could cause a crack like this? Im going to be paranoid its going to happen again. I mean, this crack is MASSIVE.
 
#9 ·
was it level when you set it up? that could put too much stress on a certain part of the tank but i doubt it would have cracked that quickly. it's still necessary to make sure that the tank is level to avoid any pressure points.

other than that, it just could be a defective tank.
 
#10 ·
As Romad said, make sure your tank is level before filling it. Wow what a mess! Glad there were no fish. Sorry that you will have to start over. There could have been a defect in the glass. Nice to know that you won't have any trouble getting it replaced

Your plants should be ok to keep in another container. Just remember to condition the water so that chlorine won't damage your plants. Also, FYI, if you've not had plants before, because of changes in the growing environment of new plants, they do take a while to become acclimatized to your water, so don't become discouraged if some of them drop leaves or become discoloured. They will do this because of the move. They just need time to adjust. Just thought I'd let you know this so you don't think you're having a bunch of problems happening at once.
 
#11 ·
This is my second planted tank. Im sure I'll have many more now since Ive got the bug. :p

As far as I know the tank is level. I have another tank in an adjacent room with no issues. Im hoping it was just a defect in the glass and I wont have a repeat.

Im soaking the plants and wood in my old tank water (since I had plenty! :) ). Gonna get it re-setup tonight and get them put back in the tank tonight.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Ditto on the level, but make certain you check the support underneath for level. If there is even a slight wave or dip to your aquarium stand's surface, it can cause torque in the sheet of glass and crack the glass like that. It's an odd way for a tank to crack.

I'm assuming the tank doesn't normally sit on the towel(?). If it does no problem, but never, ever, be tempted to slide the tank even "just a little" if there is any weight in the tank at all.

Had a 29 fail at the bottom seam a few months back, but the tank was 20+ years old and I had never re-caulked the seals. Totally my fault, but it was a lot of water to wet vac.
 
#13 ·
It does sit on the towel but I haven't tried to move it. Its just down there to protect the wood underneath from drips.

My house is an older house that Im renting. It is possible it may be slightly un-level. Ive never checked but It wasn't something that I noticed when I filled up the tank. (the water being not level)

If it isn't completely level, what can I do?
 
#14 ·
It does sit on the towel but I haven't tried to move it. Its just down there to protect the wood underneath from drips.

My house is an older house that Im renting. It is possible it may be slightly un-level. Ive never checked but It wasn't something that I noticed when I filled up the tank. (the water being not level)

If it isn't completely level, what can I do?
older houses are notorious for having uneven floors. check the level of your base and if it's uneven, you're going to have to shim underneath the base until it is level before you put the tank on it.

i had the same thing happen to me with my 45 gal. hex in an old house. i didn't think about checking the level until the tank was full and there was about 1/4" difference at the top of the water line. it wasn't noticable until the tank was full.
 
#17 ·
Thanks guys for the help.

Im going to borrow a level and check tonight when I get home from work. I am hoping it was just a bad tank.. since like I said, I have another tank in an adjacent room and it is fully stocked and planted. :O

It was an old reef tank and its a 34g..but it is MUCH heavier than the 29g. Im thinking the glass may be thicker...if my floors are uneven, maybe this is why I havent had issues with the other tank?
 
#18 ·
Jbrofish8 - I'm sorry to hear of your (for lack of a better expression) 'bad luck'. Glad to hear the store will replace it with no hassle so this is all just an unfortunate little 'bump in the road'.

I'm finding this whole question of tank levelness kindof interesting. In this regard, I would think that the weakest part of a tank is where it's glued together with silicone, not the glass itself. So if we had adverse applied forces due to the tank being slightly unlevel, I'd think it shoulda popped a seam, rather than crack the glass???
I dunno, I'm just thinking out loud here.
 
#19 ·
the physics and math behind this problem are very complicated and there are a lot of variables. depending on any pre-existing flaws in the glass, the amount of pressure and where it was located, as well as the exact angle of it can all affect it. i have to think, though, that i would be more concerned about an uneven base than an unlevel one. if it is touching on both ends but not in the middle, or vis versa, i can see there being a lot of stress on the glass.
 
#21 ·
yeah, that is what i was referring to. go to know it is even.
 
#22 ·
+1, the evenness is the critical part, you don't want any void areas where the weight loading is.
 
#24 ·
i don't think it would make a difference either way. it should add even padding all around, so it would still be softer where there is a gap.
 
#30 ·
Well there's yer trouble...that big ole hunk of wood - prolly the roots grew right through the glass!! LOL

Seriously, nice aquascape! Maybe outta get me some wood :)
 
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