How Strong Are Aquariums

[tonward]

I know this must be a strange question but after filling my new 180 litre tank for
the first time today I had this wierd feeling that it would not be strong enough to
hold all that water,can some one put my mind at rest and tell I am just being silly
and that the water is not going to come bursting out,as you have probably guessed
I am new to this hobby and just need a bit of reasurance.
The tank I have is a Eheim 100 supaline.

regards tony

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I know this must be a strange question but after filling my new 180 litre tank for
the first time today I had this wierd feeling that it would not be strong enough to
hold all that water,can some one put my mind at rest and tell I am just being silly
and that the water is not going to come bursting out,as you have probably guessed
I am new to this hobby and just need a bit of reasurance.
The tank I have is a Eheim 100 supaline.

regards tony

Welcome, its been known to happen, Hell my first tank cracked and leaked everywhere, But its fairly uncommon...

 

[-SPB-]

Your tank should be safe. Eheim aswell, so it should be good. They are built to withstand the pressure of the water, and they do. If they didn't hold the water then no-one would keep tropical fish!!!!!

 

[charlton]

I know this must be a strange question but after filling my new 180 litre tank for
the first time today I had this wierd feeling that it would not be strong enough to
hold all that water,can some one put my mind at rest and tell I am just being silly
and that the water is not going to come bursting out,as you have probably guessed
I am new to this hobby and just need a bit of reasurance.
The tank I have is a Eheim 100 supaline.

regards tony

there has been some reports of tanks of that size especially 180l being put under to much pressure and losing the whole lot over the floor !! only kidding mate i'm sure it'll be fine, what tank is it ?

 

[Faythee]

I don't understand how the tanks hold all that water either but they do LOL !

Main thing is it needs to be on a very sturdy stand. Tanks crash to the floor more commonly than leaking.

 

[tonward]

Thanks for the replies I feel a bit more confident now

regards tony.

 

[Mikaila31]

Strong enough. IMO if anything fails on a tank, it is going to be the seals.

 

[Faythee]

Doesn't it usually take a very long time for the seals to break down ? or more likely if it is used and they are dried out ?

 

[Mikaila31]

Doesn't it usually take a very long time for the seals to break down ? or more likely if it is used and they are dried out ?

Normally, but tanks, like all other products can be defective, although it is rare. It is the old tanks you want to watch out for. If the tank is left sitting dry for a long time the silicone will shrink and start to harden after a while. Which is why it is best to test them on the lawn, before filling them up inside.

 

[Faythee]

Thanks Mikaila. I get paranoid about this too. We put new wood laminate floors in our house. With my first tank I stuffed ammonia remover in the filter and didn't realize it was slowly dribbling water down a cord at the back of the tank. It was next to a bookcase and didn't see the water til days later. It had swollen and ruined the wood. The flooring was discontinued. We managed with the few extra pieces we had....but this can't happen again or hubby will kill me ! It would mean replacing the entire floor !

 

[-SPB-]

Strong enough. IMO if anything fails on a tank, it is going to be the seals.

WOW. I knew tanks were strong to withold the pressure, wow!!!!!!! The fact all of that weight was being put on a small pressure point on the rock on the bottom of the tank amazes me.

I think this answeres the op's question!!!!

 

[Snooks1!]

How Strong Are Aquariums

I've seen my 5gal bench 150lbs.










8)

 

[Mikaila31]

I would also like to add that only the bottom pane of glass is actually tempered. I think it is the same stuff they make care windows (not windsheilds) out of. It can withstand lots of weight or heavy blows to the front or the back of the pane. But it is not invincible, a good tap to the sides and corners of a pane and.....POOF!. Haven't you ever wondered why you never see a tank with a crack on the bottom pane? Simple. The bottom pane will never crack, it will go POOF!

Good thing they put that plastic brace around the bottom of the tank, right. Makes it very difficult for the bottom pane to go poof. If by some extremely bad luck the bottom pane goes poof, be prepared to have absolutely no idea what is going on. But now you at least know how your tank went from perfectly fine, to all over the floor in only a second

POOF!

Edit-

So, "Will the tank hold all that water?" Yes of couse.
"Will the tank hold all that water when I throw a hammer at it?" Possibly, depending on how hard you throw it and if the pane the hammer hits is tempered or not. Though common sense dictates that it is a bad idea to throw a hammer at a glass box full of water, no matter what kind of glass it is. (Don't try to prove that)
"will the tank hold all that water if I tear off the trim and hit the bottom corner with a hammer?" Most likely not. (Don't try to prove that either)

Also on a side not, normally only the bottom pane is tempered, cuz tempered glass is more expensive than regular glass. You can buy tanks that are made entirely of tempered glass. Also tempered glass can not be drilled as shown here, it will go poof. You can tell if glass is tempered by using a polarized lens. But again tempered glass is very strong "weight bearing" wise here.

POOF! POOF!

 

[Faythee]

What would make it go poof ??

Now I will not sleep tonite ! As it is I wake up around 4am and check my tanks. At least I get a glimpse of my Pictus swimming around.

 

[Mikaila31]

What would make it go poof ??

Now I will not sleep tonite ! As it is I wake up around 4am and check my tanks. At least I get a glimpse of my Pictus swimming around.

It goes poof, because tempered glass is basically compressed glass. It has tension built up with in it. This is what makes it so strong, it resists breakage. The compression process also makes the glass break into little cubes, when it does break. This means that if a tiny fracture is formed from hitting the edge with a hammer, The glass will fail. Normal glass will break into a couple of irregular pieces near the area of impact. But the tension in tempered glass will make the entire pain fail and crumble into hundreds of little cubes. Tempered glass can be four times stronger than regular glass. So the regular glass is going to crack before the tempered glass does. But the regular glass is going to break into bigger pieces and a pane might not completely break. If tempered glass breaks the entire pane will break into little pieces.

Aquarium wise, broken glass is broken glass. It sucks no matter what, regular glass is more likely to break, but may slow the water from draining out of your tank. Tempered is less likely to break, but if it does water is going to be everywhere within seconds .