Help! My 180 gallon aqaurium exploded!

[jasonwilks]

I need help!

First of all check out my aquarium here: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

It is 180 gallon freshwater aquarium that I bought from glasscages.com, i have had it setup for the past 7 months with water.

A few days ago in my sleep I heard a big *crack* then followed by the sound of flowing water! Water was gushing out of it! My house was flooded with water and has ruined my expensive hardwood floor and my silk rug!

Well I got it all cleaned up now, and after I took everything out of the aqauirum I see a big 3 foot crack on the bottom of the tank! After examining everything I think I came to the conclusion of why it cracked. The surface that the tank is sitting on is not completely flat! It kinda "bows" in, and right where it bows in the crack is right there!

The stand is custom built by my contractor, it has 6 legs (2 by 4 boards) and the top is Formica (laminate counter top).

Well, my contractor is coming over tomorrow to take a look at this.

Apparently my contractor has like no idea how to make a good fish tank stand that holds a 180 gallon aquarium!

What I need is suggestions on how to do this right so I can tell my contractor how to build the stand right!

I called glass cages and they suggested to use granite for the top the tank sits on. Is that a good idea? It sounds good to me, it would be completely flat and sturdy! You guys have any other suggestions??

[Northernguy]

Granite is a great way to go!


A perfectly level 2x4 stand with properly spaced supports is all you need.The 2x4s should be sealed before you build it to water proof them.They will also stay much straighter.

You can also have a angle iron stand built to fit.

Sorry to hear about the mess! :ssuprised:

[tanks4thememories]

I need help!

First of all check out my aquarium here: [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

It is 180 gallon freshwater aquarium that I bought from glasscages.com, i have had it setup for the past 7 months with water.

A few days ago in my sleep I heard a big *crack* then followed by the sound of flowing water! Water was gushing out of it! My house was flooded with water and has ruined my expensive hardwood floor and my silk rug!

Well I got it all cleaned up now, and after I took everything out of the aqauirum I see a big 3 foot crack on the bottom of the tank! After examining everything I think I came to the conclusion of why it cracked. The surface that the tank is sitting on is not completely flat! It kinda "bows" in, and right where it bows in the crack is right there!

The stand is custom built by my contractor, it has 6 legs (2 by 4 boards) and the top is Formica (laminate counter top).

Well, my contractor is coming over tomorrow to take a look at this.

Apparently my contractor has like no idea how to make a good fish tank stand that holds a 180 gallon aquarium!

What I need is suggestions on how to do this right so I can tell my contractor how to build the stand right!

I called glass cages and they suggested to use granite for the top the tank sits on. Is that a good idea? It sounds good to me, it would be completely flat and sturdy! You guys have any other suggestions??


There are many possibilities here. It seems the first failure was not in the materials but in how they were assembled. In any case you cant beat stone when it comes to level durable surfaces. Heck real pool tables are slate. I think granite is an awesome idea. There are also many wooden stands out there that have been up and running for years. If I may suggest you might want to look into using someone who has experience in this type of stand as the builder also.

[Brhino]

at work we have a granite block that we use to sand optical devices on. It's very, very flat. So granite can work great. The important thing, as you've discovered (unfortunately the hard way), is that it's flat. Sorry to hear about your trouble.

[Lady Hobbs]

The whole problem was an unlevel surface. This caused stress to the glass. How awful for you and I'm so sorry you had this loss and this mess.