# 55 gallon scaryness



## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

hey guys, so i have a 55 gallon all glass, and i just converted it into a fish tank (was a lizard tank) and i'm now sacred. There's no center brace on the tank, but it is all glass, just as my 75 gallon (same thinkness, and same height etc.) and it's bowing, enough to where the lids dont fit in the middle (barely miss fitting) so I'm worried that the tank is gonna crack\combust. It's been full for 2 days with no issues, but i'm kinda scared. The frame on top never originally had a brace, however theres to holes in the middle directly accross from one another, and of course one of the sides it broke (just on the inside). so should I be worried?


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

I would empty the tank before i had to replace my flooring


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

oh yea, i searched and didn't come up with anything, but i only looked through 3 pages since everytime i try to go back to my search results the website says there are no matching terms or i searched to soon and to try again later. What i dont get is my 75 is the same way and it's fine, about the same amount of bowing and it's been fine for months and months


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## all4game (Jun 17, 2008)

The 75g might have thicker glass.


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

nope, i measured it, same thickness, i'll measure again when i get home, but last night it was the same


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

k both tanks have 3\8 inch glass, seeings how the 75 is the same thickness, and the same dimensions, and has more water behind it, shouldn't it be safe?


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

the strenght/quality of the glass might be different


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## Hoggy Boss (Oct 4, 2006)

booba5 said:


> and it's bowing, enough to where the lids dont fit in the middle (barely miss fitting)


That would be reason enough for me to empty the tank.


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

empty it!!! I promise if left alone it will eventually fail.


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## rosemerry (Jun 16, 2008)

I would empty the tank as well.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I had a similar 55 gallon tank with a center brace that broke. The tank starting bowing out, so I had to do an emergency tank replacement.

Mike


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

the center brace was never there, thats what i'm tryin to say, there's 2 holes in the plastic frame, like 2 eyelets. The tank was my step moms before and she said it was bought as a fish tank (before i got it it was a turtle tank), and there was never a center brace or anything like that that came with it on it or in it.


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## TailorO (Apr 7, 2008)

I had a 55 also with no center brace and it started bowing and i had to do an emergency tank change


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

I've never heard of a 55 gallon glass aquarium without a center brace. I bet it was manufactured to be a terrarium.


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

I'm just having a really hard time understanding why the 75g has the same glass, but the 55 needs the brace where the 75 doesn't.


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

generally the glass in a 75 gallon is thicker... I think the point is that regardless of anything else... your tank is bowing and that is a sure sign of a disaster waiting to happen.

Even if it had a center brace a bowing tank would still worry me to the point of taking it down.

If you have everything else you need... a 55 gallon tank only will not cost you a lot to replace.


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

I've been looking around and just to be safe I'm gonna drain it until the just high enough for the filter to continue working, then buy a new frame and put it on (i'll drain it all the way for that lol)


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## gbleeker (Jul 31, 2007)

If it was bowed - I wouldn't waste my time with a new frame. I'd buy a new tank.

Everyone here has pretty much said the same thing, so best of luck to you - I'd buy a new tank if I were you!


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

why would i need a new tank? Does glass loose its strength when it gets old or something? I've been reading numerous threads on people replacing them and it being fine, the tank consists of 3 things, glass, plastic frames, and silicon, the silicon is great, the frame might need to be replaced (debateable, but prolly will to be safe), and the glass for lack of better words is still glass. i guess the major question is What warrants an entirly new tank?


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

the fact that it was bowing means that it is most likely the case that both the glass panes and siliconed joints were under much more stress than they were supposed to be...

The damage already caused will probably not be fixed by adding a frame and cross bar...

for instance... from personal experience...

I had a 55 gallon that I know for a fact was put under too much stress (at the joints) when it was being moved to my house...

I set it up and for 4 months it was fine... and then one day I came home to a completely empty tank with dead fish and ruined flooring...

I know for a fact that the extra stress compromised the integrity of the silicone seals and it eventually sprung a leak...

Do what you want... but ditching the tank altogether is by far my advice... not worth the risk in my opinion.


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

maybe resiliconing the tank as well? since thats where your tank leaked? the glass iteslf did not structurly fail right? I'm still curious why the 75 gallon is okay with more water behind it than the 55g


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

Dude buy a new tank and put the lizards back in this one. Glass is only slightly flexible ans over time stress fractures will occur. That may be 1 week, 1 month, 1 year who knows. You are gonna spend hundreds of dollars on fish that you will find dead on the floor when you come home to a flooded house. 
Glass fish tanks should never bow......EVER.
The silicone has nothing to do with the fact. All it does is hold your tank together and keep the water in.
Prevent yourself some bull **** and listen to EVERY SINGLE PERSON that has replied to your post. What were you after anyway? someone to say "nah man don't worry about it, everything will be cool".....Nah dude!


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

Nope, I'm looking for a reason, not just cuz, there are many threads that i have read on this very sight saying that glass bowing is a usual thing to happen. What i am looking for is some sort of reasoning as to WHY this would need to be replaced. It wasn't designed to have it, it does bow slightly but so does my 75G reef tank, which has the exact same saize glass, same thickness, same length an height, but yet the 55 gallon is in need. There is more water behind the 75 gallon and everyone is saying to replace the 55 gallon. I wouldn't mind someone saying everything would be cool, but just as i would like a reason\example for it needing to be replaced, i'd like a reason\example for someone saying it'll be cool as well. So far this thread is everyone saying "yea replace it before you have water all over the floow" but why? I'm not the safety in replacing it, but why would i need an entire tank? if glass fails over time then why do we use fish tanks at all? Are you saying that 10 years down the line my brand new 75 gallon is going to spontaneously shatter?


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## gaqua (Apr 11, 2008)

booba5 said:


> I'm just having a really hard time understanding why the 75g has the same glass, but the 55 needs the brace where the 75 doesn't.


Not all glass is identical.

Also, it might not be a fish tank but instead a terrarium tank.


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## gbleeker (Jul 31, 2007)

If it doesn't have a center brace, and it is bowed - trash it. A new center brace won't fix the already bowed glass - it is weakened.

If it *had* a center brace and was bowed - I'd trash it. Weakened glass again.

Pretty simple.

If I had any tank with bowed glass, I'd be saving up a few paychecks and getting a new tank ASAP. In your case - both a 75 and 55. I wouldn't care how long I had successfully kept the tanks, if the glass is bowed - SOMETHING IS WRONG - it is not normal and should be replaced.


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

i've read previous threads on this site stating it's normal and not to worry, now i'm confused, which one thread should i trust?

Edit: the site isn't searching.....again so i cant find the previous threads now, but trust me, they were there lol here's one i found manually...
https://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/vie ... ass+bowing


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

I am saying it because i have never in my life seen a fish tank bow and i have seen hundreds. They simply are not designed to do so.
As Gagua said this tank may be terrarium not an aquarium.
Do what you want mate but you have our advice


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## schlekw (Oct 25, 2007)

aquariums and terrariums are made specifically for that specific purpose.
it may be the same thickness in glass but is not constructed the same way i.e. the plastic support that runs around the edge.
so filling a terrarium up with water is not a good idea in almost all cases. i would empty it and put some cool poison dart frogs in it


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

quiksilver said:


> the strenght/quality of the glass might be different


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## shrimp300 (Jun 17, 2008)

I have a 55g w/no center brace and it hasn't bowed at all. about 8 years solid with water in it


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I see these discussions all the time on this forum and I always scratch my head. The potential damage caused by a burst tank is so many times more than the cost of a replacement tank, not to mention the cost of the lost fish.

If you want piece of mind, buy a new tank. If your tank is in the basement and it will cause minimal damage (and you don't mind losing your fish), then keep the bowed tank.

Your choice.

Mike


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

shrimp300 said:


> I have a 55g w/no center brace and it hasn't bowed at all. about 8 years solid with water in it


I looked again last night and measured it a lot closer than before and it's barely bowed at all, the lids i have were for another 50g i had, and they simply just don't fit like it should, it's bowed literally 1-2 mm


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## nothing else matter (Oct 2, 2007)

this thread finished with a 1-2 mm discrepancy :-?


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

apparently so, i was hoping to have an actual discussion about the topic, but i guess "Just Cuz" is the extent of discussion


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## blkg35 (Jun 2, 2008)

glass is not designed to bow even with alot of water pressure. Also, with glass tanks it has to be on perfect leveled ground or it will cause too much water pressure on the uneven side. When your glass tank bows then eventually it will crack over time. I came home from work one day and found my arowana on my carpet and the living room flooded, guess why? My 180 gal glass tank that i had for 6 years decided to crack right down the middle of the front. It bowed for awhile and finally gave up. I don't care what anyone says, Glass is not suppose to bow!


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