new tank hassles(just venting)

[organicreefer]

i ordered a tank 2 months ago(from superepet warehouse in concord)and it never came ini was trying to get the aga 120 twinflo(dual overflows), i went there a couple days ago to see what was going on ,and the owner said he just talked to the distributer and it was coming but he had no idea when,i told him to give me my money back ,and i headed over to aquarium concepts in hayward.when i talked to the guys over there,they quoted me a price140 dollars less than the place i had been trying to get the tank from .and after talking to them for a while i decided to go with the oceanic 120 rr,as they only wanted 150 more than i was originally paying for the aga through superpet.
the catch is though im now waiting 6-8 weeks for my new tank.
but at least im confident these guys will come through for me.
i didnt know it was going to be such a hassle getting a rr tank.both stores told me that glass tanks are hard to get around here nowadays because they have to wait for a whole truckload and cannot order just one tank.they both tried to get me to go acrylic,but this is for a reef and i already have 2 scratched up acrylics.anyway just venting,wish me luck on getting a new tank sometime soon ,if you would.

[Ninong]

There are a few good reasons why glass tanks are scarce in your neighborhood, like the Calaveras, Hayward and San Andreas faults, for starters.

Good luck!

Ninong

P.S. - I went with glass over acrylic but I don't there anymore. ;)

[organicreefer]

yeah ,actually we are over due for a sizeable one.didnt have a tank in the '89 quake,but the house shook pretty good and i hate to think about it.................
my tanks made it through a little quake we had ,maybe about a year and a half ago(the only one i remember feeling in a few years now),but the water was slamming the sides of the tank and i was right there just holding my breath
where were you in the '89 quake ninong,i know you used to live in the bay area

[naser]

my lfs only sells glass up to 120. anything higher is way extra or acylic!

[Ninong]

Originally posted by organicreefer
where were you in the '89 quake ninong,i know you used to live in the bay area

1700 California St., corner of Calif. & Van Ness. That's the 10 story office/condo building above Ruth's Chris Steak House. My condo was on the 7th. floor on the west end of the building, so I had a good view of the Marina District fires. Fortunately, this building was only three years old at the time, so we rode it out pretty well. All of the ceilings cracked along the lines of the building's structural steel beams and we lost elevator service for two days along with our electricity. I didn't lose anything in the way of furnishings but some people in the building had damage in the tens of thousands caused by falling bookcases, etc. It was all a matter of which way your bookcases were aligned relative to the waves.

If you do a search on some of the other boards, you will find that we have talked about experiences of the few people who are members who happened to have tanks back in October 1989. Most glass tanks didn't make it. The live rock went through the walls of the tank. Many hobbyists in the Bay Area do have glass reef tanks today but you will notice that the professionals (LFS owners) do not.

Ninong

[organicreefer]

ninong,
so if you did still live here,you would go with acrylic?the more im thinking about it ...
it would be cheaper ,
i could drill it myself,
hhmmmmm

[Ninong]

If I still lived in San Francisco, or any place within 50 miles of the coast, I would probably go with acrylic in spite of its drawbacks. Also, don't forget to anchor your stand and tank to the floor and/or wall.

Ninong

[organicreefer]

yes im screwing the stand to the wall,and building a lip round the edge to help keep it from sliding off(dont know if it makes a difference when that big one comes but cant hurt)as i said i have a couple acrylic tanks and its not possible to avoid the scratches(not for me anyway )i really want the oceanic
how much safer would you say the acrylic is in an earthquake,have they been officially tested?is there any reading on the subject you could pass on?

[Ninong]

I would say that acrylic is less likely to "explode" than glass and glass is much more likely to crack from impact of the live rock inside the tank. I just know from talking to people at various LFS in the Bay Area that the reason they handle mostly acrylic tanks is because they do not consider large glass tanks to be an acceptable risk due to the fact that you aren't going to get through 10 years without at least a couple of quakes above 5.5 on the Richter scale.

Also, you can get some really nice custom made Tru-Vu acrylic tanks at almost every LFS over there at a reasonable price (they're made in Hayward). It's not an easy decision to make, especially if you don't like acrylic tanks. Most people who get large glass tanks argue that it really won't make much difference one way or the other in anything above 6.5 Richter.

Ninong

[Reinhold]

Ninong

How did you get from San Francisco to Louisiana? (Or should I say why?)

[icemark]

Yep Ninong's right.

Acrylic is the only way to go in CA. I have seen every single thing he mentioned... Rocks bouncing though the sides of glass tanks, seams splitting, tanks just exploding.

If you are careful you won't scratch it when cleaning. I have had my 60 gal TruVu for 15 years and there is not one scratch that is apparent without really looking for one.

The key is just to be careful when cleaning, and don't use magnets or razors.

[fishrule]

I use a magnet on my acrylic tank, but it was made especially for acrylic tanks. It cost $120.00. The magnetic used is so strong you can barely pull it apart. It will never fall of the inside of the tank, even when you pull it back 1/2 inch or more. It is called a Mighty Mag II, and sold on the internet or lfs.

[icemark]

Cool fishrule, I didn't know there was a good Magnet for acrylic.

(see you do learn something everyday)

[PerryinCA]

Personally I don't think that glass is THAT big of a risk. I know a few people who had BIG tanks in the bay during the '89 quake. I think I had a 20 gal . Anyway, I will never own another acrylic tank. have a tru-vu 55 now, and while its a nice tank...glass is just 10000000x better. Don't underestimate the easy of razor blades to get the coraline off the tank.

I believe Wayne Shang (see picks of his tanks in Borneman's new book, and at underseadiscovery.com) had a 300 up at that time and saw no troubles. Last I had heard from him, he was in the process of setting up a 600 gal starphire to combine his 2 300gallon tanks.

The way I look at it, is that if the quake is big enough, the tank is gonna go. Acrylic seams can easily crack, although not as easily as glass.

just be sure that your liverock won't fly everywhere in the case of a quake, regardless of tank type.

-Perry

O.R., what type of shape was AC in when you were there? I haven't been there for over a month and a half...just curious. They do have excellent pricing on tanks though.

[organicreefer]

thanks perry for that little vote of confidence.i really want the oceanic,but i also want to do the right thing.it seems like the acrylic tank builders would use this whole earthquake thing as another selling point,have they ,or anyone else actually tested this?i know i already asked this ,and i dont think ninong had an answer ,so they probly havent .
aquarium concepts has looked better in the past,but conditions werent deplorable either.i think they are going to be moving soon and that probly has a little something to do with it(going to be the largest fish store in cali soon!)i picked up a little snowflake moray eel while i was there and he is doing great.still my favorite lfs.

[Ninong]

Perry ~

Wasn't Wayne Shang's tank in Fremont? Fremont didn't have any damage from Loma Prieta.

You're right that it wouldn't have made much difference whether your tank was glass or acrylic if your house was in the Marina but if we're talking about other locations or temblors less than, oh, let's say 6.3, I believe it does make a difference.

And yes, the acrylic tank manufacturers actually do claim that their tanks are safer in quakes than glass tanks. I'm not saying you should get an acrylic tank if you don't want one, I'm just saying it's less of a risk in a quake.

Ninong

P.S. - Reinhold, I ask myself the same question.

[organicreefer]

Originally posted by Ninong

P.S. - Reinhold, I ask myself the same question. [/B]

lmao
you guys (ninong) really screwed up my week.

cant decide what to do about the tank situation.ive got a job in hayward that will last the next couple days,so if im gonna change my mind now is the time(i live 60 miles away).
i want the oceanic..............
but i think they had this near square acrylic tank last time i was in that was really cool....................
what am i thinking acrylic sucks..............
and so on and so on i argue with myself all day

[Ironreef]

don't get acylic if you don't want one. Myself i prefer acylic i had 2 glass tanks break on me not my fault. glass seams to leak more ime. The quake up here @6mo ago (deep quake 6.8)knocked LR all over my tank which was sturdy. But it probally wouldn't break a glass because the acylic didn't scratch. I would worry about My house more than my tank. Your homeowners will cover the equipment unless they go broke. Get what you want or you'll hate yourself is something does go wrong like a tiny weeny scratch. An acylic 55g is probally the worst tank you can have if your trying to avoid scratches(for a reef tank) but the one in my garage has very litte and its 20yr+ old