Has anyone ever had a large fish tank shatter on them?

Question

It is my biggest fear that the tank will break and ruin my floor and my carpet...

Answer 1

Nope, never. In 30+ years of fishkeeping I have only had 2-3 tanks ever spring a leak and that was small leaks and probably the result of having been moved beforehand.

I have never even heard from a reliable source of a tank breaking or shattering. It's estimated by one manufacturer that less than 0.0001% of home aquariums leak within the first 20 years so don't worry about it at all, you're safe.

MM

Answer 2

Yes!! It wasn't really a shatter though-it cracked all the way across. We had just moved into our new home-and we had transfered the tank over to the new house (by the way it was a 55 gal) and set it up-allow it to cycle for a few days-we had another smaller tank that we used to help speed up the cycle-and had just put fish into it the night before.

I was standing at the front door since the tank was in the living room-smoking a cigerette-when all of a sudden I hear this ping sound. I was like what was that and thought that maybe it had come from the cieling fan above me-when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I noticed the fish tank spilling water across its front.

I grab a very large laundry basket and went to scooping water and fish into it. I saved about 25 gallons of the water before the rest when into the carpet.

Keep in mind that it was an older tank. We think that somehow during the move it got a small, very small crack in it-maybe a stress crack-and once it was set up- it was just too much on it and broke.

We have a new 55 gallon tank and it is working fine-no problems. Rough move into the house- because three days later we lost the transmission in our car. We really had a bad string of luck when we moved in. LOL! Thank god that it is over now-a year and half later! LOL!

Answer 3

i have had a few tanks break but the reason wasn't do to a faulty tank. I had species that are now illegal to keep but legal at the time that were infamous tank busters. I was keeping snake heads and one in particular busted three tanks. It was his way of telling me that he wanted a bigger tank. biggest he went through was a 30 gallon. so after that i moved him into my 75 gallon and he lived out the rest of his life in there. Other than that i have had tanks spring small leaks but that is an easy fix with aquarium safe silicone sealant. So i wouldn't worry to much. The tank is designed to hold the weight and force exhorted against the glass by the water in it and the stand is also designed to hold the weight of the tank so unless you have a fish that can bust the tank or you accidentally smash the glass with a relatively hard blow its shouldn't be an issue.
Never believed a fish could do this till i saw it for myself. That was one mean fish. Don't ever reccomend anyone keeping them.

Answer 4

my dad said that he and his brothers and sisters (3 sisters, 2 brothers, at the time of incident, they were ranging from 18 to 6 years old) were playing at my grandparents house when the youngest son threw a shoe and it hit the 60 gallon fish tank they had in the front room. It ruined the carpet and couch.

I personally had a 60 gal tank for my turtles made out of plexiglass to prevent such an incident. Make sure your tank isn't filled with more than the allowable amount of water, as this decreases the strength of the glass from the internal pressure.

Answer 5

Yes I did last night around midnight I Purchased my tank 55 gals at pet smart about 6 months ago and woke up to a shatter tank in the back of it and all myself died except my Jack Dempsey. I'm heart broken over this I don't know what to do . Do I get another tank or just let my mom keep my Jack. which is where he is at now!! :-( .. I'm so mad pet smart won't do anything because I don't have a receipt. SMH

Answer 6

yes i have. my 55g tank shattered during the winter, BUT im lucky because i house snakes in the tank. (BTW the snakes are fine) We had a bad storm come through with high winds, and i live in an old house. Normally i dont get drafts like the ones that came in that night, and from the heat being applied inside the tank, and the cold that came busseling in, the one side split right up the middle, and spidered. There are tips on avoiding tank leaks. Make sure you get an aquarium approved stand ( they are made to properly hold and displace the weight. You want to remember once you factor in gravel, decor, n tank, you have a lot of weight. a 55g is approx. if not more then 550 lbs) Where you decided to place the tank, you want to make sure its perfectly level. if the water leans to one side or another, that will cause the pressure to apply more weight to one side, thus having a leak. also make sure its not near a window, and by no means near a draft.

Answer 7

I haven't actually had a tank shatter but one did fall over and spill out all the water and fish. It was a pain to clean up and catch the fish before they dried out and died. I would think that if you can clean it up quickly enough, the floor should dry out without sustaining any permanent damage.

Answer 8

Nope, but had one spring a little leak, but I did buy it used, and the guy had had it for like 10 years.... I've heard a few horror stories like that though, but with major leaks. It does happen. Just watch it, check around it periodically for water drops or water anywhere around the floor, or especially in the corners where the sealing is.

Answer 9

I haven't had it happen to me, but I watched Deuce Bigalow once and saw the effects of a large aquarium shattering. Not once, but twice!

It might ease your mind if you took out flood insurance to protect yourself. I did. I would consider it a disaster if any of my tanks shattered in my house.

Answer 10

How large do you mean? I have had a 10 gallon shatter thanks to my oldest son when he was little.
Just make sure all the sealant is in place and your tank is sturdy. That should ease your mind some.