Structural joint silicon seams in tanks - Planet, DSA,Aqueon

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Oscarmk

Hi all,

I apologize if this is not the right forum for this sort of question, but after looking at all of them, I think this is the best fit.

I am about to purchase a 75 gallon aquarium, because I like the idea of having the 4 foot length, and I prefer the aquarium to be short, hence why I don't like the 90 gallon. Anyway after looking and calling several LFS in Dallas, I was only able to find 75 gallon Aqueon, Marineland (Perfecto) and Planet Aquarium. DSA makes only a 65 3 feet, and an 80 gallon, the main issue with the 80 is that it is 2 inches more wide than usual, and therefore the stand is considerably more expensive. I intend to buy a coastal stand.

Additionally I know DSA has a Ocean View 75 gallon, that could be custom order to be drilled, but I am a little concerned about the DSA website dividing them in "value" and "premium", the 75 is part of the "value", my main concern is if build quality is not on par. If anyone can comment on this I would appreciate it.

Anyway I am very picky and I have very carefully examined the Aqueon, Marineland and Planet aquariums, mostly how thick the glass is and the silicone seams, first of the Planet has thicker glass which is a plus for me, however when comparing the silicone seams on the Planet vs the DSA 65 gallon, it seems that the joints in the DSA contain about twice as much silicone, this makes me a little uneasy, I am not sure if they *need* to have as much silicone as the DSA tanks do, but the Planet Aquarium tank that I looked at, had considerably less silicone in the seams is this a cause for concern?.

I did some research, and it seems that most people agree Planet and DSA make exceptional tanks, but most people tend to agree that Planet Aquariums are better, because they are made by the senior people that left DSA. But after looking at those silicone seams, I am now confused as to which tank to get.

Additionally to be fair the Aqueon and Marineland tanks look fine to me, I am not an expert by any means, all I have right now is a 29 biocube that I've had for about 2 years now. My main concern is of course that the tank might just explode at some point and flood the house, which would result in my paying the house insurance deductible for water damage which is a fair amount of money, not to mention all the hassle, to be honest if that happened it would be a complete nightmare.

That being said I don't want to pay extra money for no reason, are the Aqueon/Marineland tanks a good option?, I did several searches online about tanks bursting, and I did find a couple of Marineland that did it, but then again I understand this is also related to the stand, leveling of the stand and the tank being flush with it.

I am pretty lost as to which tank to buy, my main concern is to buy a tank that I can be certain won't just explode or leak at a certain point (if that is even possible?), is the quantity of the silicone used in the joints relevant for this?, what about the thickness of the glass?. Any comments and advise on what to buy would be greatly appreciated!.

Thank you!
 
I have owned a 90/125/180/210 gallon aqueon/all-glass tanks since I have been in the hobby, none have given me any concern. My 210 I have now is going on 6 years old.
 
This is just my limited knowledge:

The seams do matter greatly!!! To me, this is where lots of people who rebuild their tanks go wrong. The seam, theoretically, should only be a fraction of a millimeter thick. This is where Planet Aquariums (from what I've heard and read) has the leg up. They are experts at the build. Their glass is usually oversized, they use quality silicone, and their seams are flawless. It's not the quantity of silicone that matters, it's how you use it. I have an Oceanic right now (225g that is going on 8years or so? the thing still looks brand new). The sides of the glass are all polished and the corners are beveled. The seams are all tight and bubble free. I also have an Aqueon that I just rebuilt. The way the glass is cut is not as refined (not polished, only broke the edges to keep from cutting the customer) and the seams were less than optimal (too wide, this particular Aqueon had a full side blow out).

The glass: Thickness is as much a concern as quality. You can look up reports/blogs of people having bursts. It's rare but it happens. Using oversized glass is always a plus for me. If 12mm glass is required and they use 13mm, then the extra money is warranted. It does set me at ease. I don't want to come home one day to a wet floor and dead fish because the pressure of the water cracked the glass for no apparent reason. That's crazy!!! These things are usually designed with a rather large safety factor to account for everything we do to them (kids tapping, circulation pumps pushing, fish pecking, etc). Going thicker is like having insurance...

My preference: When I do get a new tank (I have a quote for a 72" but will probably go with 96"). I will buy Planet Aquariums. I have seen their work and it was top notch from what I've seen. The cost of the aquarium is usually not the largest expense regardless of which manufacturer you go with. I would spend a bit and go visit some stores with these aquariums in their shops. True Percula had a 210? sitting in their front lobby from Planet. Most petco's will have aqueons sitting around. DSA, not sure where you would see one of those. All 3 are successful manufacturers so I think it's important to see their product in person and evaluate their visual quality.

Good Luck with finding what you want!
 
If your only hold up is the Silicone with Planet Aquarium, Go with a Euro brace. This will give you a "Ledge" around the top of the tank and will give addition support. Also, you won't have a center brace blocking your lights.
Euro Braced Plus the plastic trim top and bottom. You'll be fine.
I am glad you are being picky and soing lots of research. The last thing you want to do is go "Cheap", "Pinch Pennies", "Cut corners"
Here is a google image link search to Euro braced ttanks
https://www.google.com/search?q=aquarium+euro+brace&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=rKUSVbKcAcW-ggSy1oDgCg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAg&biw=1395&bih=775
 
I'll also add that just because I have aqueon and have not experienced issues doesn't mean I wouldn't buy something else if the opportunity allowed. In fact, I was looking at a getting a new tank just 6 months ago and was looking at one of the most expensive tank builders (reef savvy) I know of because they literally have perfect looking tanks. Seams, glass cut, build, everything. But in the end I just couldn't justify the cost, someday maybe but not now. Custom tanks are nicer overall though, so someone like planet or age or whatever could be better but I've seen custom tanks fail too. Unfortunately I think it is more of a matter of who built said tank on whatever day.
 
2nd the recommendation to visit a couple of good stores .... check what they are using for their display systems and what they recommend to the customers they will be doing maintenance for.

They are unlikely to use anything that is has more than the unavoidable risk of having a glass tank filled with water.


The first marine tank I set up was purchased early in 1979 ( 55G ). It has been moved to multiple States and to multiple rooms in multiple hours through the years. Still works fine.

However, a tank from one of the local commercial builders split on me after 4 months ... but other tanks by the same builder have been in use for a few years.

Usually not an issue with any of these company's products. But sometimes stuff happens.
 
Other than Glass Cages, which has a long history of sloppy work and burst tanks, and Finnex which has a more recent history of tank leaks, I think any production tank out there is likely to be safe given a decent stand (which the Costal is). When I see people paying the often significant premium for a non-standard (Aqueon, etc) tank it is for the thinner seams, low iron glass, rimless, etc, not due to any structural concerns. The silicone is the most important part of the tank, but I don't think any of the options you listed are bad.
 
Thank you all for your replies, I looked at another DSA tank today and it actually had pretty much the same silicone seams as the planet I saw, I think that other DSA simply had too much silicone in the seams in such a way that you could easily feel the bulk of it, not sure why. Based on the responses here and some research I did, it seems like you actually don't want to have that much silicone on the seams, and that it should be rather thin and not spread out, the planet aquarium was built exactly like this.

That being said I think I am going with the Planet 75 with a trim at the top and bottom and the standard center bracing, I am getting a quote on the euro bracing version of it as well to compare.
 
@Oscarmk wrote:
Thank you all for your replies said:
I think you'll probably be happy with whatever you end up getting if Planet makes it. I recently bought one of their tanks (a 36x18x18, low iron glass, rimless on the top) and am very happy with the quality. I'm not saying the others aren't fine, too, but after looking for a long time I decided that Planet was the way to go.

@Wes wrote:
I'll also add that just because I have aqueon and have not experienced issues doesn't mean I wouldn't buy something else if the opportunity allowed. In fact said:
I also looked at Reef Savvy. They make some really amazing tanks but while I could have almost justified the cost of the tank by itself when I added in the shipping from Miami it was way too much money. Maybe if I already had a stand, sump, skimmer, etc... but moving up from a Biocube and having to buy all of the equipment to support a larger tank there just wasn't enough difference in quality between them and Planet Aquarium for the extra cost.
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I had planet rebuild a very very old tank with extremely thick glass and they hands down are the best....they picked the best glass for each side and corrected some design problems the tank had. Their work is flawless and is used by several club members and stores in the metroplex.
 
@Oscarmk wrote:
Thank you all for your replies said:
Euro-bracing is one thing I really like, especially when it removes a center support. They make a nice edge to put things on and get a nice look without decreased risk of splashing over the edge.
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When then rebuilt my tank that is what they did to make the center braces MUCH MUCH smaller....I went from one giant one to 2 small ones....reason for this....the tank is over 7 feet long...euro will not handle that much force over that given area....but, like jccaclimber said...it makes for a really nice tank and nice place to put your net if you have jumpers.
 
I got the quote on the Planet 75 g euro, without the center brace, it seems that their standard euro on the 75g is to only to do the extra glass along the width, and not on the length, I actually saw a 90 planet like this in a store before, not sure if this is fine in an euro braced 75 g without center brace. What do you guys think?, I think it is also possible to request a quote on a full perimeter euro braced if needed. I am really more concerned about what will hold up best if the center bracing or an euro bracing on the sides only, or if needed I can go with the euro bracing full perimeter. Although I do think the euro bracing looks better than the center brace.
 
View attachment 6722Hi Wes! Just hoping to get your opinion. My husband and I were just about upgrade our 150 to a brand new 210 gallon Aqueon tank and found a small 1/4-1/2 bubble in the silicone seam on one of the corners. Do you happen to know if this is a problem? Have you ever experienced this? Thanks!
 
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