# My five year old tank is a goner... please help me replace it



## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I had a 42 gallon Oceanic hexagon aquarium. For the past few weeks, I've been struggling with it because it's been springing leaks out of every seam. I've been trying to patch it with silly putty then silicone, but it's not working. This morning, a pretty big leak sprang from the _bottom corner_, _under the trim_. I also got *another* leak on a *different* seam towards the bottom that I *couldn't* patch temporarily with silly putty. That pretty much left me no choice but to completely drain the tank.

I've just spent a marathon 8 hours transferring water, gravel, plants, and fish to a $35 cheapie 29 gallon tank I ran and picked up at the local discount store. This is as bad as this hobby gets (for me anyways).

I'd *like* to replace the Oceanic 42 Hex. I have a LOT of money, time, blood, sweat, and tears invested into customized equipment, lighting, etc. for this tank. To have to replace all of this for a different style tank is NOT a pleasing prospect.

The internet source I used to purchase the tank no longer carries it. Oceanic no longer lists the 42 gallon hex on their website. I know Oceanic was purchased by All Glass, and I heard they are discontinuing a bunch of tanks to "even out" their product line... real nice for people who have one of these discontinued tanks and the tank breaks (like me). I tried e-mailing their customer service, who has given me excellent service in the past when I had some problems, and the messages bounced. I guess All Glass decided to downgrade Oceanic's customer service to their own standard "no service" style. (Sorry for my tone... can you tell I don't like All Glass?).

I'm about to see if I can find a local dealer or store who can get me a *new* Oceanic 42 Hexagon.

If I can't get this tank replaced, I would like to know if anyone knows of any dealers or vendors online who will make a CUSTOM glass aquarium for someone. In other words, if I send them the exact dimensions of the Oceanic 42 hexagon, they then could make me a replacement tank and ship it to me.

I did find some approximations online. For example, All Glass makes a 60 hex, but I'm REALLY nervous about All Glass tanks. I've heard story after story about new All Glass tanks that leak the same way my tank is leaking now, and All Glass is completely unresponsive in replacing the tank for the customer.

I also found a place called aquariumsource.com that makes Acrylic tanks, and they make a 55 hex with specs that come pretty close to mine. But I'm worried over the fact that Acrylic scratches so easily, and I'm also worried about the top... my light sits on top of the tank and I also have fish that like to jump, so I want a flat top. I'm also worried about the cabinet... my existing one is Oceanic's matching 42 hex cabinet, and I'm nervous about putting a 55 tank on it. Aquariumsource.com does make a cabinet for their tank... but it's $2000. 

Any help or leads are greatly appreciated!


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your tank. Strange that the seams starting leaking in so many places after only five years. Maybe it's a good thing that the Oceanic/All Glass company no longer carries it; I would have hesitated to buy a tank from a company whose tank seams only last five years...

I'm sure you should be able to find someone to custom make a tank of the same dimensions as yours. Have you tried asking an LFS near you? I can give you a name of a company here in Switzerland but that won't be much help to you!

Hope you find what you're looking for!


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

Thanks for the kind words Laith.

What about glasscages.com? Anyone had experience with them?


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## soulcoffr (Mar 29, 2007)

Salt said:


> What about glasscages.com? Anyone had experience with them?


I know of a few people who have used Glasscages.com and have had good results. They use heavy glass and the joints are well sealed. The only pain is that you either need to have the tank drop shipped at your house, or you need to pick it up from a designated pick up. (Of which there are several around the US.)

Some of their custom work is pretty impressive and I would imagine they could construct you a custom hex to match your old Oceanic.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Salt, I am sorry to hear about your tank. I would be extremely upset if that happened to me. 

Have you asked at your local glass shop if they have ever made a custom aquarium tank? 

I have not done that myself, but I have thought of at least asking them at times. 
I figure these guys know everything about glass there is to know. Maybe they do. 

So far, I have only used mine to cut glass tops. 

But I have wondered about the idea of how much it would cost for a custom tank. 

Good luck with whatever you decide. 

Jim


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Glass Cages makes good tanks but the silicone is visibly less than attractive, so I have been told... Aquarium Obsessed makes good tanks, based on reports from people who are very knowledgeable in the hobby.

Maybe its time to start a good, reasonably priced aquarium company in the US.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

leaky seams is the dirty little secret of hex tanks. There are just too many seams at odd angles for them to stay solid. I've seen it too many times.

If you really want a hex, I recommend a single piece molded Acrylic tank. No seams. no leaks.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

JERP said:


> leaky seams is the dirty little secret of hex tanks. There are just too many seams at odd angles for them to stay solid. I've seen it too many times.


I always thought that since the hex tank has six seams instead of four, there would be less pressure on each seam, making it _less_ likely to leak.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

JERP said:


> If you really want a hex, I recommend a single piece molded Acrylic tank. No seams. no leaks.


I'm looking at this one in the 55 gallon size. I e-mailed them for some additional specs to see if it will fit my Oceanic 42 stand. But I have a light that I can't hang, so it sits on top of the tank, and a HOB filter on the back, and I have no idea if or how that will work with the acrylic tank. They don't say anything about how the tops are constructed, so I e-mailed them for info on that as well.


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

The picture in you link seems to show a tank without the topside cover with holes cut for access.
The prices seem to be higher than the equivalent TRUVU tanks.
http://www.aquatic-store.com/en-us/dept_184.html
So, maybe the design is different.

TRU VU acrylic tanks without an overflow will allow a HOB filter but (as mentioned in another thread) the opening is not large enough for the System 1. I have the built-in overflow on my 35 gallon hex tank and this allows enough room for the System I filter and eliminates the need for another filter. I bought the hex tank 15 years ago from a LFS and have had no problem with leaks.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I use the System 1, so that's could be a problem. 35 is too small for me!

Have you considered shimming (cutting) an opening for the System 1 with a Dremal rotary tool?


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## wiste (Feb 10, 2006)

> Have you considered shimming (cutting) an opening for the System 1 with a Dremal rotary tool?


I only occasionally use the System 1 on the tank so I made a small sump that sets on the tank. The acrylic tank without the built-in overflow is huge (240 gal) so setting a small sump on it is no big deal.
Water is circulated into the sump by a power head and the System 1 runs on the sump and water runs from an overflow back into the tank. The current design is a bit of an eyesore but it is functional. I do not want to mess with the integrity of the tank even though the risk seems to be minimal to increase the size of the opening.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I see.

I went to my LFS who is supposed to be an Oceanic dealer. They told me if Oceanic can make it, they can get it, and if they can get it, it shouldn't be more than 1 to 2 weeks.

In the meantime, I'm liking the idea of the 55 hex more and more. It's definitely wider than my 42 broken tank, so I'll have to probably get their stand. $2000, yay! It's sure to be nice. 

That really only leaves me worried about the top. I really need a cover like the Oceanic's, so my prism pendant MH/PC light fixture can sit on top, it can open and close, and it leaves room for a System 1 on front and Aquaclear HOB on the back.

Current tank, looking pretty sad:










"Standard" trim on Oceanic hex, with mineral creep:










Current glass cover, with dimensions:


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I would think any glassmaker could make you a new cover...


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## dirtmonkey (Mar 12, 2007)

From your time zone it looks like you're on the other side of the country. Too bad, otherwise I'd be on my way over right now to take the leaky one off your hands!


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

I don't know about that... You'd have to remove the old sealant, clean it with acetone, then reseal it. That's quite a job. Then, you'd have to hope everything holds.

I don't want to go through this again. I've been communicating with a very nice gentleman from aquariumsource.com. The acrylic tanks have a 5 inch "lip" around all sides of the top. They can make the lip smaller or custom cut the top, then modify the thickness of the acrylic on top so that it can still support fixtures, etc.

I took measurements of all my equipment and lighting fixture, and sent him a diagram of how I would need the top custom cut. He replied saying it could be done! Just have to wait for a quote.


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## dirtmonkey (Mar 12, 2007)

Those wider parts the light sits on look like a weak link to me... maybe they could build or cement in a couple narrow cross pieces, about where the light crosses open water? That migtht keep some of the stronger leverage off the sides from downward pressure on those big tabs. It looks like accidentally pushing there could break something fairly easily.

And Nah, I've torn down & rebuilt lots of tanks. If I find a leaky large hex around here, most of the job would be the cleaning. I'd only be resealing lightly, and using it for frogs.


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

It looks like a weak link, but they'll custom make the top of the tank with thicker acrylic which should make it support more weight easily.

I may look into figuring a way to hang the metal halide prism pendant... but that might be too difficult to do. It doesn't have any hardware on it for hanging, so I'd have to attach it, and if my work is shoddy, it will come crashing down on the tank!


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

By the way, you guys seem to be right about the hex's being leaky. The glasscages.com guy replied to my message and said he will only make hex tanks in acrylic!


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## dirtmonkey (Mar 12, 2007)

I bet they'd be stronger if each edge was beveled to 60 degrees, or every other panel to 120; but I don't see that being practical. Hmmm. I wonder if a diamond glass cutting blade would do that without too much chipping.... Sorry, getting off your topic now.

At least when going with acrylic, the scratches that might happen more easily will also be much easier to polish out than they are in glass.

Vincent


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Salt, hanging your light should not be such a worry. I would/have used braided picture hanging wire. Drill 4 small holes, slightly larger than the wire guage. Wrapping the wire around a washer inside the light will make a good stop that will not let lose or pull through. To make it easily adjustable, use a small loop of wire for each end of the light and by using a small length of steel, square tubing with holes drilled in two of the adjacent corners, the weight of light (the wires for the u pass through this piece) will keep the wire from slipping in the bracket, allowing you to fine-tune the levelness of the light. Also, if the weight of the light is not balanced, this will stil allow you to make it hang straight. Now, if your piece of square tubing is about 3/4-1" long, you can pass the wire from the ceiling/shelf/etc that your light will hang from, again use one wire per side, through the tube part and secure with good twisting and solder or an appropriately size/made cable clamp. A bike store should have something sized good for this if the hardware store does not. Use eyehooks in the ceiling or some nicely made/bought bracket and attach the cables for each side of the light to them in the same way. If you want it adjustable in height, you could try pulleys and a hook with grommets worked into the cable at various "heights", self retracting brackets (saw them on someone else's thread here, forget where though)....or some other option.

Hanging it should not be that scary and remember, it only weights 3.5lbs. Heck you could hang that from drywall with molly-bolts and not worry. One thing I always do when I worry about hanging something, I remember how well kitchen cabinets full of dishes are really attached to the wall I used to hang/install cabinets for a living and most of the time, a cabinet has between 2 and 4 drywall screws holding everything up. I have done pull-ups on them after hanging. Generally the cabinet construction fro store bought cabinets is weaker than the cabinet to wall interface

Sorry about your tank woes!


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

OK, I'm getting REALLY nervous now about aquariumsource.com. I went back to their site, and I found that they have NO mention of their physical location ANYWHERE on their site. They list a phone number and e-mail address only. NO record at Better Business Bureau, and NO results doing a reverse phone number lookup.

I tried searching their phone number on Google, and found that they also operate tabletoptanks.com. That site as well... NO physical address, just a phone number and e-mail address. I checked their domain info on whois.sc and and it says aquariumsource.com is hosted on a dedicated server in Phoenix Arizona, and tabletoptanks.com is hosted on a dedicated server in Ontario Canada, a totally different country! Their domain contact info is not their real address, just the address of the service they used to register the domains.

This REALLY leaves me nervous. Does anyone know of any site or service I could use to check this outfit to insure that it's legit before I pay them upwards of $3,000?


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

Salt,
if you do go with the custom acrylic, think about this top layout. I think the strength would be as good and it cleans up the lines. add a strip around the light to keep it centered and prevent it from falling in and you should be good.










I have had a 14 Gallon hex for over 20 years without any troubles, but it also has mitered joints on the glass FWIW.

Brian


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## Salt (Apr 5, 2005)

The 42 gallon hex has more pressure on the seams I think, plus the joints on this Oceanic tank appear to be *only* silicone.

Your diagram looks pretty good, but I already have them started on the tank. I believe these tanks are "extruded" when made, and they can't entirely close up the top to create the center support. Plus that might be harder to clean. I could be wrong... but anyways, I was kind of looking forward to keeping the area under the light open. The five inch "wings" are how the tanks are pre-made, so the cuts are into that.

I think I'm just being paranoid with regard to the location... they told me they are in Palatine Illinois. Although shopinusa.com puts them in Crooks (yikes), South Dakota. They said they changed ownership and that was their previous location. Plus, they told me the tank itself will probably be made at their "California location."

Their site says their standard lead time is 5-7 weeks. They already have a stand available in the wood type I want (ebony). So hopefully it won't be too long. I haven't even removed my old tank yet.

How's this for a laugh...


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

Salt said:


> The 42 gallon hex has more pressure on the seams I think, plus the joints on this Oceanic tank appear to be *only* silicone.
> 
> Your diagram looks pretty good, but I already have them started on the tank. I believe these tanks are "extruded" when made, and they can't entirely close up the top to create the center support. Plus that might be harder to clean. I could be wrong... but anyways, I was kind of looking forward to keeping the area under the light open. The five inch "wings" are how the tanks are pre-made, so the cuts are into that.
> 
> ...


That looks like some of my creations.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Some of you fellows are very talented with working with 'creations'. 

A lot of them are really, really fun to look at. 

Time for more hoto: photos.


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