Let's Talk About Marineland 265 Gallon Tanks

[Rifken]

I had almost finished a long version of this story then I clicked in the wrong place and it all was lost so here is the short version.

I have ended up with two of these tanks. I bought one a few months ago in Albuquerque that was in terrific shape. It did have the wiers removed but I have since put them back in. I filled it with water on Monday and yesterday I noticed the trim had come lose at one bottom corner. There is no leak, half of the miter came apart and the other part broke.

I've carefully looked at the construction of both tanks. The bottom just has trim around the perimeter. I think it is glued at the corner, probably like they do at Planet Aquariums with some type of solvent. There are no crossbraces on the bottom. The bottom glass goes all the way to the edge. The front. sides and back sit on top of the bottom glass. The top does have two crossbraces that I think are put on first. Then I believe the front, side and back are added. I believe the front and rear trim is notched to accommodate the crossbraces.

I am try to decide if I can just clean the silicone off the trim then use new silicone to hold the trim in place and some type of solvent to "weld" the corner back together.

I just bought tank 2 from Irving, Texas. Long drive but it was an exact match for tank 1. At this time I thought they were custom built tanks and I couldn't believe my luck. Same tank, same stand, same canopy and this tank was supposed to be ready to go. I saw some silicone on the trim at one of the bottom corners and when I questioned the seller he said that the trim had come loose and he put the silicone on to stabilize it. He said there was no leak. It still had gravel in it. After I got it home I removed the side trim and found lots of silicone, green slime and it was wet in that corner. Also when I took the gravel out, I found it had euro type bracing added at the bottom of the front and rear glass. I need to figure out what to do with this tank. After watching many videos and reading much about it, I am thinking that I need to take the bottom off this tank, clean the heck out of it and put it back together. Of course the whole thing would get a complete reseal as well.

After I discovered that these are not custom tanks I read up on them and I was considering cutting hem down to 24 inches but I can't find a glass shop where I live that will cut 1/2 inch glass. I called to El Paso and I did find a place that would cut them but they said that the cuts on the front and back might not come out nice and straight because of the thickness and length of cut. He that if a pane breaks a replacement would be about 700 dollars. He did not seem to think it would go well so I don't think I will go this route.

So I would like to find out what you all think what I should do with each tank and I would also like to know what type of chemical/glue I will need to "weld/glue" the corners back together.

You can see the gluing here 23:30 into the video They mention using and accelerator so I wonder if it's just CA glue?

Thank you,
-Bob

 

[Rifken]

Ok, so maybe there were no replies because the bite was too big so lets just talk about tank 2.

I filled it with water and it started leaking right away from the under the front trim. It was a constant drip and it made a puddle of perhaps 20 square feet on my garage floor in the 45 minutes or so the tank had water in it.

I have since flipped the tank upside down and removed all the bottom trim. Just to be clear, the trim is not one large molded piece but rather four seperate pieces of trim that are mitered at the corner.

I think my next step is to remove the bottom glass. What I do after that is what I need help on. Can I just clean the glass and put the bottom back on followed by a complete internal reseal? by that I mean removing the silicone from the inside of the tank but leaving the panes stuck together and applying a new fillet of silicone. Or Option 2 is to completely disassemble the tank and start from scratch?

Thanks,
-Bob

 

[cilyjr]

Didn't the 265s have a bunch of failures in the mid 2000s?

How thick is the glass?

My leaning is toward a complete rebuild.

 

[Rifken]

I have read that there were some failures which does concern me.

The sides, front and back are 12 mm (just under 1/2) while the bottom is 199mm (3/4 inch) glass.

-Bob

 

[Eggs]

Didn't the 265s have a bunch of failures in the mid 2000s?

I may be wrong but I believe it was the 265g (?), and the stands were causing the tank failures.

 

[delv2323]

Why not just start over with some tanks that don't leak? New ones aren't that expensive and I see decent shape 180's all the time, though rarely at a price to make it worth the worry honestly.

Am I missing something?

 

[Ironwill723]

Marineland 265s were not the tanks with failures. The tanks with failures were the deep dimension tanks that were 36" wide. The 265g trim is cosmetic only and can be reapplied with silicone.

 

[Gundy]

As other have stated, why take the chance. If it fails you will lose substantially more iIn livestock than the tank cost plus damage to your house. Look for a quality used tank is my opinion. It's not worth the risk.

 

[cilyjr]

Marineland 265s were not the tanks with failures. The tanks with failures were the deep dimension tanks that were 36" wide. The 265g trim is cosmetic only and can be reapplied with silicone.

Yes! I remember that it was the dd tanks!!!!

 

[Rifken]

So these are 7 foot long tanks. Both came with stands and canopies. There are no current "production" 7 foot tanks. I can custom order a tank but the configurator came up to 2,200 or 2,300 dollars (plus shipping) depending on the company and that was for a tank that is 24 x 24 x 84. A 180 (production 6 foot tank) will not fit the stands or canopies.

I think we have become a "throw away" society. Sometimes its cost advantageous to just toss an item because it costs to much to be fixed, especially of you have to pay someone to do the work. But sometimes, it's cost effective to repair rather than toss away, especially if you have the skills to do the repair and doing such gives you a great sense of satisfaction. I like to build things and fix things. I built my garage, I've built multiple cabinets, rebuilt engines, repaired Air Force fighter jets for 22 years. I built and flew R/C aircraft and currently build and fly model rockets. It gives me great pleasure to build and repair stuff.

I've never rebuilt or repaired an aquarium before so I am just looking for advice on how to do it.

I was working on the tank today and have started removing the euro bracing a previous owner added to the bottom front and rear of the tank. They laminated two strips of 1/8th glass together and pushed it into the corner and called it good. In the process of pulling those strips the drywall knife I am using slid right thru the silicone in some places and came out the side of the tank. There was simply no silicone left holding the front glass to the bottom. It's really a hack job that was done. I am getting great pleasure from just removing the jacked up glass strips that was nothing more than a duct tape and bailing wire repair.

Because of the condition of the silicone on the trim I am starting to think I need to take the whole thing apart. I just got ahold of some acetone and I am going to test that out to see just exactly what I am looking at to get down to bare glass.


Thanks,
-Bob

 

[delv2323]

I can get behind everything you said above, totally agree! I just don't think you realize the miserable job it is removing 100% of the silicone and preparing the surface for a strong bond for an uncertain outcome.

I would show off those skills on custom furniture rather than trying to rebuild an old aquarium that frankly probably has quite a bit of scratching.

Best of luck either way!

 

[cilyjr]

I think we have become a "throw away" society. Sometimes its cost advantageous to just toss an item because it costs to much to be fixed, especially of you have to pay someone to do the work. But sometimes, it's cost effective to repair rather than toss away,

My father used to say to me, if a human built it then a human can fix it! The question is, is it worth it... Money and time.
I apply a good deal if that to my life.

I think completely dismantling this tank and putting it back together would be a fun challenge.
My question you is how thick is the glass?
The reason I ask is maybe it is worth it to build a tank that is completely rimless and frameless. You would have to buy some 1/2 in glass to rim and eurobrace it. But man it would look nice. I don't think I would do it with less than 5/8 thick glass on a 7 ft run.

 

[cilyjr]

Also, when I have rebuilt tanks I use
Momentive RTV 100 series.
It's a nice adhesive. Silicone.
103 is black 108 is clear. 106 is the red high temp stuff if ya wanna get real funky!

 

[Rifken]

The front, back and side glass is 12mm. It's just under 1/2 inch. 12.7mmm equal 1/2 inch.

I am very much considering cutting the tank down to 24 tall. I did not realize that you can't reach the bottom on a 30 inch tank. Or that "normal" lighting might not be bright enough to light up the depths

I am really considering taking the whole thing apart. I'm not too sure I should trust the silicone on the vertical seams. I did get a price of 300 bucks to have the four panels cut. That would make them 210s or so. Really considering it.

Bob

 

[cilyjr]

Or that "normal" lighting might not be bright enough to light up the depths

Not sure what normal is.
I have a 30-in deep aquarium. I am using eight hydra 32 HDs and 4x t5.
I have no problems with SPS just above the sand bed.

Watching your progress in the other thread by the way. Good luck

 

[Rifken]

I am running two 36" Aqueon LED lights on our 125 gallon tanks. Those are what I would call normal lighting. Lights you can buy from pet store and such.

-Bob