What tank should I trust after an Innovative Marine EXT 200 leak?

[javajaws]

I'm not sure why you'll think a custom tank would be better. I've had 2 custom tanks, both fine/ok - no problems. But the quality of an IM tank is higher (admittedly my IM sample is only a 25 lagoon). Grass is not always greener on the other side...

I'd a pretty demanding person when it comes to quality and getting what you pay for. I would sleep well with your IM replacement and knock this off as a fluke or due to the shipping mishap.

 

[GlassMunky]

I'm not sure why you'll think a custom tank would be better. I've had 2 custom tanks, both fine/ok - no problems. But the quality of an IM tank is higher (admittedly my IM sample is only a 25 lagoon). Grass is not always greener on the other side...

I'd a pretty demanding person when it comes to quality and getting what you pay for. I would sleep well with your IM replacement and knock this off as a fluke or due to the shipping mishap.

Generally custom tank manufactures have much better design on how thick the glass needs to be and how it’s sealed together with most having some kind of supports (euro or trim) and/or with seam safety measures that most mass produced tanks won’t do.

It’s really the fact that all these mass produced tanks use thinner glass than they should and just do fully rimless tanks on things that are way too big for that.

 

[tritonpower]

Generally custom tank manufactures have much better design on how thick the glass needs to be and how it’s sealed together with most having some kind of supports (euro or trim) and/or with seam safety measures that most mass produced tanks won’t do.

It’s really the fact that all these mass produced tanks use thinner glass than they should and just do fully rimless tanks on things that are way too big for that.

FYI, it comes eurobraced.

 

[GlassMunky]

So i just checked the IM site, and saw that the EXT 200 does have Euro bracing, so disregard my comments about that. I hadnt seen any of the ones with bracing in person, all the ones the LFS had were fully rimless.

FYI, it comes eurobraced.

yea you beat me to it. was writing this when you posted.


knowing that..... Is selling the replacement an option to recoup some of the cash and use that for a custom tank?

 

[javajaws]

Generally custom tank manufactures have much better design on how thick the glass needs to be and how it’s sealed together with most having some kind of supports (euro or trim) and/or with seam safety measures that most mass produced tanks won’t do.

It’s really the fact that all these mass produced tanks use thinner glass than they should and just do fully rimless tanks on things that are way too big for that.

Well, OP's tank has 19mm side glass, 22mm bottom glass, and euro bracing. I mean I guess if he wants 1" thick glass and to pay $10-15k to sleep better he could do that. But I just don't see the glass or design being the issue here...and again no guarantees he wouldn't have a problem with the custom one either.

 

[Chrisv.]

So i just checked the IM site, and saw that the EXT 200 does have Euro bracing, so disregard my comments about that. I hadnt seen any of the ones with bracing in person, all the ones the LFS had were fully rimless.

yea you beat me to it. was writing this when you posted.


knowing that..... Is selling the replacement an option to recoup some of the cash and use that for a custom tank?

What do you think about the thickness of this tank? It's 19mm sides, 22mm bottom.

 

[GlassMunky]

Well, OP's tank has 19mm side glass, 22mm bottom glass, and euro bracing. I mean I guess if he wants 1" thick glass and to pay $10-15k to sleep better he could do that. But I just don't see the glass or design being the issue here...and again no guarantees he wouldn't have a problem with the custom one either.

you might have missed the above post where i corrected myself. i see that that tank does have bracing, so my comment on the design should be disregarded.
my LFS has the, i believe EXT 100 in store, and it doesnt have bracing on it (according to the IM site bracing starts at 112 and up), so i assumed that like all their tanks were like that, the same way RS and others do it. i was mistaken.

 

[tritonpower]

So i just checked the IM site, and saw that the EXT 200 does have Euro bracing, so disregard my comments about that. I hadnt seen any of the ones with bracing in person, all the ones the LFS had were fully rimless.

yea you beat me to it. was writing this when you posted.


knowing that..... Is selling the replacement an option to recoup some of the cash and use that for a custom tank?

It is one of the options I am considering. Leaning towards giving the IM tank another chance.

 

[GlassMunky]

It is one of the options I am considering. Leaning towards giving the IM tank another chance.

i had honestly never looked too far into the details of all their models since the ones i had seen at my LFS just seemed like exact RS clones. but it looks like they actually have better specs for their larger tanks than some of the other makers. Im actually slightly impressed at the changes for the larger sizes.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I personally would not have a tank that was not braced (conventional trim or euro). In that context glass thickness is not nearly as important.

With a trimless (rimless) tank (or whatever people call them) the glass thickness accomplishes two things.
1 - it offers extra surface area for silicone in the joints
2 - increases rigidity and reduces panel flex (bending outward) that puts shear and peeling stress on the seams.

A simple top trim prevents most of the peeling stress. The cross brass reduces the bowing and further reduces the peeling and shear stress. A eurobrace stiffens the whole system.

Anyway - in the end, I would never own a rimless/trimless tank. They are far more destined to fail with any reasonable glass thickness, far before a trimmed or braced tank.

 

[Chrisv.]

I personally would not have a tank that was not braced (conventional trim or euro). In that context glass thickness is not nearly as important.

With a trimless (rimless) tank (or whatever people call them) the glass thickness accomplishes two things.
1 - it offers extra surface area for silicone in the joints
2 - increases rigidity and reduces panel flex (bending outward) that puts shear and peeling stress on the seams.

A simple top trim prevents most of the peeling stress. The cross brass reduces the bowing and further reduces the peeling and shear stress. A eurobrace stiffens the whole system.

Anyway - in the end, I would never own a rimless/trimless tank. They are far more destined to fail with any reasonable glass thickness, far before a trimmed or braced tank.

Looks like these do have euro bracing but do not have a cross bar support that spans the middle of the tank. Thickness on the sides is 19mm and the bottom is 22mm. I've been very tempted by these tanks, but I do not own one. The price is insanely good for what you get, except in OPs case! I can't even imagine what I would do if a 200 gallon reef spring a leak in my house. Hopefully the tank was in the basement.

 

[dlai]

Oh man this makes me weary now. My 100G Cadlights just sprung a slow leak over the weekend and was set on replacing it with a IM 100G EXT now I’m not so sure… at the same time it seems like no manufacturer out there is completely immune to leaks here and there.

 

[tritonpower]

I chose wrong! My 2nd IM EXT 200 also leaked. I'm still in shock.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

are these things made in china or something??!!

 

[tritonpower]

are these things made in china or something??!!

yes

 

[braaap]

Oh man this makes me weary now. My 100G Cadlights just sprung a slow leak over the weekend and was set on replacing it with a IM 100G EXT now I’m not so sure… at the same time it seems like no manufacturer out there is completely immune to leaks here and there.

Well that’s a Cadlight tank for you. Haha

 

[smitten with ocean life]

man, thats rough...

 

[Aaron75]

are these things made in china or something??!!

All the big brands are.

 

[dlai]

Well that’s a Cadlight tank for you. Haha

The tank did last me 10years. Are all these rimless tanks bound to fail over the long run?

 

[Christine Rawlings]

So my Innovative Marine 200 EXT leaked. Back right corner on the bottom. Tank was level. Not sure why. Innovative Marine was not sure why. I cannot find any other IM 200 tank that has leaked.
The pallet it was delivered on last year was destroyed under the back right corner but the box the tank was in was intact. Perhaps that somehow was the cause. Not sure. You can see the video in my build thread.

Now I have a decision to make. The replacement tank from IM is in the garage. Do I:

1. Use the replacement tank and start over again and hope this was a fluke leak. A little hard to trust Innovative Marine tanks now but I want to. It costs $0.
2. Buy waterbox tank of same size for over $6K
3. Buy custom tank. Quote from glass cages for same size was over $10k (did include armor seams, steel stand with leveling feet, etc).
4. Give up and sell everything (this is my 2nd leak, 1st was redsea 425 XL). This was is harder since I lost all my large SPS this time.

Let me know your thoughts.

This thread was so helpful. I just posted yesterday that I found a hair line crack traveling in my 20g tank and I’m worried about tragedy coming my way. (It’s my first tank, the stand sump and plumbing is custom, but I’ve only had it almost 2 years) although I think the glass tank itself came from petsmart or something. I was considering what tank to buy to replace this one and whatever I buy I want to have for a long time! Custom is not in the expense cards for me until I have more experience and space which I am planning for in the next year or so, so I don’t want to have something to hard to move. Anyway, from what I’ve read it seems no one recommends Red Sea and I see more confidence in Innovative Marine. I hear alot about Waterbox too. Hmmm…I just want to make the right choice so I can sleep at night too (without meds) lol!