Garage sale tank, does this sound safe?

[pyrofish]

A few weeks ago, I picked up an old 55 gallon tank at a garage sale for $30. Seemed like a good deal at the time, and even better when I took it home and found two working full spectrum bulbs in the light hood! The light hood needs a little work, which I already have pretty much covered.

What I'm paranoid about is whether it could possibly leak, now or in the future. This is especially important in my case, there is my grandfather's 1906 steinway grand piano and a vintage dining room table below the room where I keep my fish! These items are worth more than the house itself, so I think it's safe to say that a leaking fish tank would be a bad thing...

The guy who sold it to me ensured me that it doesn't leak, but he warned me to fill the tank slowly, because it hasn't had water in it for a long time. Anyone know why this would be? And as I forgot to ask the guy, how "slowly" exactly should it be filled?

Any other precautions I should take when dealing with an old tank? Should I re-inforce or re-seal anything?

Thanks in advance!

[Osiris]

I would take it outside or in the basement on a even surface and fill it up with water and leave it like that for few days to see, i do this with most tanks i pick up at garage sales, if nothing, usually your good then .

Garage sale season has started! Tank buying shall begin!

[ron v]

I wouldn't put even a brand new tank in that situation. You never can tell what might happen.

[pyrofish]

Thanks for the replies. I see what you mean ron, it is awfull risky. Although I can't really think of where else to put them. If I put my fish in the hallway, or in my basement, or pretty much anywhere else, there will be a greatly elevated risk of my irresponsible siblings breaking it.

The only other safe place I can think of is the same room with the piano and the table. I'm guessing this would be better than having it upstairs, but I'm not sure (since I'm not a water leak expert).

[Georgia Peach]

My 55 gal tank is almost 20 years old and its still fine.. although its always had water in it - if you are really worried about it, you can re-seal it to be on the safe side.. its not hard and only takes a few days to cure out.

[FortWayneFish]

I'd think putting the tank in the room with the piano and table would be SAFER then in the room above them...
As fara s filling the tank: outside on a level surface and fill slow enough to catch aleak if it appears but not so slow you have to sunbath all day next to it to let it fill. If you can let the tank sit a few days full it would be a good idea.

I have gotten all my tanks 2nd hand... and this is the method I have used over and over again...

Trust me a leaky tank is a lot better outside or out of the house then in the house on carpet, tile or linoleum..

As far as Siblings... maybe let them help you choose fish for the tank and encorporate them into the tank.. Maybe they'll be more cautious...

it won't work but You could alsways try....

[Sprite42]

On your trial fill...be sure you fill it all the way to the top....ask me how I know this....LOL

[pyrofish]

Sprite42, this reminds me, is it bad if the sealant near the top of the tank is discolored?

By the way, what exactly happened in your case?! You said "ask me", (although I understand that might not be what you meant to say...).

[meyerhaus]

My guess...BIG OLE LEAK at the top.

More important: make sure that your stand is sturdy.

[Sprite42]

Sometimes the sealant around the top will be a different color. Mine was black.

MH, you guessed it. I was given a 29 gallon tank that had been holding fish. I cleaned it well and set it on my patio deck and filled it with water to a little over half full. It held water real good. I let it set for about 1 day. I brought it in and set it up all the gravel and plants. I then filled it a little over half way, added the heaters and filters. It was looking good. I filled it almost full and added the fish (they were being upgraded from a smaller tank)l Well, I finished filling it and put the lid and lights on....water was going everywhere. Funny, I didn't notice the water leaking until I had the lights on...About three quarters of the way up, there were leaks in two different corners. The other two sides had leaks in the corners just under the black trim. Not just small leaks, these looked like Old Faithful. Needless to say, I panicked and started trying to save my carpet.....

I dropped the light fixture in the tank trying to get it undone...
I dumped three fish into the sink while trying to hurry and get the water below the leak line....(I did have the stopper in, though)...
I stumped my toe on the door facing and tore my toenail off...still trying to hurry...
I burst the heater because I forgot to unplug it before the water got too low...
The rest of the fish wound up in a 5 gallon bucket until I could drag out the rubbermaid tub...
Oh yes, I also broke the black trim in about 3 places (no clue how I managed that)...
My carpet got a good shampooing...

I was an ungodly mess...I wound up resealing the whole thing. Those poor fish lived in a rubbermaid tub for 2 weeks. But, I didn't lose any, not even the ones I dumped in the sink!

[ron v]

Yeah, sounds about right. I've been there. Sounds funny now, but I'm sure it wasen't then.

[pyrofish]

Wow, talk about a horror story! Perhaps another lesson or two that I won't have to learn the hard way...So thanks! And good job managing to keep the fish alive too.

I've been thinking (yes I know that can be dangerous), perhaps there is a way to ensure minimal water damage in the event of a leak. What about a "Gutter" built around the outside of the tank stand that is piped into a large plastic container under the stand? Has this been done before? It might not end up looking very stylish...

[Sprite42]

It truly was not funny at the time. But, I can just see me now and that mental picture is hilarious. My SO only barely tolerates all the fish tanks as it is. There was not only the carpet to consider, but the "OMG, how much time before he gets home" factor, too! What he doesn't know, can't hurt him...right!?! LOL

[meyerhaus]

My uncle is a carpenter...a good one. However, when my cousin Joey (3 at the time) found my uncle Joe's hammer, he thought it would be cool to fix his favorite thing in the house: "The fiss tunk." It was like watching a movie in slow motion...we just sat there when he yelled "Bob the Builduh" and smashed it right into a 55 with some Red Devils. The water flowed out in one big flood. While my aunt was more concerned for her carpet, I ran to the garage where I knew there was a 20 gallon stainless troughthat my uncle had JUST cleaned. I hastily filled it halfway with hose water, threw in some Chloramine/Chlorine treatment and then got two big buckets of hot water to level out the temp. My uncle was thinking the same way I was: save the fish. He had 4 Devils in a sauce pan (don't worry...it was luke warm water) and acclimated them to the trough water.

We didn't laugh right away...but now that I look back, it was priceless.

[TheOldSalt]

Oh man, that's funny!

I saw something similar happen once with a golf club. ( well, more accurately I heard it and came running ) People shouldn't play golf indoors, even if it IS the golf course Pro Shop. The best part was that it was a fully tempered-glass tank of some 300 gallons. ( another dumb idea)
Did you see that scene in "Deuce Bigelow" when that tank shattered? It was pretty much the same thing.