Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Tanks and Equipment => Topic started by: Pixiecatjo on February 11, 2013, 05:29:08 PM
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Hi guys, i am hoping someone can give me a little advice, i have a Juwel Rio 180 that i have been running as a tropical aquarium for around the past 3 years it has always made the odd creaking sound, mainly if the ambient room temp changes but it seems to be happening more often, it is built with a metal brace around the top and bottom of the tank. I should say my sister gave it to me after she had been running it as a tropical tank for a couple of years, i am trying to avoid coming home from work to a very wet carpet and dead fish :-[ should a start shopping for a new tank?!?
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I would have thought it have gone by now if it was going to. The creaking may just be due to expansion and contraction due to temperature changes or to slight shifts in the floor if you have a suspended floor. You seem to suspect that it is due to temperature changes; how long has it been happening more often? If it's just the last few days, it may be due to the cold spell we are having.
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Thanks for getting back to me, I wonder does anyone know what sort of life span Juwel tanks have? I know its a good make and its well looked after, the question just kind of came to me. :)
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Be afraid.... be very afraid..... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20850048 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20850048)
;D ;D
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I have Juwel rio 125 bought in late 2006. The only noises it makes are clicking sounds when the lights come on and go off, presumably due to the light bar and metal reflectors heating and cooling.
I see you said it has a metal brace top and bottom. Mine has a brown plastic trim round the inside of the rim and the brace bar in the middle made of the same stuff. It's while since I've seen the bottom of the tank so I can't remember what's under the bottom pane.
Has your room temp variation changed - you said it's happening more often, and when the room temp changes.
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If your tank is making a clicking noise and you've ruled out your mechanical equipment, fish, plants and decor, then it could be the tank, or the absence of a drip loop in a cable going to your electrical wall sockets. Condensation can form on electrical cables near your tank and without a drip loop can travel down the cable and enter the plug creating a clicking noise by electrical arcing. A drip loop is simply created by making sure the cable hangs below the wall socket before going back up into the plug. Just a few inches will do the job.
As for the tank, the weakest and possibly noise causing component is the silicone seal, as it will deteriorate over time. Depending on its quality and application, a lifespan between ten and twenty years is probably a reasonable estimate. The glass and metal frame, if looked after and free of flaws, will last eons longer and shouldn't really make any audible noise.
With regard to temperature changes causing a tank failure, the following should put your mind to rest.
A 1 meter length (any X-section) of aluminium will increase in length by about 2.3 mm after a temperature increase of 100 deg C. A similar length of ordinary glass will increase in length by about 0.9 mm and steel by about 1.4 mm, after the same temperature increase. Very high or very low temperatures do not follow the same principle.
The temperates inside your house, or tank water are not going to change by anywhere near 100 deg C. (If they do, consider moving fast.) So, the actual changes in material lengths are going to be very, very tiny and the flexible silicone layer, between 2.5 and 5 mm thick in normal residential aquariums, squashed between the metal frame and the glass will easily absorb any changes, but could make a clicking sound as a result. With a good silicone seal it is highly unlikely that your tank would break as a result of your normal house, or water temperature changes.
If the silicone is going to fail, it would probably be due to age deterioration rather than any temperature changes.
After all that, if the tank is older than ten years and the clicking has accelerated recently I would seriously consider changing it for a younger model.