Massive hippo tang

A gentleman called me around midnight last night to tell me that his tank was leaking and his regular service guy wasn't available so I rushed over thinking that it may have been a hose clamp or a bulkhead fitting. When I got there, I noticed that the bottom of the tank had a break in the seal so I decided that I would have to house the fishes by me and drain his tank until I can have a new one made for him.
I had no space anywhere for this bad boy except for in my display tank.
Now I don't want to give him back.
He's about 10 inches nose to tail.

 

Very nice! Make him an offer he can't refuse

 

I plan on doing just that. Hopefully he's willing to sell.

 

So you just put him in your tank? Interesting. I'd be too cautious so I'm jealous. He could have killed everything in your tank. You're the man.
So you clean tanks?
Any idea how it cracked? My worst nightmare is my bottom glass breaking. No idea how it holds all that weight.

 

Yea it was a risk but I was willing to take it. The tank he was in is way smaller than mine and he was in there with a bunch of smaller fish.
The tank cracked because it's about 20 yrs old. I advise clients to change their tanks at least every 10 years.

 

beautiful!

 

Hmm I've never heard f changin tanks every 10 years. Oceanic when they were around and marineland tanks today offer limited lifetime warranties on their tank and my dad has had his 55 gal for over 20 years no problems.

Do you ever just suggest inspecting for problems and re siliconing coming if needed?

 

Due to ridiculous shipping costs, we can't get those tanks in my country. We rely on local glass workers to build our tanks and they don't offer any kind of warranty lol. Hardly any business in Trinidad offers a guarantee or warranty on any good or services. (Third world life)
Sometimes I advise redoing the silicone if the tank happens to be really large and too costly to rebuild.
Since I've been in this hobby/business I've had 3 tanks bursting due to age and I don't want it to happen again. Also, a local discus breeder actually lost an eye due to a tank breaking while he was doing a water change.

 

WHAT?!?!?!

 

An EYE!!! Damn. Id be very upset loosing 50% of my viewing power! Are the tanks just bursting at the seams from the silicone going bad or is the glass actually breaking? I lost a 150 gallon cube once due to the entire bottom cracking lengthwise. 3 am of course and an epic disaster! That was due to the floor slowly sinking and torqueing the tank. Other than that I ve never seen glass just rupture. And back on topic, thats a huge Hippo! You should advise him that his tank is too small and you feel obligated to buy it! (no matter what his tank size is!)