Are the Petco Aqueon tanks a bad product?

[Janelle]

Another question from the newbie...

I purchased a 75 gal Aqueon tank from Petco as their $1 a gallon is sale is going on.  I am not trying to get the cheapest or most expensive items to set up my tank but, after inspecting this tank further I am wondering if I should spend more than $100 on this size of tank.

Here are a couple questions and concerns...

• Picture #1 - Why is this glop of silicone like this under each corner of the rim of the tank, and can I remove it?  Not sure if its because this tank is mass produced or if provides a function.
• Picture #2 - The silicone is oozing out of where the glass meets on the outside edge of the tank.  Can I razor blade the bead of silicone flush with the glass?
• Picture #3 - This wide silicone smear on the inside corner - is this going to look terrible when the tank is full of water or will it disappear?
• Picture #4 - A few silicone edges inside the tank were not feathered out.  Will this thick edge be prone lifting or lead to a future leak?  Can you razor blade that off to where the silicone was feathered out?

Thank you again!!

[O13SC3N3]

Aqueon Tanks are Hit or Miss.

You can easily take a razor blade and remove any excess silicone, with little to no issue. I've started inspecting the tank before purchase. But as long as you don't run the razor in between the panels your fine. The biggest issue is a good seal, which you can only find out useally by test filling. A few air bubbles between the panel isn't bad per say, but a tank will tell you pretty quickly if it's a dud during a test fill over a day or two.

Edited January 18, 2021 by O13SC3N3

[Janelle]

17 minutes ago, O13SC3N3 said:

Aqueon Tanks are Hit or Miss.

You can easily take a razor blade and remove any excess silicone, with little to no issue. I've started inspecting the tank before purchase. But as long as you don't run the razor in between the panels your fine. The biggest issue is a good seal, which you can only find out useally by test filling. A few air bubbles between the panel isn't bad per say, but a tank will tell you pretty quickly if it's a dud during a test fill over a day or two.

Thank you!  Can you add any help with picture #1.  Why all the silicone under the rim in the corners?

[StephenP2003]

Aqueon tanks are mass produced, so imagine workers trying to silicone X number of tanks a day.  They're more or less slapped together, but they seem to have a low enough leak/failure rate. Some of them just tend to have remnants of sloppier craftsmanship than others.  Fill it with water and stick a background behind it, see if the flaws catch your eye too much. If they do, I'd return it and find the best looking replacement you can.  Problem around here is there might be one 75-gallon at one Petco in the entire city.

[O13SC3N3]

44 minutes ago, Janelle said:

Thank you!  Can you add any help with picture #1.  Why all the silicone under the rim in the corners?

 

23 minutes ago, StephenP2003 said:

Aqueon tanks are mass produced, so imagine workers trying to silicone X number of tanks a day.  They're more or less slapped together, but they seem to have a low enough leak/failure rate. Some of them just tend to have remnants of sloppier craftsmanship than others.  Fill it with water and stick a background behind it, see if the flaws catch your eye too much. If they do, I'd return it and find the best looking replacement you can.  Problem around here is there might be one 75-gallon at one Petco in the entire city.

Like @StephenP2003 stated, they are mass produced and some end up with poor, or sloppy craftsmanship. It's just careless silicone placement. It serves no purpose other then looks ugly.

 

[Janelle]

Hey @StephenP2003 & @O13SC3N3 thanks so much!  You have both been a big help!

[L.W. Wetarm]

I recently bought a 29 from Petco. Having already read the negative reviews on their website, I was a bit cautious. Mine did have sloppy caulking and one end panel wasn’t quite flush with the front glass.  I filled it up on my garage floor for several days to test. It held water, no problem. 
I like to paint the back and sides of the tank black. I didn’t even think about the clear silicone when I did the paint. The clear looks bright neon white against the black back. 🤦🏻‍♂️ The addition of some substrate and plants along with time has made  it less noticeable.   

[Doug_E]

I had some air bubbles in one I got. I called and emailed with them and they basically said there can be visual flaws but the tanks work fine. I get the impression we worry a lot more than we need to.

[Nick L]

If it does really bother you there are a good few videos on line. Especially by serpadesign on how to re do the silicone and stuff like that. I think the king of diy does some too

[tnnlynch]

14 hours ago, L.W. Wetarm said:

I recently bought a 29 from Petco. Having already read the negative reviews on their website, I was a bit cautious. Mine did have sloppy caulking and one end panel wasn’t quite flush with the front glass.  I filled it up on my garage floor for several days to test. It held water, no problem.

This is what has me nervous about buying petco tanks. Multiple fairly recent reviews detailing total disasters with leaking tanks after a week or month being filled have me hesitating to buy at any price.  Most of the recent happy reviews are for reptiles or hamsters.  Unfortunately I can't fill it with water to test as it could freeze in my garage right now.

Edited January 19, 2021 by tnnlynch
incorrect grammar.

[L.W. Wetarm]

8 minutes ago, tnnlynch said:

This is what has me nervous about buying petco tanks. The multiple rather recent negative reviews detailing total disasters with leaking tanks after a week or month being filled has me hesitating to buy.  Most of the recent happy reviews are for reptiles or hamsters.  Unfortunately I can't fill it with water to test as it could freeze in my garage right now.

As Mark Twain once said, “ I am an old man and have had many worries...most of them  never happened“. 

[Janelle]

10 minutes ago, tnnlynch said:

This is what has me nervous about buying petco tanks. Multiple fairly recent reviews detailing total disasters with leaking tanks after a week or month being filled have me hesitating to buy at any price.  Most of the recent happy reviews are for reptiles or hamsters.  Unfortunately I can't fill it with water to test as it could freeze in my garage right now.

@tnnlynch I decided to make my life less stressful and returned the tank.  Also, someone mentioned painting the back of the tank black and the clear silicone looked terrible.  I went with a tank & stand combo from Marineland. Their tank was constructed with more attention to detail and used black silicon. It’s sitting in my garage right now full of water so I can check for leaks. 🤗  It was 77* here in So Cal today - no chance of freezing! 🥵

[tnnlynch]

I had a glass tank sump leak on me years back.  Damage wasn't that bad due to the water alarm we had but it was a bit traumatic at the time.  Definitely want to set up a small glass tank this time and not acrylic monster I had then. 

Your new tank looks good.  Hopefully it it works!  Is the black frame plastic or metal?

Tom

[Janelle]

9 minutes ago, tnnlynch said:

I had a glass tank sump leak on me years back.  Damage wasn't that bad due to the water alarm we had but it was a bit traumatic at the time.  Definitely want to set up a small glass tank this time and not acrylic monster I had then. 

Your new tank looks good.  Hopefully it it works!  Is the black frame plastic or metal?

Tom

The frame is plastic. 

[Dawn T]

So far, I've never had an Aqueon tank failure of any sort. When I buy tanks, regardless of brand, I check the silicone to make sure it was done well and right, so I hand-pick each tank when I'm buying one. I've done that in the past even when buying used tanks. I don't think I'd be able to convince myself to buy a tank without that inspection, especially if it's a larger one. Even custom tanks can be poorly done, ime, so even going that route requires diligence on checking the silicone work.

[FishyThoughts]

16 hours ago, tnnlynch said:

This is what has me nervous about buying petco tanks. Multiple fairly recent reviews detailing total disasters with leaking tanks after a week or month being filled have me hesitating to buy at any price.  Most of the recent happy reviews are for reptiles or hamsters.  Unfortunately I can't fill it with water to test as it could freeze in my garage right now.

The problem with most of the reviews on petco is they’re probably from someone buying a tank for the first time. They could be just deciding to set the tank on a piece of furniture that won’t support the tank and warps causing the leaks. Every manufacturer will have the occasional issues with their tanks. But if you consider the volume of of tanks sold through petco it is still likely to be as small a percentage as the rest. Almost every aquarium forum I’ve seen has post talking about when the next $1/gallong sale is. And often someone in there mentioned that they’re planning on buying several tanks at once. 
 

@Janelle for the most part the issue with aqueon tanks is the aesthetics of the silicone. Their tanks are not built for show quality tanks. But then they’re not show tank prices either. 

[tnnlynch]

True. People could be filling them on uneven surfaces that warp and few people comment when satisfied. Seeing as I am looking for small tanks it's probably too cheap to pass up.

I believe Cory just bought quite a few of the 40 gal breeders as they are so cheap.  It would be educational to hear what his failure rate (if any) is after they are set up.

[Paul]

As many have said these are mass produced aquariums. Just realize that many many people own these tanks and have zero issues with them holding water.

[gardenman]

When it comes to silicone,. I'd rather they use too much than not enough. People swear the black silicone is stronger than the clear, but my only tank with black silicone (a 30 high) sprang two leaks in the middle of a side panel. I resealed it with clear silicone (carefully taping the area with painters tape for a neat edge) and no more leaks. In my very, very limited experience with the black silicone, it's not as strong. My fifty gallon tank is now probably about 45 years old and still going strong. I resealed it maybe 25 years ago (a compete tear down and reseal) and it's rock solid. 

If you've got the right plants and fish in a tank, people should be looking at them instead of the silicone. One of my pet peeves with videogames these days is the focus on resolution. "You can count every hair on that character's arm1" If you've got the time and are so bored playing a game that you're counting the hairs on the arm of a character, it's not a good videogame. It's the same with an aquarium. If the fish and plants are so boring that people are noticing things like the silicone, you might need to liven up the tank a bit. Add a bit more color or activity.

I'm kind of brand neutral when it comes to tanks. I tend to buy whatever's the cheapest. If it leaks I know I can fix it. As long as the glass is intact, I can fix the leaks.

[ChefConfit]

The aqueon tanks are pretty much the standard for both people just getting into the hobby and experienced aquarist looking to set up several tanks. 

They may have some cosmetic flaws but 90% are hidden by either the substrate or the frame. The rest can most likely be cut away carefully. 

Literally every youtuber I watch and several fish stores use and recommend aqueon tanks from the dollar per gallon sale. 

There are nicer tanks out there and for a large display tank I personally would go with some thing a little nicer if I had the money. But there's nothing wrong with going with the aqueon. 

As far as reliability or safety goes I don't think there's any issues or really a difference between brands or it would be plastered all over every forum when the sale comes around as opposed to everyone waiting for it to buy their tanks. 

[Andy's Fish Den]

So far, I have not had any issues with the Petco dollar a gallon sale tanks that I have bought. I agree that a lot of people probably put tanks on uneven surfaces and cause issues. I did see in the warranty information for the 93 cube that I have, which is a Marineland tank that any issues with leaks etc are only covered if the tank is installed on a Marineland stand. 

[Daniel]

I am not sure how many Aqueon tanks I have had over time, but it is at least many dozens and I have never had one leak. And I think the fact the Cory spends his own hard earned cash on Aqueon tanks is a reasonably good endorsement.

[AdamTill]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but just about all these framed tanks are made by the same company nowadays (same parent co). So there’s no meaningful difference between Aqueon and Marineland etc.

Are they perfect? No. But the cost difference between perfect and this is substantial (look at ADA type prices).

If they were a time bomb they wouldn’t keep selling them.

Ive seen the pictures people take of tanks hanging off the edge of old IKEA furniture etc and I’m not surprised of some of the failures. 

[MickS77]

I have two 20H Aqueon tanks that didn't appear to have enough silicone but they've been holding water. I haven't had any issues with dollar per gallon tanks. 

[Brandy]

I even buy them used. No issues. The only tank failure I ever had was my parents tank in the 80s, I have no memory of the brand though, and I think the stand was at fault, not the seals, as the whole bottom panel cracked due to flexing. I think I am more worried about the glass being cracked or scratched when I buy them.