# Fluval Ebi warning - photo added



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I know that the Fluval Ebi has been popular since it was introduced not long ago, so I thought that I'd post about what happened to me today.

I was switching on the light on my Ebi, when all of a sudden (and without being touched) the styrofoam 3D backing detached itself from the back wall of the aquarium.

The styrofoam backing then launched itself straight up, forcefully, knocking off the light (backwards), the lid (forwards) and raising the filter and the heater part way out of the tank. Water was spraying across the tank from the spraybar. The two plastic corner pieces that hold the lid in place disappeared in different directions behind the tank.

The reason that the filter and heater came up was that their cords passed over the top of the foam backing.

I grabbed the lid (which otherwise would have fallen on the floor and smashed) and caught the light as it was falling into the water. Then, I lifted the filter's cord off the foam backing --and the thing bounced up even higher, of course.

I can't see any way that I could have caused this to happen. I didn't have my hands inside the tank and wasn't adjusting anything. It seems to have been a spontaneous detachment and if I hadn't been there, it could have been a disaster, with the light ending up inside the tank.

I've taken the foam background out of the tank and won't be putting it back in. I recommend that anybody who has this tank either remove the 3D background or attach it more securely with some aquarium silicone. It's essentially a flotational device that is held on by a few small circles of something (might have been glue, I'm not sure). I think that the crumbly, porous foam cannot hold strongly enough to the glue to win the battle against its natural buoyancy.

Here's a photo. Sorry for the poor quality. I used a flash and then the whole thing turned out black, so I adjusted the exposure. The tall black rectangle at the back is the foam. As you can see, I've already removed the filter's cord from the top of the foam, propped the light up on top for the pic, and set aside the glass lid by the time this pic was taken.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, good thing you were right there. Would have been bad to come home to an empty tank


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, sorry to hear that. Fluval should have coated the foam in something to not let this kind of thing happy. That is pretty poor design.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

wow close call... good thing you were there, now im worried (mines on the computer desk, could be a huge disaster) they should have thought that through better im sure thats going to be happening to alot of people
i dont like how the filter's openings are big enough to eat shrimplets either, and one of my lights is taking forever to turn on now
poor design indeed


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm going to contact them to let them know. I think this would be easy to fix -- just make the 3D background out of something that doesn't float. The buoyancy is very strong, so once it detaches, it shoots upwards. However, it's the exact width of the tank so it remains upright. If it fell forward, you might lose your lid but there would be a better chance of the heater and filter sinking back into the tank.

The upwards force of the thing was powerful enough to move my filter, which was securely attached by suction cups.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i wonder if a big bead of silicone across the top would be enough to fix it? i dont really want to drain mine lol


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Mike, I have some aquarium silicone sealant left from resealing my cubus tank recently. I would be happy to give it to you so that you could make sure that the background stays in place. Assuming that silicone bonds to foam.

I'm going to leave mine off. I was never that attached to it... and I guess my tank wasn't, either.

I'm not sure that your tank would drain out -- it would all depend on how high out of the water your filter ended up, and which way the spraybar was pointed after the leap. The other issue is, how would your heater do if suspended a couple of inches out of the water.

The thing happened so suddenly, unexpectedly and soundlessly that it was almost funny. I had no idea what was happening -- had just turned on the room light. Then this black thing shot up from the tank... kind of like the Thing from the Black Lagoon, or something. Now my tank is a real mess, too --but that's alright. No fish died in this stunt.

I've added a photo to the first post in the thread.





Mferko said:


> wow close call... good thing you were there, now im worried (mines on the computer desk, could be a huge disaster) they should have thought that through better im sure thats going to be happening to alot of people
> i dont like how the filter's openings are big enough to eat shrimplets either, and one of my lights is taking forever to turn on now
> poor design indeed


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I've reported the issue to Hagen (#110126-000048) and will let you know what happens.

I didn't even mention to them that my light has died twice!


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow . How come you always have all the fun with your tanks? For a person with such good Karma, you sure are having a string of bad luck. Hopefully all the inhabitants are safe and sound.

Respectfully,

Stuart


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi Stuart,

I'm starting to wonder that myself. For more than 30 years I didn't have any problems; hardly had to replace a lightbulb.

Between January 2010 and January 2011, I've had a few. My Marina Cubus tank leaked (the only one ever in history to leak, as far as I know). My Aquaclear was noisy (but it works). My Fluval Ebi has the rocket-like background and its light has died twice. I thought that I might be a Hagen jinx, but then I remembered that last February the light on a new Marineland Eclipse didn't work out of the box and it took 3 months to get a replacement. I can't remember any other problems ... but those are enough!

All my problems are with new stuff. I don't seem to be a jinx for secondhand stuff at all!

Of course, I should add: For decades I only had 2 tanks. Today, I've got 12 burbling away...



CRS Fan said:


> Wow . How come you always have all the fun with your tanks? For a person with such good Karma, you sure are having a string of bad luck. Hopefully all the inhabitants are safe and sound.
> 
> Respectfully,
> 
> Stuart


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## bettagirl (Apr 21, 2010)

Hmmm...to bad you didn't get a video of the event, it would have amused a large audience on U-tube. 

On a more serious note, I'm glad all the fish survived, it could have been nasty if you had slower reflexes. Glad you informed Hagen, they probably only put a few drops of glue on there, thinking it would hold.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks, Bettagirl. I'm a bit worried about one of Scholz's blue killies -- can't find him. There are only 7 small fish in the tank (2 male killies, one female, 4 juvie endlers) so I hope he wasn't crushed.

I've found a couple of other threads about this happening to other Ebi owners. Here's one (3rd post in the thread):
Official Fluval Ebi/Flora Pimp Club


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh my...I am not home right now, but all I can think of is the ticking time bomb next to my computer!!! I don't want to drain mine either. I think I have some aqua safe silicone somewhere. Shame I really like the 3d background too.

I am really nervous about my ebi now.

Hope everything gets sorted out, morainy. Glad it wasn't much worse.


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## Highccc (Jan 26, 2011)

Tough luck! I just finished a DIY styrofoam background and put it into the tank yesterday. It's "L" shaped and sits on the bottom and sides of the aquarium (lots of caves for cichlids). I used two tubes of silicone to affix. . . Time will tell if project went okay. Sleepless in Pender Island! Jim


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hopefully, my Ebi was just a little less stuck together than most. So, don't worry too much, Alan!

Highccc, if you used 2 tubes of silicone to affix the backing, that should do it. The Ebi had just 6 small circles of something-- probably silicone dabs, but almost looked like stickers. They're still in place on the back of my tank. Nothing is stuck to the back of the foam backing at all; it didn't crack or break, either. The sticky circles were just not sticky enough for the foam.


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## Keri (Aug 2, 2010)

I'm so glad both you and your shrimp are ok, that is very scary!


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Morainy said:


> Hopefully, my Ebi was just a little less stuck together than most. So, don't worry too much, Alan!
> 
> Highccc, if you used 2 tubes of silicone to affix the backing, that should do it. The Ebi had just 6 small circles of something-- probably silicone dabs, but almost looked like stickers. They're still in place on the back of my tank. Nothing is stuck to the back of the foam backing at all; it didn't crack or break, either. The sticky circles were just not sticky enough for the foam.


lol, I'm a natural worrier. You should know based on our conversations  
Another hour before I can get home to my dear Ebi. Then what to do, hmm...

I just rescaped it the other day too.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

The upside of all of this is that I like my Ebi better without the dark background. Who'd have thought? And, nothing was broken in this adventure.

Atom -- Now that I've had that experience without any warning, I think it's good to take a simple precaution. One would be to run a bead of silicone along the top edge of the foam. I don't think that it even has to run along the whole width of the tank, unless you wanted it to do. It just has to form a sort of lip over the top of the foam in a couple of places, preventing it from rising up suddenly if the glue detaches.

Another thing you could do, would be to silicone your rear removable tank corners onto the tank. These would also keep the foam down if it came loose. That would be so easy! You'd still be able to remove your foam background later if you got tired of it, by pulling it forward rather than straight up.

By the way, after I set up my Ebi again, I did notice that my filter makes the slightest of hums if I put my ear right on the tank, just as you said. I couldn't hear it before, but I do now. (Maybe the foam was a buffer before.)



Atom said:


> lol, I'm a natural worrier. You should know based on our conversations
> Another hour before I can get home to my dear Ebi. Then what to do, hmm...
> 
> I just rescaped it the other day too.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Wow Maureen this must have been scary. I'm glad that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

It's funny, I noticed the other day that Aq West uses a pic of your tank to advertise the Ebi here Aquariums West Fluval Ebi Nano Shrimp Habitat.com. Are they going to update their page with the pic here after the disaster?


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

I'm going home now and adding silicone to the styrofoam back immediately!


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

ROTFL! Too funny!

Jeannie was just being nice to me when she put the pic up on her website. 
The tank had just been set up and was still cloudy. I sent it to her because I was so happy with the tank.

I'm still happy with the tank. I'm just happy with a tank that has no background!

I'll let Aquariums West know what Hagen's response is... And I'll let all of you know, too, so that you can mention the situation to the places you got your tanks from. It wouldn't be hard for them to silicone a little bracket over the top of the background, to the back of the tank, or something, before selling them (with Hagen's approval).

Thanks for your responses, everyone. I still haven't figured out how to do multiple quotes and I don't want to hog forum space with several replies, but I appreciate your supportive comments. It's all going to work out for the best, if Hagen comes through with a fix for this problem and no harm done.

m



crazy72 said:


> Wow Maureen this must have been scary. I'm glad that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
> 
> It's funny, I noticed the other day that Aq West uses a pic of your tank to advertise the Ebi here Aquariums West Fluval Ebi Nano Shrimp Habitat.com. Are they going to update their page with the pic here after the disaster?


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## O.C.D Fishies Bank (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks Maureen for the heads up! 

I read this earlier today at work, and thought oh crap!! I got home after work and took off the glass, and moved the electrical cords for the filter and heater to the side. The last thing I need is for the water to be spraying all over. I guess this weekend I will silicone the two back corner pieces down. I'm thinking that this would be enough to keep the styrofoam down and creating havoc.

Thanks again for the heads up!


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Maureen, to do multiple quotes you just click the quote button with the plus sign on the bottom right. Just select the ones you want to quote.

Btw, thanks for the tip on the silicone. I will do that. I also moved the cords to the side so the foam doesn't pull everything up. Maybe I'll move the light to the side too.

Will be sleeping with one eye open tonight.


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## Petah (Dec 19, 2010)

Good to know! Glad I removed the background from day one.


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## Homahfan (Apr 22, 2010)

I had the same problem on one of mine!!... luckily it was as i was setting it up. There are only 5 silcon globs at the back of the tank holding it in. There is a surprising amount of bouancy from that piece of styrofoam. 

The clamp for the light that came with the kit, looks like it is supposed to help keep the background in place as well... given the way it seems to sit on top of the styrofoam top edge.

As someone had already suggested... I did run a bead of silcon across the top of each tank... both to hopefully help keep the background in place, but also to keep curios shrimp out...


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Can anyone post pictures of how they sealed their background? I am curious how everyone approached it. I have never sealed anything before. 

Does a bead literally mean a small drop? Or do I run it across the top?

Thanks.


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## Homahfan (Apr 22, 2010)

literally I ran a line of silicon across the top... there is a little gap between the top of the styrofoam and the glass in the back... almost like an indent. The corner piece and the light clamp sort of slots into this gap. 

If your really worried.. siliconing down the corner pieces that hold the glass cover will probably also help as they overlap the backdrop...


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks. 

Can I silicone with fish in the tank or will I have to drain it and dry it? My silicone doesn't seem to have instructions.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi Atom

I'm not an expert so someone else will hopefully answer this.

At minimum, though, I think that you'd have to drain the water to below the place where you want to silicone, and dry it. It should still be quite clean as your tank is new.

Have you considered just siliconing your corner supports at the back? I think that might be easier than attaching the foam, which might not bond that well to the silicone.

Or, why not wait to hear Hagen's suggestion? They haven't replied yet but I'll let you know what they say when they do.



Atom said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Can I silicone with fish in the tank or will I have to drain it and dry it? My silicone doesn't seem to have instructions.


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## O.C.D Fishies Bank (Jun 28, 2010)

I siliconed my background today. I just bought a small squeeze tube of silicone from my LFS yesterday. I drained out 1-2 inches of water last night, so the top part could dry out. I then put a bead of silicone from the light to each corner. I filled up the corners more, because there is a bigger gap between the background and the glass. I then squirted some silicone into the grooves of each plastic corner back piece, and then pushed them down until the silicone oozed out the ends. Then, just use your finger and some spit to smooth out the silicone and your done. It will take about a day for the silicone to fully set. Hope this helps!

George


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Just want to update you: Hagen is looking into this as they have not had other complaints yet. The background is supposed to be attached with black silicone, and they've offered to send me some. Mine was attached by clear silicone (still there on the glass). I bet that the other tanks with loose backgrounds also have clear silicone. So, check your silicone if you can. If it's black, you may not have to worry.


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## Homahfan (Apr 22, 2010)

all of mine used clear silicon...


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Maybe you should write the Fluval rep via their online form, to ask if you can have some black silicone and to let him know that yours has clear, too. Apparently, mine was the first case they'd heard of, of detaching backgrounds.



Homahfan said:


> all of mine used clear silicon...


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