Leak or burst prevention

Question
Hello, is there any way to prevent flooding of your house if a tank were to burst or leak? Could you do anything prior to adding water that would prevent burst or leakage(tank is a gently used 55 gallon). Any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated> Thanks  

Answer
Hi Nic;

The main thing is to be sure the tank is totally level at all edges. If it does not firmly touch the surface of the stand on all edges before you fill it, the tank will twist as it is filled and break. I had it happen to me 3 years ago and it was not a pretty sight! Thank God I was home when it happened.

In my case we had just bought a house with a brick planter in a very dark spot. Plants died there due to lack of light, so I measured it and found that it is the perfect size for a 50 gallon tank! However, the top edge was uneven. Brick edges are just not level and smooth enough. I had a carpenter come in and build a wooden platform on top of it with supports underneath. He used 1/2 inch plywood and made it perfectly level. I told him it needs to be 3/4 to 1 inch in order for it not to bend and mold to the brick underneath. (But what do I know....I'm just a woman after all. :-/ ) Anyway, I told our carpenter and my husband it is probably going to crack but I set the tank up anyway. It was running beautifully and I had no fish in it yet.......24 hours later.....boom, crack! The pressure from the water bearing down caused it to warp. Needless to say, they did it over again "my way" and bought me a brand new tank too. Lol!  :-p

At Your Service;
Christine Robbins