# New Used tank breaking, help!



## insane (Feb 17, 2014)

Gday guys,

I'm very new here, and have set up a dirted/planted 90gallon 4foot tank.

I finished it yesterday (filled etc), and today noticed a small leak in the side of the tank about 2/3 up the side after I bumped the tank with my filter.


small leak when tank very full by insane phototography, on Flickr

I immediately removed about 2 inches of water, which stopped the leak.

I thought I was ok, got home today and inspected the join and it looks like the silicone has started tearing slightly down the joint, about 1.5 inches from the top so far. I immediately removed a majority of the water, leaving roughly 1/3 of the tank high in with my plants and shrimp.


Outside corner top by insane phototography, on Flickr


Inside corner by insane phototography, on Flickr

I purchased some silicone (not aquarium safe, but the only one I could find in the early evening) I have razored out the very top segment of silicone and used the non aquarium safe silicone to re-join the top, and smeared it down the outside of the whole join, then used a large clamp to hold it together overnight.

I figure the non aquarium safe silicone will be OK as it is right at the very top of the tank and won't be submerged / near the water. Is this a safe assumption? I figure a tiny bit of it leeching probably won't be the end of the world?

Also, do you think this will be a permanent fix or do you think the join might be too far gone to support the weight of a full tank and will need a full teardown and rebuild? I really don't want to do this as it was 3 full days to put the bloody thing together...


Tank when full and pretty by insane phototography, on Flickr

Cheers for any advice, i'm very new to this but have done as much research as possible in the last week..

Dan


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## AquaBruce (May 15, 2012)

Personally, I wouldn't trust any of the seams after that. I would tear it down and reseal the whole tank.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Welcome to APC!



AquaBruce said:


> Personally, I wouldn't trust any of the seams after that. I would tear it down and reseal the whole tank.


100% agree. 90 gallons of water on your floor is no laughing matter. It could cause 100s or 1000s of dollars of damage (ask me how I know).

I'd sell the tank as a reptile only tank and buy a new one. Its just not worth the risk.

Also, non-aquarium safe silicone seems like a bad idea. There is a reason the distinction exists.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Ditto Zapins. (We must share the same guardian angel, who is a little weak on the aquarium end of things)
I have tried fixing leaking tanks, using the right kind of silicone. I may not have the knack or the luck or whatever it takes, but I keep trying. 
I have ONE success story. A small, shallow tank, not a lot of weight of water or strain on the glass. 
I have half a dozen non-success stories, all involving larger tanks with longer spans of glass (and a lot more water)
I have turned most of these into ripariums, and sold one to a snake owner. 

Non-aquarium silicone might be so labeled for either of 2 (main) reasons. 
1) It might really be the wrong material. For example, many silicones sold for kitchen and bath have mildew inhibitors. Bad news. It might really be designed to stick best to some other material, not glass. Though most will stick to glass, some are better than others. 
2) The manufacturer might not have wanted to go through all the tested needed, or want to accept the liability of labeling their product as safe for aquariums, even if the exact same material is used in the factories where they assemble aquariums. 

Things I see about your patch job:
New silicone does not stick to old very well. This will leak, sooner or later. Probably sooner. 
New silicone needs longer to set up without the exposure to the high humidity of a filled (or nearly filled) tank. 
Patching from the outside (even when you also patched the inside) does not do much. The strain on the glass and the pressure from the water will force the outside patch away from the glass.


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## insane (Feb 17, 2014)

Thanks for the advice guys and girl 

Given that funds are very tight right now and I promised my better half that this would NOT be an expensive hobby (I've scrounged almost everything so far) I am giving the repair a go.

I lowered the water level even lower, about 2 inches lower than the absolute last point I could see any stress on the silicone, purchased proper aquarium silicone, applied a large clamp to the top of the seam and then cut out both the old silicone and the dodgy repair job I did last night. I removed 99% of the silicone and applied a new bead inside and out. I've used silicone a fair bit before so I think I got quite a nice bead in there.

I then clamped the sides even tighter and eliminated the gap between pieces, and am leaving it overnight.

I cleaned what used to be the divider between the two tank sides, and will be siliconing it in as a new lid/brace on the top/middle of the tank. I also have a piece of glass the right length to brace the sides along the top, so that's on the list also, I just need more clamps from work. 

I am semi-confident that I can repair this tank! The shrimps and plants seem moderately happy with the very low water level anyway, the shrimp are still molting etc so I will leave it as is for the next 7 days for the silicone to cure before re-filling it (carefully).

Our house is tiled and there's nothing on the floor that will be damaged, so worst case I will have some high and dry plants and some shocked shrimp if the tank does break. I'll keep a very close eye on all of the seams from now on...

I'll let you guys know how I end up doing!

Cheers,
Dan


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

insane said:


> Our house is tiled and there's nothing on the floor that will be damaged, so worst case I will have some high and dry plants and some shocked shrimp if the tank does break. I'll keep a very close eye on all of the seams from now on...


Wishing you all the luck in the world. Though you'd be surprised at how good water is at finding its way into places it shouldn't be, tile or no tile.


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## fraviz (Oct 24, 2012)

Best luck it is really a high risk


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

can't say we didn't warn ya!
:crybaby:


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## insane (Feb 17, 2014)

Thanks for the votes of confidence!

But seriously, I really can't spend on a new tank. The missus was having fits about spending $100 on this one when we can't start booking wedding stuff yet due to buying a house lol... She'll be ok with buying stock a bit at a time but definitely not another large outlay.

So here is my repair job so far...

Before:

Outside corner top by insane phototography, on Flickr

After:

Outside tank seam after repair by insane phototography, on Flickr

It's got a couple more days of curing to go, but when I removed the clamp to change positions there was no flex in the joint and no pulling out of the 2 pieces of glass, it feels solid. My main worry is the join between old silicone and new, but that will become very obvious very quickly once I refill it a little. (slowly)

Here is the inside... quite a terrible iphone photo

Inside tank seam after photo 2 (1)repair by insane phototography, on Flickr

It's not the neatest but I will tidy it up once i'm sure it's good. It's behind the filters etc anyway so I'm not that concerned. The bead is nice and neat and squished in.

This is the new tank lid/brace.

Tank after top brace added by insane phototography, on Flickr

It was the divider between the two halves of the tank, it has now been repurposed. Again not the neatest but I will tidy it up. It seems to have eliminated the slight bowing front and back.

Dan


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

A good idea with the brace. That should help.

Let us know how it holds up long term, I'd love to know (he he he ).


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## vancat (Nov 5, 2004)

op2:


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## h4n (Dec 23, 2005)

Wow! Good luck!


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## Tugg (Jul 28, 2013)

Best advice I've gotten on resealing tanks... "get a single gallon of water in a bucket. Go into the kitchen with your better half, and dump the water on the floor. While you clean the HUGE mess, don't ever forget that its only 1 of the X gallons your tank holds."

That side where the old meets the new WILL eventually leak again, and it will probably wait until you are out of town and/or completely broke.

You've had a lot of experienced aquarist advise to rebuild, I'd listen to them. Plus, if you rebuild you can use masking tape and give yourself nice clean lines for the silicone. No offense,but it looks a little "rough" right now.


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