Need help on tank leak. TIA.

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

My 46 gal. bow front by All-Glass, has just sprung a leak to the bottom-back of the tank. I'm in the process of removing the water and everything else to see where is it coming from. Is there any way of telling as to where exactly at the bottom seam it is leaking?

Or should I just remove all of the silicone at the bottom and re-seal?

I have verified all the side seams for leaks and so far the area that is wet is at the bottom-back area. The water seems to be coming up between the glass and plastic frame.

Thank you, and Happy New Year.

 

[madasafish]

Shoot. This happens far more frequently than it should. The sealant at the bottom of aquariums often gives out after a while... And since you can't just silicone the outside bottom of the tank, there's little alternative to sealing the inside of the tank... I'm no expert at resealing--I've had luck so far with sealant.

Just a word of advice, though... Don't cut any corners... Make sure the problem's fixed properly so you don't have to redo it in the future!

Hope you can determine a way to keep the tank cycled (filter attached to side of a bucket, running with tank water for example) so you don't have to return your fish!

 

[BrianNY]

Hi Roadster. I've had this problem with hex tanks and have not had much luck resealing them. I'm curious though, was your tank level?

PS....welcom home madasafish

 

[Sati]

How old is the tank? Man, that's scary. I guess I really ought to have a plan ready to implement if this should happen to me. Maybe a good idea to have buckets, sealant, razor blades to cut off the old silicone? I wouldn't even know what to do...

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Thank you madasafish, I will do everything to make sure it is sealed properly.

Hello BrianNY, yes the tank was level.

Sati, the tank is about a year old. When I bought the tank I bought several 5 gal. pails at HD that totals the capacity of the tank, for just that.

Right now I have the fish in one of the pails with the bio wheels of my emperor with a small PH running with the flow towards the surface. I hope my fish survive this.

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Here I have two pics of the tank and the mess.

Any recommendations as to how should I remove the old silicone?

Should I remove the silicone from the bottom only or should I do the entire tank?

TIA

 

[roadster3043]

Greetings.

Yesterday I removed all of the tank's old silicone. Scraped it all off the glass with one of those one sided razor blades, worked like a charm. I also noticed that the silicone came off on some parts rather easy, apparently unglued itself somehow.

I rinsed the tank and cleaned the areas with vinegar and rinsed it again well. Today hopefully I will re-seal it, then after a day or two will test it for leaks.

 

[D-DAY]

I would definitely wait at least 48 hrs before testing it for leaks. It really depends on which silicone you use. Some take even longer to cure properly.

 

[BrianNY]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya Juan. Good luck!

PS. I've got an office/warehouse in the Consolidated Mall in Caguas.

 

[roadster3043]

Thanks D-DAY and BrianNY.

BrianNY, That mall is near where I live.

 

[madasafish]

Ooh, Brian's a bigwig!!

(*not* an offensive term just in case you're not familiar with it)