My Aquarium Rebuild
- Thread starter abw0004
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I am amazed that I have pretty much discussed everything you need to know about aquariums on this thread. I have discussed how to cycle a tank quickly, use of CO2, fertilizers, stocking, gravel choices, best filters, heaters, and now (unfortunately) when tanks leak.
All last week I was on a cruise in a Caribbean, when on Wednesday I got the fateful call from my fish sitter. Water was pooling at the bottom of my tank. That is the fastest way to ruin a vacation when this happens and you are hundreds of miles away and will not return for 4 more days. I helped her stall as long as I could, which worked, but I had a lot of work to do yesterday.
Sunday morning, I started the tear down process. I moved all of my fish into my blind German Blue Ram's 10 gallon tank, and removed all of the plants and gravel into a rubber cabinet I usually have my car cover in (washed out of course). Here is what is looks like:
As you can see, in an effort to save the BB, I hooked up my Fluval 206 filter to the 10 gallon to keep water moving. Luckily the 10 gallon is also cycled so hopefully no ammonia spike with the cycled filter to boot. I know the filter is supposed to be under the aquarium, but I think it will be fine for a week. I have a light on the rubber cabinet with the plants, and a airstone to keep the water moving, again to keep an bacteria alive.
Next, I tried to find the leak. After cleaning the tank out, I filled it up 1/4 of the way with water, and set a towel under it. This way I could find where the towel was wet. I also inspected the silicone and noticed a gap in the upper right corner, where the towel also happened to be damp. I purchased Aqueon silicone, and put down new silicone on top of the old silicone around the whole tank. I was very generous on the bottom as no one will see that anyways. I know you need to remove the old silicone, but I was too tired to do that. I made sure to put silicone at the edges of the old silicone to help stop any leaks at the edges. It will take 48 hours to cure, and I will then test it out by filling the tank and waiting another 24 hours.
If this does not work, I may look into buying a whole new tank with a custom stand. I don't want to do this, but it may be better in the long run. Wish me luck!
All last week I was on a cruise in a Caribbean, when on Wednesday I got the fateful call from my fish sitter. Water was pooling at the bottom of my tank. That is the fastest way to ruin a vacation when this happens and you are hundreds of miles away and will not return for 4 more days. I helped her stall as long as I could, which worked, but I had a lot of work to do yesterday.
Sunday morning, I started the tear down process. I moved all of my fish into my blind German Blue Ram's 10 gallon tank, and removed all of the plants and gravel into a rubber cabinet I usually have my car cover in (washed out of course). Here is what is looks like:
As you can see, in an effort to save the BB, I hooked up my Fluval 206 filter to the 10 gallon to keep water moving. Luckily the 10 gallon is also cycled so hopefully no ammonia spike with the cycled filter to boot. I know the filter is supposed to be under the aquarium, but I think it will be fine for a week. I have a light on the rubber cabinet with the plants, and a airstone to keep the water moving, again to keep an bacteria alive.
Next, I tried to find the leak. After cleaning the tank out, I filled it up 1/4 of the way with water, and set a towel under it. This way I could find where the towel was wet. I also inspected the silicone and noticed a gap in the upper right corner, where the towel also happened to be damp. I purchased Aqueon silicone, and put down new silicone on top of the old silicone around the whole tank. I was very generous on the bottom as no one will see that anyways. I know you need to remove the old silicone, but I was too tired to do that. I made sure to put silicone at the edges of the old silicone to help stop any leaks at the edges. It will take 48 hours to cure, and I will then test it out by filling the tank and waiting another 24 hours.
If this does not work, I may look into buying a whole new tank with a custom stand. I don't want to do this, but it may be better in the long run. Wish me luck!
nirbhao
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ughughugh
Vacations have become much more stressful now that I worry about the aquaria.
Honestly, I know you were tired and waiting is hard, but you're going to want to remove the old silicone-- otherwise you'll be doing this again in a few weeks. You can get DAP aquarium safe silicone at hardware stores if you need more sealant. It's about half the price of the Aqueon.
But really ugh. Miserable stuff.
Vacations have become much more stressful now that I worry about the aquaria.
Honestly, I know you were tired and waiting is hard, but you're going to want to remove the old silicone-- otherwise you'll be doing this again in a few weeks. You can get DAP aquarium safe silicone at hardware stores if you need more sealant. It's about half the price of the Aqueon.
But really ugh. Miserable stuff.
OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Do you mind me asking why it would leak again in a few weeks? I ask because I put new silicone on the edges of the old silicone, as well as a think coat on top, which should effectively seal it, no?
nirbhao
Aquarium Advice Addict
I've done the same thing on a bathtub. There's a saying that attempting to cut corners to save time or money will end up costing more of each.
It's your tank. It will be your leak. Is it worth it?
Removing the old silicone isn't very hard. Tape the outside of the corner with making tape, and use a straight razor and take off the whole side. Do a whole fresh line. Then breathe easy.
It's your tank. It will be your leak. Is it worth it?
Removing the old silicone isn't very hard. Tape the outside of the corner with making tape, and use a straight razor and take off the whole side. Do a whole fresh line. Then breathe easy.
coralbandit
Aquarium Advice Addict
In most cases silicone will not stick to old silicone..
OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hmm. Well since I already have it on, I will see how it does. And if not, I will re-do it, or just see what other options are out there.
+1 I would rather be safe than sorry, I would worry it will leak again.
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I saw that a few times on other threads, but what I did was enclose the old silicone with the new silicone, like a barrier. So the new silicone is touching both panes of glass, and not relying on sticking to the old silicone. It may not work, but I wanted to try that first.
OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Good afternoon all,
After 48 hours of curing, I filled the tank completely and let it sit for 24 hours. Last night I removed the water and checked the paper towels underneath and everything was 100% dry. Today after work I will start putting everything back in. I will continue to look for leaks, but I am pretty confident I found the leak as there was a spot where silicone was missing where you could touch the edge of the glass with your fingernail. Wish me luck!
After 48 hours of curing, I filled the tank completely and let it sit for 24 hours. Last night I removed the water and checked the paper towels underneath and everything was 100% dry. Today after work I will start putting everything back in. I will continue to look for leaks, but I am pretty confident I found the leak as there was a spot where silicone was missing where you could touch the edge of the glass with your fingernail. Wish me luck!
OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I thought I would throw an update at everyone. On Thursday of last week I moved everything back into the main aquarium. The following day after a water change, I move the fish into the aquarium. I have been monitoring the tank for leaks and ammonia spikes daily and so far so good.
Some of the plants and showing sign of shock, which was expected. I decided to restart the Rotala Rotundafolia background plants as I originally put too many plants in each bundle I planted and the bottom leaves were dying. I also restarted one of the swords as the root system was too complicated to plant correctly. In essence, the tank looks pretty bare and I had to back off the CO2 for the time being as there was not enough plants to absorb the CO2 where the fish were hovering at the top for oxygen.
I also decided to boil the driftwood again as there was some BBA that was starting to grow on it before the leak. Pictures will come soon, if I can remember. Also looking to add more fish as soon as I am convinced the tank will not cycle and is 100% stable again.
Some of the plants and showing sign of shock, which was expected. I decided to restart the Rotala Rotundafolia background plants as I originally put too many plants in each bundle I planted and the bottom leaves were dying. I also restarted one of the swords as the root system was too complicated to plant correctly. In essence, the tank looks pretty bare and I had to back off the CO2 for the time being as there was not enough plants to absorb the CO2 where the fish were hovering at the top for oxygen.
I also decided to boil the driftwood again as there was some BBA that was starting to grow on it before the leak. Pictures will come soon, if I can remember. Also looking to add more fish as soon as I am convinced the tank will not cycle and is 100% stable again.
OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
As promised, here is how the aquarium looks as of yesterday. As you can tell, the plants have been thinned out, and will take a while to grow back. You can also see the background picture has significant water damage and will be replaced tomorrow with a solid color of dark blue, or black. Can't decide which would look better however.
pstergiou78
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2017
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OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Good morning all,
It has been a while so I wanted to give everyone an update. Since I last posted I changed my background to black. I used the background PetCo sells, and also bought the adhesive they sell. In years past I taped the background up, but the tape always got in the way so I tried this. I thought it was a glue so I put a lot of it on the background to find out it was really an oil that used vacuum to keep the background on (like tinting your car windows). Oil seeped under the aquarium and made it look like the aquarium was leaking again. Having just dealt with an aquarium leak, I was very paranoid, so I drained the water to 20% and looked under the tank. Luckily it was just oil.
Here is how the aquarium looked as of yesterday. The plants are still growing, but I am proud that the baby tears are doing very well. Everything is pearling nicely, although I have a small BBA problem that is being managed.
View attachment 302394
The blind German Blue Ram is still doing well in her own tank. I added Blue Velvet Shrimp to the tank to eat the uneaten food, and because the look nice against the white sand.
It has been a while so I wanted to give everyone an update. Since I last posted I changed my background to black. I used the background PetCo sells, and also bought the adhesive they sell. In years past I taped the background up, but the tape always got in the way so I tried this. I thought it was a glue so I put a lot of it on the background to find out it was really an oil that used vacuum to keep the background on (like tinting your car windows). Oil seeped under the aquarium and made it look like the aquarium was leaking again. Having just dealt with an aquarium leak, I was very paranoid, so I drained the water to 20% and looked under the tank. Luckily it was just oil.
Here is how the aquarium looked as of yesterday. The plants are still growing, but I am proud that the baby tears are doing very well. Everything is pearling nicely, although I have a small BBA problem that is being managed.
View attachment 302394
The blind German Blue Ram is still doing well in her own tank. I added Blue Velvet Shrimp to the tank to eat the uneaten food, and because the look nice against the white sand.
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OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Last picture!
Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
Nice update. Sorry about the Nerite eggs. The DBT is growing well: large leaves and low to the ground. They do resemble Monte Carlo more than DBT though.
OP
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abw0004
Aquarium Advice FINatic
The Nerite snail eggs do not bother me too much. I actually have both Monte Carlo and Dwarf Baby Tears in the aquarium. The Monte Carlo is on the right, and you see it in the picture where the glass thermometer is shown. The Dwarf Baby Tears are on the left at the mouth of the cave. They are in the close up picture where they are pearling. I have the DBT, Monte Carlo, and DHG all separated in their own spaces so they do not co-mingle. It looks better that way.
Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
The eggs are the only thing holding me back on getting nerites.
On second glance, I see the two different plants. I think I fixated on the one with the thermometer. I've not tried MC or DHG. Had a short stint with DBT. Fully carpeted tank; did not enjoy the weekly trimming and mess. If I were to do DHG it would be Belem as that is shorter from what I've read.
Yes on the separation. I get border wars with my carpet plants and they tend to grow upward to out compete each other.
On second glance, I see the two different plants. I think I fixated on the one with the thermometer. I've not tried MC or DHG. Had a short stint with DBT. Fully carpeted tank; did not enjoy the weekly trimming and mess. If I were to do DHG it would be Belem as that is shorter from what I've read.
Yes on the separation. I get border wars with my carpet plants and they tend to grow upward to out compete each other.
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