Should I think about re-sealing my old fish tanks ? Seals look worn

[candymancan]

The seals on my 30g and 27g tanks aren't leaking, but they are wearing out I noticed.. They have algae growing under them and if I put my hands in the tank and rub the seal it isn't attached to the glass anymore.. Some spots are minor some spots the seal is completetly gone right up the middle between the 2 panes of glass.. Im worried the tank might leak one day..

The 30g is about 22 years old and has been running pretty much non stop for 22 years.. Minus the times we moved to a different house and had to take it apart... but yea the pump heater, filter, power head everything is original, Minus the t5 lighting I got. Its a Perfecto tank..

The 27g Hex is about 13-14 years old and its seals are looking pretty bad too, id say 60% of the silicon on all the glass has algae under it now on both tanks.. Its been running non stop as well minus moving of course and all the equipment is original cept the lighting.. Its also a perfecto tank.

Here is a picture of what some of the seals look like.. I imagine it wouldn't be hard to re-seal them, just drain the water down 80-90% and let it dry and cut the old stuff with a razor and re-seal it with clear silicon like you would a bathtub.

 

[twiddlemuffin]

I'd reseal it. I read somewhere you're supposed to ever 10 yrs.

 

[Oscarr19]

I'd reseal it. I read somewhere you're supposed to ever 10 yrs.

+1 I'd rather be safe than sorry. If it's a possibility you can always upgrade lol

 

[candymancan]

I already did I just recently got that 55g.. plus I still like my 27g shape anyway its perfect for my room's size

 

[Sillyfishies]

You can't just take out 90% of the water and do it. You have to take EVERYTHING out. Old silicone doesn't stick to new, therefore giving you a leaky tank, plus you have to let it cure for 2-7 days.

 

[candymancan]

They do make silicon that can be used within minutes.. I saw a video saying you can just cut the sides off not the stuff between the glass and just put the new silicon on.. Do you know what im talking about ? I guess Ill just leave it alone.. and mess with it when the time comes lol

 

[bshenanagins]

Yeah I wouldn't do that lol do it right and empty the tank one day. It's really easy to do and there are tons of DIY resell vids on YouTube

 

[severum mama]

You can't just take out 90% of the water and do it. You have to take EVERYTHING out. Old silicone doesn't stick to new, therefore giving you a leaky tank, plus you have to let it cure for 2-7 days.

Yeah I wouldn't do that lol do it right and empty the tank one day. It's really easy to do and there are tons of DIY resell vids on YouTube

I completely agree with these two. If you really wanna be safe rather than sorry, I would reseal both tanks, and if you bother to reseal them I would strongly suggest stripping every seal on the inside of both tanks after you drain them completely and let them dry (will NOT be fun for that hex, lol), and resealing every seal. Give the silicone a couple of days to cure before you leak test.

That said, I wouldn't reseal them because I'm lazy and I hate resealing tanks and my fishroom floor is concrete so not a huge deal. But that's really bad advice.

 

[bshenanagins]

I completely agree with these two. If you really wanna be safe rather than sorry, I would reseal both tanks, and if you bother to reseal them I would strongly suggest stripping every seal on the inside of both tanks after you drain them completely and let them dry (will NOT be fun for that hex, lol), and resealing every seal. Give the silicone a couple of days to cure before you leak test.

That said, I wouldn't reseal them because I'm lazy and I hate resealing tanks and my fishroom floor is concrete so not a huge deal. But that's really bad advice.

Mine is too but there is carpet above, that I just recently flooded..... From my own stupidity.....never walk away from a WC

 

[severum mama]

That NEVER happened to me before.

 

[bshenanagins]

That NEVER happened to me before.

Yeah, it sucks. The bright side was that carpet was filthy and it needed a good cleaning. Ripped out the padding, power washed the carpet outside, practically brand new carpet re installed lol! Sorry to thread jack!