Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
I got this tank recently and decided to do a fill test before winter, and before making a space for it. Test went fine, 72 hours+ w/power head & heater and no leaks or anything. I drained it and was getting the last remnants of water out when I noticed this bubble in the front seal, about 8 inches from the center of the bow:
And this glob more toward the corner:
I didn't notice these before, but I have to admit that when I was wiping it out before filling and when I was examining the seals with a flashlight when it was full, I was looking for leaks, not at the seals, but it seems like one of those things that would have stood out. The weird thing is that I only noticed it after draining.
The other thing is that if you look closely, the silicone on the outside of the glass in between the casing is a lot wider/thicker than it is anywhere else. This leads me to believe that it was this way when assembled, they saw it, and gooped the silicone on thicker and it passed.
As for the second glob, that one doesn't look like a bubble, just a goof in the silicone, like where they switched tubes.
I pressed on the bubble to see if it acted like there was air or water trapped behind it, and it doesn't appear that way, but it doesn't look like an excess silicone glob because the 'smoothing' lines run across it.
This tank was used for SW for over a year, then drained and moved and put in storage for about a year and a half, then I got it and it sat in my garage for 3 or 4 months before I filled it. My garage floor has a ever so slight slope to it, so I oriented the tank to point towards the front of the garage, and from front to back (36") it was out of level by about 1/2 to 3/4 of a centimeter.
One LFS told me that if a tank is left empty long enough, the seals can lose their stickyness and air/water could get trapped behind it, and the pressure and then release could cause the bubble to form. They also said being even slightly out of level could cause a rupture.
Another LFS guy said his 150 is out of level by 1/2 inch from side to side and he's never had a problem, and he didn't think that would have cause the problem!
I've got a 55 that was full for about a year or so, then sat in cold storage for 5-6 years and it's been full for a year, no problems.
Right now, the 92g is sitting full again (going on about 15-16 hours) in the garage (with power head & heater, cause baby it's cold in Iowa) and I'm monitoring the bead closely. There is no sign of leaking OR compression of the bubble, as I would expect to see if it was an air bubble under 700lbs of water. The tank is shimmed and level to within a few millimeters from front to back this time. I don't know why I didn't worry about that the first time, but that's stupidity rearing it's ugly head for ya.
So anyone out there have an opinion on what this could be and exactly how much I should worry about it? My guess is that if it doesn't leak after 72 hours, it's not going to leak. The extra silicone in between the casing leads me to believe it was a manufacturing goof.
And this glob more toward the corner:
I didn't notice these before, but I have to admit that when I was wiping it out before filling and when I was examining the seals with a flashlight when it was full, I was looking for leaks, not at the seals, but it seems like one of those things that would have stood out. The weird thing is that I only noticed it after draining.
The other thing is that if you look closely, the silicone on the outside of the glass in between the casing is a lot wider/thicker than it is anywhere else. This leads me to believe that it was this way when assembled, they saw it, and gooped the silicone on thicker and it passed.
As for the second glob, that one doesn't look like a bubble, just a goof in the silicone, like where they switched tubes.
I pressed on the bubble to see if it acted like there was air or water trapped behind it, and it doesn't appear that way, but it doesn't look like an excess silicone glob because the 'smoothing' lines run across it.
This tank was used for SW for over a year, then drained and moved and put in storage for about a year and a half, then I got it and it sat in my garage for 3 or 4 months before I filled it. My garage floor has a ever so slight slope to it, so I oriented the tank to point towards the front of the garage, and from front to back (36") it was out of level by about 1/2 to 3/4 of a centimeter.
One LFS told me that if a tank is left empty long enough, the seals can lose their stickyness and air/water could get trapped behind it, and the pressure and then release could cause the bubble to form. They also said being even slightly out of level could cause a rupture.
Another LFS guy said his 150 is out of level by 1/2 inch from side to side and he's never had a problem, and he didn't think that would have cause the problem!
I've got a 55 that was full for about a year or so, then sat in cold storage for 5-6 years and it's been full for a year, no problems.
Right now, the 92g is sitting full again (going on about 15-16 hours) in the garage (with power head & heater, cause baby it's cold in Iowa) and I'm monitoring the bead closely. There is no sign of leaking OR compression of the bubble, as I would expect to see if it was an air bubble under 700lbs of water. The tank is shimmed and level to within a few millimeters from front to back this time. I don't know why I didn't worry about that the first time, but that's stupidity rearing it's ugly head for ya.
So anyone out there have an opinion on what this could be and exactly how much I should worry about it? My guess is that if it doesn't leak after 72 hours, it's not going to leak. The extra silicone in between the casing leads me to believe it was a manufacturing goof.
