how long do tank seals last empty ?

I used an 85G for my chuckwalla, so it had several inches of sand in the bottom and a 130 degree hot spot on one end for 18 years, then it sat empty for another 5 or 6 years.
my brother took it home and filled it up. I told him to do a reseal, some of the corners were pretty ragged looking from the digging, but it's holding water.
it's been going for about 6 months now.
if the silicone is soft, kind of squishy feeling you should be ok. hard silicone is a problem.
you can go to a LFS and squeeze their silicone on a new tank to get the ideal feel.

I would say that being in a cold garage may play a factor here, because cold can cause things to freeze and harden. Extreme cold seems to cause issues with most things.

As for whether you need to do a reseal, I have three 125g tanks that unfortunately sat empty for over a year. One of them finally got set up and has held water perfectly without issue. Either way, I will also have to decide whether to reseal eventually since I will likely be moving this coming summer for PA school (assuming I get in), and then the tanks will sit empty minimum 3 years - unless I just sell them now instead of moving them.

I think staying a consistent temperature is the most important thing. Freezing cold to warm and back will do it in.

I have 2 40b tanks up and running that are from the late 80's early 90's. They sat in a Wisconsin garage loft from 1999 to 2011/2012.

No issues except brittle plastic trim with some cracks I want to replace/upgrade them as soon as I can.

The last one I just pulled out of the garage a month ago looked pretty rough. It held water, but I did a reseal and replaced the trim just for piece of mind.

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I would say as long as it feels pliable and squishy its a good sign.

Test fill it outside or on the garage, look for water going behind the silicone bead. Sometimes the beads will lose adhesion and separate from the glass. The only way I can tell is to fill it up, it'll change in color where water gets behind it.

It's a roll of the dice, even brand new tanks can fail. If I have a pair of 25 year old tanks that sat empty in a wisconsin garage (-20*f to 100*f) for a decade I wouldn't hesitate much to grab a tank thats been empty for a year or whatever.

Look at build dates on tanks. Half of the ones I've purchased new were the better part of a year old by the time I got em anywaym


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