265 gallon tank leaked water everywhere

[Ian14]

First day of a week vacation ended with a call from someone looking after the tank. Water was pouring out extremely fast and with only inches remaining in the tank the fish were hastily moved to a 125 mbuna tank I have.

The fish in the 265 were a two large vieja's (black belt and zonatus)
8 clown loaches
6 silver dollars
jack dempsey
firemouth
large bichir.

I came home to the mess and after moving sand around I discovered that the seal on almost the entire bottom front panel of glass detached from the glass. Why? I have no idea. The tank has been running for about 1.5 years with no problems.

I purchased it on craigslist, it was sitting in a garage for a few years without ever being used. The front panel of the glass is sapphire, if that has anything to do with it.

As for the fish, I don't know what to do with them yet. I have an old 120 gallon I was trying to sell off that could suffice but I really would like something bigger. As for the tank, I guess I will have to get rid of it. I don't know if it could be sealed again although I would never trust it again with that kind of water.

I wonder if I could sell it for a few bucks to someone willing to work on it. It's a damn shame, The tank was doing great.

Anyone have any ideas? Or why the tank might have crashed? I will upload pictures

 

[Anthony Nolet]

Idk why it burst like that but someone might buy it to try to fix or to put a reptile in it. That definitely sucks though

 

[tlindsey]

Imo the tank sat in the garage from the previous owner and the sealant got too dry. Personally you could reseal it yourself its not that difficult to do.

 

[Wailua Boy]

I would reseal or give/sell to someone who will. Would be a good garage tank. Sorry for the spill

 

[raubiy]

This is only 1 thing that scare me in this hobby. Reseal tank. Look on youtube King of DIY how to silicone tank video.

 

[krichardson]

Just reseal it and move your fish back into it,with used tanks it just happens sometimes.I have the exact same size tank that I bought used and it sprung a far less drastic leak about a year after I bought it.I promptly drained,resealed and put it back into use with no problems so far.

 

[Ian14]

First day of a week vacation ended with a call from someone looking after the tank. Water was pouring out extremely fast and with only inches remaining in the tank the fish were hastily moved to a 125 mbuna tank I have.

The fish in the 265 were a two large vieja's (black belt and zonatus)
8 clown loaches
6 silver dollars
jack dempsey
firemouth
large bichir.

I came home to the mess and after moving sand around I discovered that the seal on almost the entire bottom front panel of glass detached from the glass. Why? I have no idea. The tank has been running for about 1.5 years with no problems.

I purchased it on craigslist, it was sitting in a garage for a few years without ever being used. The front panel of the glass is sapphire, if that has anything to do with it.

As for the fish, I don't know what to do with them yet. I have an old 120 gallon I was trying to sell off that could suffice but I really would like something bigger. As for the tank, I guess I will have to get rid of it. I don't know if it could be sealed again although I would never trust it again with that kind of water.

I wonder if I could sell it for a few bucks to someone willing to work on it. It's a damn shame, The tank was doing great.

Anyone have any ideas? Or why the tank might have crashed? I will upload pictures

 

[Ian14]

Do you mean resealing as in cut away all the silicone around it and take the pane off?

Or just go in there clean it out and apply a new layer of silicon as is?

 

[tomojsg]

remove the old silicone, clean it out and apply new silicone. let it cure for 3 days or until the smell of silicone is completely gone at least 24-36 hours.

 

[Ian14]

How risky is that? It seems like a big project because of the size of the tank. I would really like to know what cause it to happen in the first place. It is on a custom built stand that when I bought it... could that be warping the tank, causing the seems to burst?