Barely DIY, but INDY/resealing help still Required

[MaddMaxx]

So I just picked up my first big boy tank, and I'm pretty stoked! It’s a 5'x1'x2' tall (about 75 gal according to the calculator), came with a metal stand and a Magnum 350 canister, all for 50 bucks. Pretty sweet deal, but there is a catch, the tank leaks from one side...

So I'll be doing my own repairs. To Do list:

1. Get pics for you picture hungry ^^%@#&$
2. Reseal Tank
3. Repaint stand
4. Figure out filtration/plumbing
5. Stock

1: I'll get pics as I can, I gotta clean the garage before I start working on the tank. I promised the better half.

2: I'm pretty comfortable with caulking, so I'm guessing silicone is similar. I've read up on the process as much as I can, but I'm still a little unsure if I need to disassemble the whole tank and reseal/rebuild it, or just remove the leaky glass pane/side, scrape it and reseal/reattach it, or if I can just scrape out the old silicone inside the tank along the edge(s) that leak and reseal that?? Help? Guidance? I really want to be careful seeing as I'm renting a townhouse and the tank will be going along the "shared" wall.

2.a: When I picked-up the tank he mentioned that the front top bows out when filled. Could this have lead to the leakage? I'm thinking about building a simple brace to help hold its shape. Recommendations? Any reason I shouldn't?

3: This will be a simple scrape and rattle-can paint job. The stand is pretty heavy duty with only some surface rust here and there.

4: So I'm totally new to the canister idea, I've focused all my research up to this point on sumps... go figure. I have read tho that Magnum 350's are mainly a Mechanical filtration? So I may be building a sump anyway... I have a 10 gal with fancy goldfish (yeah, flame on) that I may move to a spare 20 gal bow-front and use the 10 gal for a sump. Enough sump for a 75 gal? I think read once sumps should be about 10% of the tank? Or will this just be over the top?

5: I'm planning on stocking it with a nice little Dat community , and this guy......

.....A pleco from PetSmart, not really sure what he is, sold as "Spotted Pleco" he is rapidly out growing my little 26 gal trop community tank that got this all started. It’s an old pic, probably almost 6 months old and he's nearly 1.5 times as big. He destroys peas, squash, and cucumbers.

Updates as they happen, I'll be working on the garage tonight, I'll try to grab some pics of the tank as it is.

 

[Pharaoh]

You can just reseal the inside, or you can tear it down and redo the whole tank. It would depend on where and how big the leak is. When in doubt redo the whole thing.

I would add the brace. Might as well eliminate that problem now.

If you spray it, make sure to invest int eh rust inhibiting paint. it works wonders.

I would use the 20G as a sump. 10Gs just don't hold that much water.

 

[jworth]

I agree a 20 gal sump would be good for filtration and i just resealed a 75 just by cutting the inside silicone (although it wasnt leaking).

 

[MaddMaxx]

You can just reseal the inside, or you can tear it down and redo the whole tank. It would depend on where and how big the leak is.
When in doubt redo the whole thing.

I would add the brace. Might as well eliminate that problem now.

If you spray it, make sure to invest int eh rust inhibiting paint. it works wonders.

I would use the 20G as a sump. 10Gs just don't hold that much water.

I agree a 20 gal sump would be good for filtration and i just resealed a 75 just by cutting the inside silicone (although it wasnt leaking).

Thanks! So any guidance on when to cross from a "patch" job to a full tear down? Here's some pics of the tank and the suspect corner...

Tank and stand - garage not usually a mess, but I just moved.

Inside suspect corner

Outside suspect corner - you can see what looks like his attempt at an external silicone patch

Bubbles in the silicone - I spotted 2 bubbles in the silicone, I can't tell if they're original or from his attempted repair.
The bead looks smooth and clean otherwise, which makes me think original?

The top edge cover/brace looks like it does nothing structurally, the corners may have been glued together at one time, but not anymore.
They were siliconed onto the tank, but its failing in multiple places.

Just a piece of driftwood I found at work, I thought it was big until I put it in the tank...

So I guess I'll know more when I test fill it to zero-in on the leak. Any tricks to locating to actual source of the leak?

Rust-Inhibitor sounds good to me, thanks!

On the sump front, I just found a cheap "Amiracle" wet/dry sump with a "Rio" pump locally. We'll see if it pans out, I've asked for the specs.

 

[Pharaoh]

Some use food coloring will show you where the leak is as it comes out.

With the top brace broken and the tank leaking, I would tear it down and then replace the top frame.

 

[MaddMaxx]

Dagnabit! I was afraid you'd say that... Food Coloring sounds good, I'll post some pics of the attempted fill when it happens.

 

[Zander_The_RBP]

You can just reseal the inside, or you can tear it down and redo the whole tank. It would depend on where and how big the leak is. When in doubt redo the whole thing.

I would add the brace. Might as well eliminate that problem now.

If you spray it, make sure to invest int eh rust inhibiting paint. it works wonders.

I would use the 20G as a sump. 10Gs just don't hold that much water.

lol really i thought they held alot of water lol sorry couldnt resist but yeah go with the 20 g sump


i hope your resealing goes smoothly and you get that baby set up asap

 

[MaddMaxx]

lol really i thought they held alot of water lol sorry couldnt resist but yeah go with the 20 g sump


i hope your resealing goes smoothly and you get that baby set up asap

Thanks, I'm looking into picking up a prefab'ed sump (I know its not as cool as a DIY sump, but if its big enough for my needs, it'll be way cheaper)

Anyway, I was looking around for a new brace, but due to the seemingly odd size of the tank, I've come up empty... Enter the DIY Brace
It'd be a Plywood base (I'm thinking 1/8" will be enough?), roughly 62"x14" for approximately 1" of overhang on each end (I need to get solid measurements of the tank still). I'll edge the base/frame with some type of solid wood trim to create a lip to hold the top of the tank.

Feedback? Strong enough? Recommendations on what to seal the brace with? Should I silicone it to the top of the tank (I'm thinking yes)?

 

[Pharaoh]

I would think that the design would be OK.

 

[MaddMaxx]

Ok? just OK?! Got a better one? lol, seriously tho if you've got a better one please share.

Also, any need for a bottom brace?