hey mfks i have a 75 gal tank that is leaking , the water is leaking from somwhere on the botton and i was wondering what i can use to patch a leak.
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
Fish tank leak!
- Thread starter urbaninja
- Start date
what us it made of glass or acrilic if glass just a glass patch if you can find the leak or if its the silicon you will need to strip it down and reseal it
yeah fixing glass tanks is a pain from what I've always heard. I was told you gotta strip out all the silicon and reseal the whole tank. hear the reason was because the silicon wont stick to old silicon, but not 100% sure never did it myself
theres no good way to just "patch it" you have to tear it apart and reseal it... new silicone does not stick to old silicone with any strength.. this is the reason you cant just "patch" a tank
get some rubbermaid tubs/kiddiepool/battub and put yer fish there use them as temp tanks set them up with some filtration so they dont die on you..
and well.. thats about as much help as we can give you till we know if the silicone has failed or if the glass itself has cracked
get some rubbermaid tubs/kiddiepool/battub and put yer fish there use them as temp tanks set them up with some filtration so they dont die on you..
and well.. thats about as much help as we can give you till we know if the silicone has failed or if the glass itself has cracked
i got the fishes in a 30 and a 20 gal for right now just gotta find a place that sells the silicone. Thanks for all the help!
homedepot/lowes
theres about a thousand threads about silicone if you do a lil searching.. im a big fan of the DAP aquarium stuff.. all the homedepots around here carry it.. it comes in a toothpaste style tube and is in with the superglue which is across from all the caulking
theres about a thousand threads about silicone if you do a lil searching.. im a big fan of the DAP aquarium stuff.. all the homedepots around here carry it.. it comes in a toothpaste style tube and is in with the superglue which is across from all the caulking
make sure you get GE I windows and doors, GE II is harmful for fish cause it has the anti mold stuff in it.
GE I windows/doors is what ive used to reseal tanks,
i the last 3 months ive resealed, a 29, a 65, a 75 and a 125, none leak and all are currently in use, i put the silicone on much thicker than the factory did, and i have a wider seal, it takes approx 2 days to completely cure.
i used a long razor blade i purchased from a lowes (approx 4" long and 1/2" from sharp point to back) stripped ALL the old silicone off from the bottom and sides (left the top ring silicone alone and about 1/4" down from the top on the sides (not alot of pressure there anyway) used acetone to clean the glass and silicone residue off, the cleaner the glass is the better your seal will be, then put a bead of silicone around the bottom and up the side corners then used my finger to make a smooth U shape into the silicone, this also works the silicone into the corners of the glass, make sure you take your time and keep your head out of the glass, the fumes of the silicone will knock you out. or burn your nose.
dont run your finger backwards, once you have passed your finger over the silicone you dont want to go back to re-adjust it 5 minutes later, it will make it look worse.
*IF* you do all this and it still leaks, then you didnt clean the glass good enough, i spent most of my time cleaning the old silicone residue off the glass.
after 48 hours of the new silicone drying, i filled the tank to 25%, after 3-4 hours, i went to 50% and added 25% every 4-6 hours till full just to make sure there were no leaks, do this outside on a good straight surface, 90% of all tank leaks are traced back to non-level surfaces that create pressure in certain areas of the glass.
matthew
GE I windows/doors is what ive used to reseal tanks,
i the last 3 months ive resealed, a 29, a 65, a 75 and a 125, none leak and all are currently in use, i put the silicone on much thicker than the factory did, and i have a wider seal, it takes approx 2 days to completely cure.
i used a long razor blade i purchased from a lowes (approx 4" long and 1/2" from sharp point to back) stripped ALL the old silicone off from the bottom and sides (left the top ring silicone alone and about 1/4" down from the top on the sides (not alot of pressure there anyway) used acetone to clean the glass and silicone residue off, the cleaner the glass is the better your seal will be, then put a bead of silicone around the bottom and up the side corners then used my finger to make a smooth U shape into the silicone, this also works the silicone into the corners of the glass, make sure you take your time and keep your head out of the glass, the fumes of the silicone will knock you out. or burn your nose.
dont run your finger backwards, once you have passed your finger over the silicone you dont want to go back to re-adjust it 5 minutes later, it will make it look worse.
*IF* you do all this and it still leaks, then you didnt clean the glass good enough, i spent most of my time cleaning the old silicone residue off the glass.
after 48 hours of the new silicone drying, i filled the tank to 25%, after 3-4 hours, i went to 50% and added 25% every 4-6 hours till full just to make sure there were no leaks, do this outside on a good straight surface, 90% of all tank leaks are traced back to non-level surfaces that create pressure in certain areas of the glass.
matthew