Help! 4000 gallon tank leak.

[raiyan]

Hi! I'm Tony, currently stationed here in Saudi Arabia, and I'm fairly new to the forum but I'm posting here in behalf of a friend who's being frustrated by a DIY tank of his that's been causing trouble. It's because of that problem that I found this site, and we're both hoping someone could help.

My friend's built a 9.1 x 2.0 x 0.8 meter glass aquarium. That comes around to 4000 gallons if we figure correctly. The glass is 10mm triple-layer laminate panels, with each panel at 2.0 x 2.0 meters. (For the long sides, that is.) The joints are supported internally by 10cm-wide laminated glass strips and silicone seals, externally by a frame constructed of 10cm-wide, 3mm-thick U-beams.

After the aquarium had been assembled, the silicone was left to cure for 30 days. Then we filled it up and left it full for 15 days to see if any leaks would show up. No leaks were found, so we assumed it was fit for use. We emptied it for cleaning, then refilled. After two days, traces of a leak had shown somewhere around the midpoint.

So we emptied it again, stripped the secondary seals inside, and laid down a new layer of silicone. Then we set this new seal to cure for 15 days as well. When it was all good and dry, we filled the tank up again, but in a few days, the leak had returned and in roughly the same area.

There wasn't any bulging detected on the glass, so we've no idea what else to follow up on. We've tried to find consultants here, unfortunately, no one has experience making tanks this big.

I hope you guys could help, or at least point us in someone who can, as this project has been giving us a lot of headaches for too long a period already. Thanks in advance!

 

[raiyan]

PS... I'll try to post a few pictures of the thing as soon as my friend is available.

 

[kjfan1]

Sounds like an amazing tank. I am sure there are plenty of experienced people here who will come to your aid. Patience is something I can already tell you have so I hope for the best and wish you all the luck in the world man. Looking forward to some amazing pictures too!

 

[spiff]

It sounds like you should be able to follow the same instructions for resealing any other glass tank, which unfortunetly probably means stripping it all back down, cleaning with denatured alchohol and trying again.

But the size of the thing might be causing pane separation, which you should be looking for while you strip it down. In that case, there must have been play (movement) of the panes inside your frame that only manifested under the massive pressure of the full tank.

 

[Pharaoh]

If you resealed it, there is most likely something that is flexing or bowing.

also, have you checked for voids in the primary silicone seam?

 

[pengu13]

i'm not 100% on this but 10 mm glass seams a little thin for a tank that size.
9.1L x 2w x 0.8h it this correct for the dimensions all in meters?

 

[matt clark]

it worksout 2696.3 gallons. cant wait to see the pics. till then dont think we can say to much

 

[raiyan]

Pics, finally... Also, I got some of the figures wrong in my initial post, but the guys who assembled the tank have already annotated the pics for convenience.

Just to give you a feel for the size of the thing:

And to illustrate the measures that I've mentioned before:

And, THE LEAK:

=====
My friend has stated some concerns regarding the silicone seals that were used (both primary and secondary). He's asking how big a bead of silicone you need to use for something this big, and if too much silicone could in some way cause the leak. This is 'cause he's seen aquariums roughly the same size in other countries that didn't use a lot of sealant.

 

[raiyan]

Sounds like an amazing tank. I am sure there are plenty of experienced people here who will come to your aid.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, kj. Unfortunately, there's not much local experience for tanks this big. We're still looking though.

It sounds like you should be able to follow the same instructions for resealing any other glass tank, which unfortunetly probably means stripping it all back down, cleaning with denatured alchohol and trying again.

But the size of the thing might be causing pane separation, which you should be looking for while you strip it down. In that case, there must have been play (movement) of the panes inside your frame that only manifested under the massive pressure of the full tank.

If you resealed it, there is most likely something that is flexing or bowing.

also, have you checked for voids in the primary silicone seam?

Oof... This one we'd already considered, but totally dismantling it is the last resort. ^_^; The company that assembled it reported no signs of flexing/bowing/bulging., but we'll more likely check again. Is there any way to check for voids/leaks without disassembling the thing?

i'm not 100% on this but 10 mm glass seams a little thin for a tank that size.
9.1L x 2w x 0.8h it this correct for the dimensions all in meters?

Sorry about the wrong info. It's actually 31mm, if you check the pictures (10mm per glass layer, plus the laminate)

it worksout 2696.3 gallons. cant wait to see the pics. till then dont think we can say to much

Oh. Um. I had the numbers crunched at the First Tank Guide Website, which posted the volume at 3,742.9 U.S. gallons, and even had a congratulatory message to boot for having a tank over 200 gallons. ^_^

 

[West1]

WOW, That is HUGE! I hope you find the problem and post frequent updates as you awaken this MONSTER .