So yea my 280 all glass tank is leaking. Anyone around baton rouge to new Orleans area do tank Repairs?
Thx in advance.
Thx in advance.
Oh no my 280 gallon is leaking!!!
- Thread starter klutch
- Start date
Hello; Most modern tanks are sealed with silicone caulk. (My first few tanks had a tar sealant that would harden and begin to leak after a few years.) There are large tubes of aquarium safe silicone that fit into caulking guns, this is the handiest and most cost effective way to use it. Avoid silicone with additives, the GE silicone I is often reccomended by members of this forum and is a 100% silicone without additives. Many , including myself, have had problems getting new silicone to stick to old silicone and have generally gone to removing all old silicone seals and doing a complete reseal. If you do find someone to reseal the tank for you, please post the results and the cost.
reseal yourself its not that hard. Remove the old silicone, clean well, prepare the surfaces with acetone or isopropyl alcohol and reseal with GE silicon 1 doors and window. I would think taking the tank somewhere to get resealed would be a pain in the arse.
Hello; here is an old post about sealing a tank with silicone. I have revised it a bit. Resealing a tank can be a chore and may not work the first time, but if you get a good seal it will last for years.
I have found that trying to run a line of silicone only on a portion of a tank often to not work out very well. If a tank leaks, I find it best to reseal all the corners and sides at the same time.
-(In my experience the silicone needs to be applied in all corners while it is still tacky so that it will bond to itself at the apex of each side.)
-(New silicone does not seem to bond to old silicone very well)(Some have posted that it will stick better to the old if the old is well cleaned, I have yet to test this myself.)
I also cut out the existing silicone with a utility knife from all corners before trying to seal with new stuff. I find a shop vac a handy way to remove the bits of silicone. If the first application of new silicone does not seal the leak, I cut out all the silicone that I have just applied and seal the whole thing again. I also find that the silicone tubes that fit in a caulking gun to be the handy way to apply silicone. The tubes of silicone that you squeeze with your fingers are just too hard for me to control and I have not tried to use them in years. You can plug the end of a big tube of silicone with a nail or something round to keep it from curing in the tube too quickly, as you may need it again.
-(Note – When you cut the end of a silicone tube, make the first cut near the end so as to have a small opening. You can always cutoff a little bit more if the bead of silicone is too small.)
Some more pointers. I usually give a tank a good cleaning before applying the new silicone. I use a paste made from ordinary table salt (Without iodine) and a soft sponge.
-(Do not use a sponge or cloth that has been used with soap or chemicals.)
-(I have buckets and sponges that are used only for my tanks.)
The salt paste does not scratch glass and does a fair job at removing the deposits from the surface of the glass (be sure the sponge or cloth used to apply the paste with is not coarse enough to scratch the glass on its own and watch for bits of gravel that seem to jump into the salt paste.) (Letting the salt paste dry to a haze should desiccate most critters if you want to disinfect a diseased tank.)(Note- wetting the glass will soften up the deposits somewhat.) (Also for stubborn mineral deposits, a razor blade in a holder that gives a firm grip is useful. Use a shallow the angle on the blade and keep an eye on the corners of the blade. The corners sometimes get bent and will scratch a thin line. Rinse the salt paste out and let the tank dry well.
Once the tank is clean, I think it needs to be completely dry before applying a bead of new silicone. Dampness tends to hide in the very small seams and in the corners of a tank. I suspect that dampness prevents the silicone from bonding properly to a surface and may result in a leak in a good looking seam. (note- this is not real critical, but try to have the tank in a place where it can sit for a day once the silicone has been applied, so you do not have to move it until the stuff can cure some. Silicone labels often say that it will cure enough in two days to add water. (While I have gotten away with around a two day cure
I have found that trying to run a line of silicone only on a portion of a tank often to not work out very well. If a tank leaks, I find it best to reseal all the corners and sides at the same time.
-(In my experience the silicone needs to be applied in all corners while it is still tacky so that it will bond to itself at the apex of each side.)
-(New silicone does not seem to bond to old silicone very well)(Some have posted that it will stick better to the old if the old is well cleaned, I have yet to test this myself.)
I also cut out the existing silicone with a utility knife from all corners before trying to seal with new stuff. I find a shop vac a handy way to remove the bits of silicone. If the first application of new silicone does not seal the leak, I cut out all the silicone that I have just applied and seal the whole thing again. I also find that the silicone tubes that fit in a caulking gun to be the handy way to apply silicone. The tubes of silicone that you squeeze with your fingers are just too hard for me to control and I have not tried to use them in years. You can plug the end of a big tube of silicone with a nail or something round to keep it from curing in the tube too quickly, as you may need it again.
-(Note – When you cut the end of a silicone tube, make the first cut near the end so as to have a small opening. You can always cutoff a little bit more if the bead of silicone is too small.)
Some more pointers. I usually give a tank a good cleaning before applying the new silicone. I use a paste made from ordinary table salt (Without iodine) and a soft sponge.
-(Do not use a sponge or cloth that has been used with soap or chemicals.)
-(I have buckets and sponges that are used only for my tanks.)
The salt paste does not scratch glass and does a fair job at removing the deposits from the surface of the glass (be sure the sponge or cloth used to apply the paste with is not coarse enough to scratch the glass on its own and watch for bits of gravel that seem to jump into the salt paste.) (Letting the salt paste dry to a haze should desiccate most critters if you want to disinfect a diseased tank.)(Note- wetting the glass will soften up the deposits somewhat.) (Also for stubborn mineral deposits, a razor blade in a holder that gives a firm grip is useful. Use a shallow the angle on the blade and keep an eye on the corners of the blade. The corners sometimes get bent and will scratch a thin line. Rinse the salt paste out and let the tank dry well.
Once the tank is clean, I think it needs to be completely dry before applying a bead of new silicone. Dampness tends to hide in the very small seams and in the corners of a tank. I suspect that dampness prevents the silicone from bonding properly to a surface and may result in a leak in a good looking seam. (note- this is not real critical, but try to have the tank in a place where it can sit for a day once the silicone has been applied, so you do not have to move it until the stuff can cure some. Silicone labels often say that it will cure enough in two days to add water. (While I have gotten away with around a two day cure
Where is it leaking from? Generally you will need to drain the tank down in order to reseal a seam/corner. You should be able to find a local (out of Baton Rouge) hobbyist or two who can assist you with this at the Southeast Louisiana Aquarium Society website.