PLEASE HELP!!!! Leaking 450 Gallon Acrylic Tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
On this is easy. Happen to my 180 I leak out 100 gallen. Dried off the area, scrap old glue. Then apply acrylic cement inside and out. The cement bonds the two piece to one. The acrylic cement comes in a red tube, and can be found at any glass/acrylic store. Had no leak since

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Even if you inject weld on #4 into the seam it will not solve the problem, it will eventually fail again. After the #4 you need to use weld-on #40 on the inside of the tank to create a bevel of glue and reinforcement. If it were my tank i would use Weld-on #40 to glue in a piece of .5"-1" square acrylic stock over the entire back seam on the inside if not every seam on the tank (sounds like its underbuilt as most factory acrylic tanks are)...it will only spread further without additional reinforcement and the right glue. The glue in a "red tube" (weld-on #16) the other guy told u to use is cheap, dries full of bubbles and is extremly brittle. It will only work temporarily aswell. Take ur time to find the weld on #40 online and do it right or i promise you, you will have to tear it down in the future for another repair. Every used acrylic tank i buy, i take atleast a month to go over and reinforce the seams with #40. Repairs with cheap glue will only delay your problems not solve them.

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Hard to tell from That pic but if its just inside the overflow you can tilt the tank back 45/degrees and apply the weld on #40 so it puddles up similar to silicone on a glass tank. You will only need a small pint kit for arou d $45. If you want to further the repair, i cant tell how much popped off from the pic then you go with the square stock method of repair as i stated above. I can dig up some pics if you need them.

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You should put styrofoam under your tank to keep it level. My seam broke because stand lean a little to the front and no styrofoam to balance it out. My wooden stand started to bow in in certain area. Causing lots of stress on the tank. I believe you might have a similar problem like I did.


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Rob3rtPhan said:
You should put styrofoam under your tank to keep it level. My seam broke because stand lean a little to the front and no styrofoam to balance it out. My wooden stand started to bow in in certain area. Causing lots of stress on the tank. I believe you might have a similar problem like I did.

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Click to expand...

Foam does not level a tank. If the tank is unlevel, then you need to level it correctly.
 
Pharaoh said:
Foam does not level a tank. If the tank is unlevel, then you need to level it correctly.
Click to expand...

I level it with wooden plate thingy at lowes. Foam so the wooden stand would not affect the tank. Wood will warp over time, concave in so foam prevent your tank from taking in alot of stress.

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Alright here is the best way to work on making it perfect, I have done this myself and know it works, on the inside of the tank if you can sand the seam area so its smooth and super clean, clean it all out, use weld on #16 and get a square piece of acrylic to weld along the seam, if its a 5 inch space where you think the leak is do it as long as possible or if its a large area at least 6 inches extra on each side of where you think the defect is, then for the back sand that seam area smooth and get it clean, get a 1inch tall 1/8" inch thich piece of acrylic to weld on the back of the tank over the seam. Use weld 16 again, you will need to apply pressure for 10 minutes to get the best seal. I just use my fingers and apply pressure this way I can watch the weld on 16 fill the whole area and make sure its a full even weld across that added piece, use a good amount of weld on a little overage is not the end of the world. You can have someone there wipe it off as you hold or just let it dry. If you need some more help pm me and we can chat and ill help you understand fully. Doing it this way your going to seal any and all issues with that seam.

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Lots of advice.. but the basic is the same... you can either run a bevel on the inside of the overflow or ad in some strips of extra material along the edge, both are very capable ways of dealing with this situation.

Good luck and let us know what method you are going to use and how it works out for you :D
 
Cant stress the use of weld on #40 enough...#16 does not stick well to old acrylic and is extremly brittle when dry. Ive had old repairs with #16 pop off years down the road. It is not made for repairs. #40 is almost exactly the same chemical properties of the acrylic itself. It also heats up when curing sinking a bit into the acrylic giving you a true bond. Not a half ass bandaid repair like #16. Like i said before #16 is cheap, it will hold for a while but in the end you get what you pay for.

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