Will my tank leak again?

[Ratman2050]

Hi,

I bought a 100gal tank on craigslist and the person I bought it from said there was a leak on one corner so I resealed that side. I then let it water test on a concrete floor for a few days and when I put it up inside my house for a day it leaked from the bottom back corner. Now I resealed all side corners and all bottom corners except one side which looked pretty sturdy already. However, I am a novice and I am not sure if it will leak again. I have let the silicone cure for almost 72 hours and will water test it again, however I wanted some advice. This is my stand:



When I first put my tank with water,gravel, rocks on that stand I could tell it was a lot of weight (previous owner of the stand said he put his 150gal on there without problems) but what I want to do is put a plywood board over the top of the stand for more stability and to relieve some stress around the corners. Is this a good idea? Also, when I do my water test (this time not on solid concrete but on the stand) should I add the plywood board on it or do the water test with only the stand and tank?

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

 

[floridagar]

Did you reseal all the sides one at a time?
Because usually when one seal breaks i would just redo all the seals on the tank. I did this on my 150 gallon tank sure it was a pain but it saves a lot of time and redoing all the things you just did.

And for that stand i would add a piece of plywood on top to give the tank a little better supporting on the sides. It will soften it up and let the wood act like a suspension.

As for your water testing always test it on the floor first. I never tested my tank on the stand because i was worried of some glass or seal actually breaking or cracking the edge of the glass.
If you dont want to test it on the floor and take the risk dont add the plywood because if the tank is holding without it then you know it will hold with it on there anyways. So for the most part i think your safe. I would recommend putting the tank on the ground to test the Hold.

 

[Ratman2050]

Did you reseal all the sides one at a time?
Because usually when one seal breaks i would just redo all the seals on the tank. I did this on my 150 gallon tank sure it was a pain but it saves a lot of time and redoing all the things you just did.

And for that stand i would add a piece of plywood on top to give the tank a little better supporting on the sides. It will soften it up and let the wood act like a suspension.

As for your water testing always test it on the floor first. I never tested my tank on the stand because i was worried of some glass or seal actually breaking or cracking the edge of the glass.
If you dont want to test it on the floor and take the risk dont add the plywood because if the tank is holding without it then you know it will hold with it on there anyways. So for the most part i think your safe. I would recommend putting the tank on the ground to test the Hold.

I'm not sure what you mean one at a time? The first time I bought it I sealed one corner the owner said was leaking, this time, I resealed all the corners except the corner that I previously sealed (a bit confusing I know). I do want to test it with the stand only because I water tested the tank previously before it leaked for the first time on my concrete floor and it held there for 5 days, but the first day I put it up on the stand with the rocks, gravel, filters it leaked. So I know the the pressure is not being evenly distributed on the stand as opposed to the floor and I don't want to make the same mistake again.

How long do you think I should do a water test this time? And also how long do reseals usually last? thanks

 

[biguebs]

I would put a decent piece of plywood across the top of that stand (1/2", or even better, 3/4" thick). Get as flat of a piece as you can. I actually had to patch my 180, I am supporting it with foam and a nice piece of 3/4" plywood that I bought at Lowe's for about $30 (you won't need foam since you have the plastic frame support on the bottom of your tank, mine is now glass resting directly on the foam and plywood). The plywood should help the glass from bowing down on the bottom and pulling your seal apart to the point where it leaks again.

For the test, I'd set it up (on the plywood) on the stand and add water incrementally over the course of a few days. When it gets full on the 3rd day and it hasn't leaked, you're probably in good shape (you could always wait 72 hours from there).

If you took your time on the reseal and gave it an all new, thick bead it should last for many years. Just like the original seal.

 

[Ratman2050]

I would put a decent piece of plywood across the top of that stand (1/2", or even better, 3/4" thick). Get as flat of a piece as you can. I actually had to patch my 180, I am supporting it with foam and a nice piece of 3/4" plywood that I bought at Lowe's for about $30 (you won't need foam since you have the plastic frame support on the bottom of your tank, mine is now glass resting directly on the foam and plywood). The plywood should help the glass from bowing down on the bottom and pulling your seal apart to the point where it leaks again.

For the test, I'd set it up (on the plywood) on the stand and add water incrementally over the course of a few days. When it gets full on the 3rd day and it hasn't leaked, you're probably in good shape (you could always wait 72 hours from there).

If you took your time on the reseal and gave it an all new, thick bead it should last for many years. Just like the original seal.

I will be testing outside on my wooden deck. But thanks for the info.

 

[z400]

Leak testing on concrete floor = Recipe for disaster.
Leak testing on bare wooden porch = Recipe for disaster.


Old silicone is known to not bond to new silicone.

Only way to properly fix your leak is to cut out all of the old silicone and re seal the whole tank.
Sounds like a big job, but really it is not.

 

[floridagar]

well what i mean at one time was spend a whole day removing all silicone and then wiping the corners down getting rid of all silicone scraps. Then resealing the whole inside of the tank with the new silicone. That is how the silicone reseal job should be since when you do all the sides together it makes one complete seal and acts like a gasket on the corners of the tank. You should always wait about three days for the silicone to adhere and dry. Then after that put water inside and see if the seal has adhered right and the water is holding.

My reseal job on my 150gallon tall took about five days till i was happy with how it held the water.

 

[Ratman2050]

Leak testing on concrete floor = Recipe for disaster.
Leak testing on bare wooden porch = Recipe for disaster.

It's carpet over concrete floor, but care to explain why the two are bad choices?

well what i mean at one time was spend a whole day removing all silicone and then wiping the corners down getting rid of all silicone scraps. Then resealing the whole inside of the tank with the new silicone. That is how the silicone reseal job should be since when you do all the sides together it makes one complete seal and acts like a gasket on the corners of the tank. You should always wait about three days for the silicone to adhere and dry. Then after that put water inside and see if the seal has adhered right and the water is holding.

My reseal job on my 150gallon tall took about five days till i was happy with how it held the water.

I took all the old silicone off and cleaned it up one day, the next day I applied silicone on the back side that leaked and let it stay, and the following day I resealed all the other sides, unfortunately I did not seal it all at once then.

 

[smitty03281964]

All you can do is give it a try. If all surfaces were properly cleaned and you took your time to do it right you should be okay. But sometimes it is not the seal. It is badly cut glass.

 

[z400]

It's carpet over concrete floor, but care to explain why the two are bad choices?

Only takes a fraction of a inch worth of difference in the floor making it uneven, this will put stress on the aquarium and will more then likely
cause it to break somewhere, could be the frame that cracks, or you could lose a entire pane of glass.

It does happen.

precaution you can take, lay down something thick and soft under the aquarium.
No, not your comforter from your bed. I suggest insulation board that is used on the exterior of
buildings/houses.
a 4x8 sheet that is 1/2" thick can be had for $8 at Home Depot.