Acrylic and silicone cure time.

[KDodds]

My sump is seemingly leaking through the seams on the bottom. Because of the creep accumulation around the seems, the lack of rim bracing, and the bowing of the tank, I'm reasonably 100% certain that this is the point of the leak and that the heaviest creep area is the point of main seeping. I lost 4 gals/day for the last week (calculated SG difference) with auto-top-off and base of 1.025. Yesterday, though, it became significantly worse and seems to be extending up on of the wall seams as well. Now, my manufacturer has been great about it so far, they just asked for dimensions and said they'd take care of it. BUT, it might be weeks before I can get a replacement, right?

Anyway, I drained and siliconed the sump, from the outside to get as quick a cure time as possible (no pump, no chiller). So, finally, a question. Has anybody done this before? Has it worked to stop or stem the flow? And last and most important, how quickly can I turn the return pump on again? I've always allowed a 24 hour dry time on silicone. Can it really be considered "cured" in 5 minutes?

 

[scunan]

I would not think that it would be fully cured in 5 minutes. It should say on the silicone instructions what the full curing time is.

 

[KDodds]

Curing time is 5 minutes, full bond is 24 hours. It's bad enough to lose 20g in a day, I don't want to have gone through all of this work and then have it not do anything, you know? But the clock is ticking.

 

[scunan]

I suppose worst case if the silicone does not work you could go out and buy a cheap rubbermaid tote at walmart until your replacement arrives

 

[KDodds]

Oh, I don't think so, the sump's a 180 running a throughput of 5000gph on a 450g tank. The refugium area alone is 45g when running.

 

[scunan]

Wow I hope the silicone works out for you then

 

[KDodds]

Thanks. Just finished refilling it and turned it on, with fingers crossed. We'll see how much I lose by morning.

 

[iaJim]

I didn't think that silicone adhered to acrylic well.

 

[KDodds]

I really don't mind if it adheres as long as it slows the leak at least partially.

 

[iaJim]

Can you put a board on each side of the bottom, a 2/4 on edge, and then put bar clamps on each end to take up part of the pressure. You wouldn't want to make it too tight, but it might help until something more permanent could be done.

 

[DKreefkeepers]

you are playing with fire by using it again. if it is leaking it means that the bonds are weakening and have started to let water seep through. It would not supprise me to read a thread on here tomorrow about one of the walls breaking down and flooding your house.

 

[KDodds]

Oh, don't I know I'm playing with fire. I've already contacted the manufacturer and they're being very amiable and professional, but it's still going to take SOME time to get the new sump in place. But rest assure, it IS going to be replaced. I've actually considered using duct tape on the exterior to partially seal and strap/support as well. As of this AM, it seems to have held. There's no sign of leaking, no salt creep, and SG was the same as last night.

I allowed the silicone to cure for about 1Ã"šÃ‚½ hours, which was the real intended purpose of this thread, to get some input into what emergency dry time for silicone is, how quickly it can be up again.

I don't think I've ever heard of an acrylic tank dropping a side, let alone a half full sump. Have you had this happen? Has anyone?

 

[jedininja]

I really doubt any of the walls are going to fall off. I think the silicone will be a decent teporary fix. Go ahead and add the duct tape as well. When I had my 24 nanocube crack, I used duct tape to seal up the area of the crack while I ran out to buy a 20g temp tank. It worked pretty well. Weld most of the water in for over an hour with very little leaking out. So if it can do that, I think it will help with a slow leak that you already covered with silicone.

As for curing time, I think it will be fine as well. never tried that quickly in a tank, but I have used the kitchen silicone for sealing sinks and turned on the water and used the sink within minutes. Of course the sink is only sealed on the edges, but when hit with soap and water, it stayed firm.

 

[KDodds]

Thanks jedi, finally an answer to my original questions. Good thing for me that it went well.

 

[GSchiemer]

Kieron,

I'm sorry to say that silicone probably won't help you at all. First of all, it doesn't bond well to acrylic, especially if it's under any pressure. Second, sealing any leak from the "outside" is almost always futile.

If you're only option is silicone sealant, then I'd drain the sump and patch it from the inside. Aquarium silicone uses acetic acid to cure and it's harmless to aquarium inhabitants. Better yet, if you can drain the sump temporarily, use thickened acrylic cement and really seal any leaks. Two-part plastic epoxy "welder" also works great on acrylic and drys in minutes. Again, you'd have to drain the sump first, but if you're reasonably sure that you know where the leak is located, this stuff will work to seal it.

Greg

 

[KDodds]

I sealed it from the inside, mistyped in the original. No need to drain if just sealing from the outside. If the silicone doesn't hold, I'll definitely look into and acrylic "welder". Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[jedininja]

Yeah, I missed that it said outside too. Makes much more sense with the silicone on the inside.

 

[KDodds]

So far so good, no salinity change from yesterday. So either I've stemmed it mostly or completely. For the time being, at the very least. Now to get SG back up again. Glad I caught it when I did. The carpeting is dark and it really wasn't visible. I only noticed when I put a hand down and it hit stiff carpet on one end. Uh-oh. That much salt creep means an active leak. ANYWAY, I think I've got it under control for the time being. My tank maker stepped up production immediately and the sump should ship within 2 days. Great job and customer service from the guys at ATM.