Black silicone turning yellow - 300G Marineland tank

Re: Black silicone turning yellow - 300G Marineland tank

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15422845#post15422845 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mike660r
Yesterday I spent the afternoon cleaning my tank. I noticed along the bottom front panel that the black silicone appears to be turning yellow. The tank has been setup since November of 2008. The silicone has been covered with sand since I set the tank up. I am a little concerned with what this could mean. Has anyone else seen black silicone change color?


One of my old tanks had this happen to it but it was not along the bottom of the tank is was on one of the sides. I had black silicon and when I noticed it it was around 3-4 inches long and it was yellowish in color as well. I really have no idea what caused it....
 
I'm willing to bet that this happens with tanks with clear silicone, but you just cant notice it like you can with black.
 
Re: Re: Black silicone turning yellow - 300G Marineland tank

Re: Re: Black silicone turning yellow - 300G Marineland tank

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15481394#post15481394 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shaginwagon13
One of my old tanks had this happen to it but it was not along the bottom of the tank is was on one of the sides. I had black silicon and when I noticed it it was around 3-4 inches long and it was yellowish in color as well. I really have no idea what caused it....

Thanks Shagin,

You are the first person to respond that has seen this happen before. Do you still have the tank? If so, is the seam still solid? I am going to contact my LFS today and see if they can forward on my concern to Marineland. The bad part is I bought this tank brand new from someone else. I doubt I have any warranty rights. However, it would be nice if I could be told if I should add more coverage to my homeowners insurance. I already have the tank covered. It never hurts to make sure everything is up to date though with this type of risk sitting in the house.

Mike
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15481661#post15481661 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cougaran
I'm willing to bet that this happens with tanks with clear silicone, but you just cant notice it like you can with black.

You would notice this for sure. It may just be from the UV exposure. I keep a shallow sand bed. The sand could have blown away from these areas and the UV from my Reeflux 250 12K's could have contributed. I haven't had the balls to press on it to see if it is any softer than the rest. I guess I better give that a shot this evening.
 
Re: Re: Re: Black silicone turning yellow - 300G Marineland tank

Re: Re: Re: Black silicone turning yellow - 300G Marineland tank

Thanks Shagin,

You are the first person to respond that has seen this happen before. Do you still have the tank? If so, is the seam still solid? I am going to contact my LFS today and see if they can forward on my concern to Marineland. The bad part is I bought this tank brand new from someone else. I doubt I have any warranty rights. However, it would be nice if I could be told if I should add more coverage to my homeowners insurance. I already have the tank covered. It never hurts to make sure everything is up to date though with this type of risk sitting in the house.

Mike

Hey Mike,
No I do not have the tank anymore I got rid of it but the seal never actually leaked or broke, I simply upgraded to a larger one. I purchased the tank used and I didn't notice it when I purchased it however the tank was pretty dirty so I'm not sure if it was like that before or after I bought it.

Originally I thought that the 'yellowish' line was caused when I cleaned the inside of the tank after purchasing it. I washed it was diluted bleach and vinegar. I thought that maybe some bleach stayed on a little too long and that's what caused it however I really have no way of knowing for certain.

The tank never leaked or failed while I was using it however to be honest I only had it up and running for maybe 6 months before I upgraded so that's really not a long period of time before I decided to upgrade.

Also, my 'yellow' line was located on one of the sides of the tank...maybe 12 inches below the top of the tank. The water pressure there is way less then the pressure the bottom seals have to go through (especially since mine was only a 130 gallon and yours is a lot larger) so if the yellowish mark means the silicon will fail I would say your tank would leak a lot sooner then mine would have.

Its always good to have the insurance regardless though...and make sure in your policy the insurance will cover everything! I had a friend who thought he was fully covered and when his tank leaked and killed everything the insurance company would not cover anything that was living, or the tank. So make sure your policy covers fish, LR, corals, clams, etc. They will most likely not cover the tank if it fails because that's what caused the damage however as long as the majority of your investment is covered you should be alright.

Hope this helps....and try to get in contact with whoever you bought the tank from. Even if they tell you it won't fail tell them you want it fixed or a new tank made. If the 'yellowish' lines were a normal thing on an aquarium then everyone would have them.
 
I called Marinelands customer service number and I was directed to Perfecto customer service. In case anyone else needs the number to Perfecto it is 800-241-7485. I was promted to leave a message for a return call.
 
Progress anyway...

Perfecto called back and they atleast want to see pictures of what I am refering to. I'll keep you all posted.
 
I got an email back from Perfecto on Friday. Here is the update they provided:

"I have sent these to the engineers and they are getting in touch with the supplier. We do not believe this to be a problem with the tank. I am hoping to have some more info next week for you."
 
Final update:

"Michael

I have sent all these pictures to our engineers and they do not feel the discoloration in the silicone is not an issue of concern. If you see this area growing we would be happy to see if there is something we can do for you."

As long as it doesn't come apart I can live with it.
 
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