Glass tank seal compromised

[rogeragrimes]

I have a (new to me) 120-gal glass aquarium with no center support, and black plastic "rims" on the top and bottom. Tank was built in 1988, and I just got a month ago. I've got three hardy fish and bunch of live rock and corals in it.

I noticed one of the side joint seals has a bit of green algae in it in a few places. Not a lot, not big, just 2-3 places, each maybe a half centimeter big. So I know I've got a leak in the seal, however small. After I noticed the algae in the seal I noticed that the previous owner had placed some caulking on the outside of the tank on the same seal, obvious to stop some small leaks.

My question is if there is anyway for me to reinforce/repair the inside seal while the water is in the tank? To remove the water and keep everything alive would be near impossible for me.

Also, if the leaks never grow in size, or very little to none over time (a big if), do you think there is a huge risk to the tank bursting?

My current thought process is to see if I can close the leaks by applying more internal caulking, and if that stops the algae from growing at all, then I know I've got the leaks "fixed". But being as this is my first aquarium and I'm not an aquarium expert I don't know if I'm being overly hopeful and just ignoring an all but certain disaster.

 

[Drewl117]

You could go get a bunch of rubber toats or a couple of brute trash cans to house your livestock and rock while you re-seal the tank. If its toward the top you could probably drain out some water and repair that spot but the aquarium silicon needs 24 hours to cure before you put the water back in. I would be careful and keep a close eye on everything. If you plan on keeping the tank long term it would obviously be best to fix it now then later, especially with only 3 fish in there. You don't want to play with leaks!!

 

[Bogue Chitto]

You might try some epoxy putty on the place to shore it up some. I don't know what the silicone looks like around the leak but maybe it would bond to the glass part on each side of the silicone. It's the only thing I can think of to use in water. Some one else may have a better answer for you.

 

[ca1ore]

If the tank really is/was leaking through the front side joint then the structural joint is compromised. No amount of 're-sealing' is going to fix that. It's routinely misunderstood that the bead of silicone inside the joints is the seal - it's not! What seals the tank is the structural joint between the glass panes. Having a bit of algae growing in under the interior bead may be unsightly, but in and of itself it is unlikely to be a problem. Perhaps the prior owner 'thought' it was problem and slapped sealant in the outside just in case.

If it were me, I'd remove the external added silicone and see whether the tank leaks or not. If it does not, you're good; if it does - reptile tank.

 

[rogeragrimes]

Thanks to all for the replies and suggestions

 

[rogeragrimes]

Update: I finally bought a new replacement tank -$900. It's still on it's way and will arrive in a week or two. I was really struggling with the decision because who knows when the seal would have broken, 20 days or 20 years? But I've noticed that the algae in the glass seal is spreading...so it's a no brainer now. I'm just hoping that the new tank arrives and I get it switched over before the old one breaks. I could empty the current one and move the fish, coral, and live rocks somewhere else, but I'm taking the risk it will hold for 1-2 weeks more.

The part that really sucks, is this is my first tank, and after six weeks I've got the water chemistry finally very stable and all the fish life and coral are settling down and growing...and I'm just going to upset that apple cart moving them to new tank.

On the good side, I'm going to drill some holes in the new tank and stop using the current HOB overflow, buy a new simple sump (to replace the current one that has like 8 different small compartments that I can't use), and basically buy and do a "dream tank" setup.

So as long as I don't flood the house in the next few weeks, the outcome should be better.

 

[billdogg]

If the tank really is/was leaking through the front side joint then the structural joint is compromised. No amount of 're-sealing' is going to fix that. It's routinely misunderstood that the bead of silicone inside the joints is the seal - it's not! What seals the tank is the structural joint between the glass panes. Having a bit of algae growing in under the interior bead may be unsightly, but in and of itself it is unlikely to be a problem. Perhaps the prior owner 'thought' it was problem and slapped sealant in the outside just in case.

If it were me, I'd remove the external added silicone and see whether the tank leaks or not. If it does not, you're good; if it does - reptile tank.

What he said!

Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing all of that!

 

[Kenreefer]

A new tank was the way to go. I completely took a tank apart to fix a small leak...wow what a job and I'm quite handy too. I still wonder if I should replace it. I did the big garage can for sand n rock it worked. I was able to put a few fish in an existing tank so no worries there. Double check your set up consider posting what you want/think you want and the members here will definitely help you out and possibly save you some time money n aggravation. Good luck

 

[rogeragrimes]

The original tank I ordered (through Amazon) turned out to be a company that apparently went out of business. Amazon notified me of this about 2 weeks after I ordered it and gave me a refund. I spent days trying to find a way to buy a new tank, and every single place I called either wouldn't ship a tank (only in-store pick up) or said they would call me back with a price and didn't. I ended up calling my LFS (not sure why I didn't in the first place) and he got me a new one shipped for under $500.

The algae is growing and spreading, and it's definitely in the glass seal, not the silicone. I'm a bit bothered that I have to re-do a tank move about six weeks after I did the first tank move (which gave me my first marine aquarium)...especially since the Nitrogen cycle finally stabilized to the best measurements ever...and the fish and coral are finally really coming out. But as someone else said above, what better time to re-do it then when I only have a few fish and I'm still near the beginning.

Plus now I can drill some overflows and I'm putting together my dream equipment (e.g. Trigger Systems Ruby 36 sump, ATO reservoir (to replace my leaking 5-gal bucket), triple compartment dosing containers, Synergy Reef Systems overflow, new, faster pump, dosing pump, ATO pump, etc.).

I'm hoping a month or so from now everything will be doing better in the new tank and this new move will just be a fading memory.

New tank and equipment arrives Friday, so it looks like the weekend is the day.