Leak

Susan Lohrer

New member
I checked on my tank last night (OK, really I was spying on the creatures that only come out after dark) when I heard a drip... drip... drip from my quarantine tanl. :uhoh2:

Fortunately there was nothing being quarantined in there. And extra fortunately I noticed the leak before it saturated the ceiling of my laundry room downstairs (it wouldn't be the first time that happened).

So now I get to scrape off the silicone and reseal the tank. Yay.
 
How big is the quarantine? Maybe a new tank is worth the expense if it's doable. Resealed tanks are always a gamble I think...

Good luck with things!
 
It's 10 gallons. I know Pet-something-or-other has them on sale for $10 sometimes, but that's a 3-hour drive, so my being in Coeur d'Alene and happening to notice the sale doesn't occur very often. It's cheaper to just buy a tube of silicone and completely reseal it.

I'm considering investing in a water alarm, though.
 
I picked up a water sensor a few years ago. It has saved my bacon a couple times. Just need to make sure to check the battery occasionally.
 
Be sure you use an aquarium safe silicone, most contain anti-bacterial agents that will destroy your biological filtration.
 
To properly reseal the tank, you must take it completely apart and remove ALL traces of silicone from all surfaces before you attempt to fix it. Just scraping off the inner seal will not do any real good. It might buy you some time, but that is all. That will mean removing both pieces of trim, and turning the tank into 5 separate pieces of glass. It is a tremendous amount of work for a 10g tank. I would look in to just picking up a nice rubbermaid tub and using that.

jm.02
 
Hmm...honestly, if it's a ten gallon...you'll spend like $13-15 buying one brand new. If you re-seal it, then its going to be a LOT of scraping and if you don't clean every micron of silicone off the old glass, the new silicone wont adhere properly. For the tank size, I would just suggest buying a new one. It's 10 gallons, not worth hours of scraping and then resealing.

Just my two cents
 
I hear you guys on the cost vs. labor thing. Things are a little pricier in Canada than you're used to, especially in a small town (complete with small-town tax) that's 60+ miles from the nearest Walmart. :)

Just so you know, my frugal nature made me save the water and the live rocks from in there and put them in a Home Depot 5-gallon bucket with the HOB filter and the heater. I'm not a completely lost cause. ;)
 
I think if you do the math on what this current QT tank might cost if another leak springs up and you don't catch it right away vs a new QT tank (even with the long drive)............a new tank makes sense financially! :)
 
You do not need to take the whole tank apart. That is just crazy.

Use a razor blade to cut and scrape all the silicone away from the edges just flush to the glass joints. You just want to try not to cut in between the glass panels if that makes sense. Next Clean it all up with alcohol and then reseal it.

The silicone between the glass panels is structural and the silicone running along the seams is for waterproofing. Ive done a few tanks and never once did i have to take the whole tank apart.
 
I'll think about what everyone's saying before I decide.

Either way, it won't be something I need to look after very soon. If I need a hospital tank, I can use the bucket; and I won't buy any new creatures until I have a tank that doesn't leak.

I'm just feeling lucky it didn't wreck the downstairs ceiling. :)
 
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