Tank Leaking - Help!

[Meaty24]

I have an Oceanic 175 gallon bow front tank. Recently, I noticed that I am getting water droplets on the outside of the tank, as well as dried salt. There is clearly a leak and it is making me extremely nervous. What do I do to fix it? Do I buy run-of-the-mill silicon from a hardware store and put the silicon on the outside of the tank? Can I put silicon on the inside of the tank. If it is on the top third portion of the tank? What if the leak is near the bottom of the tank -- so low that I can't drain it?

 

[KathyC]

Are the drops coming from where there is a seam?

To fix a tank that has a leak, the tank needs to be emptied, disassembled, all of the silicone cleaned off and then rebuilt. You cannot simply silicone over a seam to fix a leak

 

[rebelson]

Need to transfer all the livestock and drain the tank to where the leak is. Next seal the leak from the INSIDE with aquarium safe silicone and allow it to thoroughly cure before refilling it with water and testing for leaks.

 

[thirty5]

Not a good sign. Can you see where the water is running from. Where exactly is the salt? I heard that the 175 bows by Oceanic had a leaking problem. That was the tank that I had, but I had it re-sealed before I used it..

Unfortunately the only real way to fix it is to drain the tank and re-seal the tank.

 

[mic_1011]

oceanic gives a lifetime warranty on their stuff. i would give them a call ans see what they say. 800-255-4527

 

[thirty5]

oceanic gives a lifetime warranty on their stuff. i would give them a call ans see what they say. 800-255-4527

good luck with that

 

[thirty6]

I thought oceanic was absorbed or bought by aqueon? Worth calling them or email

 

[thirty5]

I dont think that any company will have a warranty on a leaking tank. Especially a tank that is as old as this one.

 

[Imbarrie]

There was no tank age indicated in the OP.

If this tank has a few years and you can't get a warrantee repair I think it would be better to replace it.

Any repair will require taking the tank down.

 

[rkaragozler]

Like Kathy said it has to be emptied, unassembled and re siliconed. As far as the warranty
goes they will only honor it if it was on the stand that was supplied by the manufacturer.

 

[mic_1011]

what does the stand have to do with it? their stands are sh/t anyway. who's bright idea was it to use sh/t presswood with WATER tanks? on another note, i've had great customer service with oceanic. to me lifetime warranty means LIFETIME! no matter how old it is. and for a company to offer that, means they stand behind their product!

 

[rkaragozler]

They do have great customer service, Brian over their is a great guy to deal with. I had an Oceanic 175 bow front from them, and called the over a half dozen times. But for a leaking tank the first question they will ask you is "are you using our stand"

 

[cono]

i have a friend who had an oceanic tank and the first question they asked if it was on there stand ... it was and they replaced it

 

[Meaty24]

I watched the tank all night last and noticed that in the front, upper left hand corner, water droplets are forming in the corner, right under the black plastic that frames the top of the tank. Every once in awhile, a droplet forms, and rolls down the seam .

 

[MO~IDOL]

do u have a lot of flow going in the tank?

 

[albano]

I watched the tank all night last and noticed that in the front, upper left hand corner, water droplets are forming in the corner, right under the black plastic that frames the top of the tank. Every once in awhile, a droplet forms, and rolls down the seam .

Is there a way to lower the waterline? is a wave maker/powerhead pointed at that corner?
You might be able to lower the water temporarily and add silicone to the inside of the plastic frame

 

[Meaty24]

Yes, I do have a lot of flow there. Actually, I have a powerhead pointed towards that corner. It seems like a trim silicon leak. So, can I use any type of silicon? Or do I need to use aquarium silicon? Should I put silicon inside the tank, or just on the outside? The leak is DEFINITELY from the top, and not on the glass seam.

 

[thirty5]

Yes, I do have a lot of flow there. Actually, I have a powerhead pointed towards that corner. It seems like a trim silicon leak. So, can I use any type of silicon? Or do I need to use aquarium silicon? Should I put silicon inside the tank, or just on the outside? The leak is DEFINITELY from the top, and not on the glass seam.

AQUARIUM SILICONE!!!!!!! Get it at LFS.

Drop your water line, and then move that powerhead for now. Then seal the inside of the glass under the frame (inside the tank) Let it cure for a while. It should fix easily since there really is no water pressure there.

 

[Imbarrie]

You can find aquarium silicon at home depot or lowes. Look in the glue section.
Make sure it says aquarium safe right on the package.