The Reef Nightmare before Christmas

[FinalPhaze987]

So i was doing my usual water change today and when i get to wiping the front glass down i notice a very slow stream of water running down the side of my tank...

Ofcourse my first reaction is to check the overflow as well as the water level..but everything appeared to be fine..

Upon close inspection i learned that i have some silicone giving way and the water is coming from the corner where the two glass panels meet! 8O

Is there anyway to silicone that same spot with the tank full? If so can it be done from the inside rather than the outside? (the tank is built into a wall so the corner is not too accessable)

If thats not an option, is it possible to switch out tanks without having to go through another cycle again? I was planning on upgrading to a larger acrylic tank (so i can run some close loops) but really dont have the fundage to cover the tank, lighting, additional filtration, AND the construction materials needed to enlarge the opening..

So im hoping santas got a 250 gallon truvu and a couple extra halides for me this year otherwise im pretty screwed..

Any help is appreciated... Thank you in advance

 

[trido]

Is there anyway to silicone that same spot with the tank full? If so can it be done from the inside rather than the outside? (the tank is built into a wall so the corner is not too accessable)

You would/will have to drain the tank down below that spot, rinse it with FW, dry it, caulk it from the inside, run your finger along it to force the caulk beetween the panes and let it cure at least 24 hours just to patch it. I would never be able to really trust the tank again.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

Is there anyway to silicone that same spot with the tank full? If so can it be done from the inside rather than the outside? (the tank is built into a wall so the corner is not too accessable)

You would/will have to drain the tank down below that spot, rinse it with FW, dry it, caulk it from the inside, run your finger along it to force the caulk beetween the panes and let it cure at least 24 hours just to patch it. I would never be able to really trust the tank again.

Thanks for the info Trido...

but man..that sounds like its going to suck...

Its sloppily patched on the outside using silicone and a couple of emergency bandages so hopefully that will hold till i get a larger qt tank if i decide to resilicone it...

 

[Anonymous]

Is there anyway to silicone that same spot with the tank full? If so can it be done from the inside rather than the outside? (the tank is built into a wall so the corner is not too accessable)

You would/will have to drain the tank down below that spot, rinse it with FW, dry it, caulk it from the inside, run your finger along it to force the caulk beetween the panes and let it cure at least 24 hours just to patch it. I would never be able to really trust the tank again.

Thanks for the info Trido...

but man..that sounds like its going to suck...

Its sloppily patched on the outside using silicone and a couple of emergency bandages so hopefully that will hold till i get a larger qt tank if i decide to resilicone it...

It is worse than that. You will need to clean the old silicone off to get the new to properly adhere. The only way to fix it right it to drain the tank, take the pannel off, remove the old silicone, prep the joint then reseal.

As far as swapping out and not recycling it is not a big deal as long as you do not add more fresh live rock and keep you existing live rock in a tank so things do not start dieing.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

Thanks wazz.....

If ive got to pull of a panel and redo it all..i would have to buy a pretty big qt tank to put everything in...

my question should have read "starphire glass or acrylic tank?"

 

[brandonberry]

I've never heard of people pulling the whole panel off to reseal a tank. I resealed plenty of tanks by just scraping out the inside silicone good, cleaning it with alcohol, and resealing. They have all lasted for years after this. One quick fix that will, at least, possibly buy some time, is to put a big glob of super glue gel on your finger and try to smear it into the leak on the inside of the tank. Assuming this temporarily stops the leak, you can then clean the outside where the leak is occuring and apply some silicone sealant to the spot. If the super glue holds long enough for the sealant to cure, it should be OK for a while. I've run tanks for months this way with no problem, but I wouldn't recommend that. It may just get you through the holidays though.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

One quick fix that will, at least, possibly buy some time, is to put a big glob of super glue gel on your finger and try to smear it into the leak on the inside of the tank. Assuming this temporarily stops the leak, you can then clean the outside where the leak is occuring and apply some silicone sealant to the spot. If the super glue holds long enough for the sealant to cure, it should be OK for a while. quote]

I think im going to try this....buying a tank right now isnt totally working out with my girlfriend due to the holiday season so im going to need something to get me through Jan or whenever my checkbook recovers...Thanks for the tip! :mrgreen: