fIXING A LARGE AQUARIUM

[FRANKBARON]

undefined I AM LOOKING FOR ADVISE REGARDING THE REPAIR OF A 160 GALLON FRESHWATER TANK. I PLACED A 75 GALLON TANK ON THE SAME PLATFORM NEXT TO THE 160 GAL TANK AND SHORTLY AFTER I FILLED UP THE 75 THE 160 BEGAN LEAKING WATER... SLOWLY AT FIRST AND THEN FASTER A DAY OR TWO LATER (ABOUT 2 GALLONS A DAY).

I DISMANTLED BOTH TANKS AND TOOK ALL THE GRAVEL ETC OUT. I LOOKED AT THE TANK CAREFULLY BUT HAVE FOUND NO CRACKS OR OBVIOUS AREAS WHERE A LEAK COULD HAVE SPRUNG... I HAVE FORTIFIED THE PLATFORM WITH STRONGER DIMENTIONAL LUMBER AND HAVE REPLACED THE TANKS BUT HAVE NOT FILLED THEM YET... IS THERE A WAY TO FIND THE AREA OF THE LEAK? AND IF OR NOT IS THERE A SPECIAL PRODUCT OTHER THAN SILICONE IN A TUBE THAT WOULD DO AN EFFECTIVE JOB?

I TRIED TO FIX A 55G TANK THAT MYSTERIOUSLY SPRUNG A LEAK WITH THE SILICONE CAULK BUT HAD NO LUCK... THE FIX HELD FOR A FEW DAYS BUT STARTED UP AGAIN IN A FEW DAYS. AM I TRASHING THIS TANK? ANY HELP OR SUGGESTIONS WILL BE GRATLY APPRECIATED... I SPENT BIG MONEY ON THAT TANK. THANK YOU.

 

[midiamin]

You've got some work to do!

First, when you have glass tanks that previously had H2O in them and you've emptied them, it is best that you strip all the old silicon sealant and apply new sealant. Once the sealant has been exposed to water and is emptied for an amount of time, the old sealant does crack and you may not be able to see where your leaks are coming from. You can get away with not striping the sealant on the outside of the tank but not the inside. Silicon sealant is the best product for this, although there may be something new on the market that I may not be familiar with. Lay it in thick and pack it in. you can remove the excess with a razor blade once it dries. Of course, there are tricks to making it look nice and professional but my fingers are getting tired. Good luck!