How Do You Fix A Slow Leak?

[Black Mammoth]

Hey Guys,

 

I'm sure that this has been covered, but I didn't find anything in the search. Anyway, I have a 55g tank that I use for prop and QT. I got it free about a year and a half ago. It has worked great for me, but I knew that it would probably eventually leak due to the age. That day came last weekend. I was cleaning it out all together and when I looked at my stand I noticed salt creep. I wasn't too concerned think it was me over the past few months being sloppy. Well after taking the salt creep off and taking the tank of the stand it was clear that there is a small leak. I took the tank off the stand and set up the stand so it would be sitting on the leaking corner. It was really sitting, I had it held up so that there wasn't any pressure on that corner. I put a bucket underneath the suspect corner and put some water in the tank. Sure enough, it starts to drop some water.

 

I suspect it is the caulking of the tank. It is very old and worn away quite a bit in a few spots. I was thinking about removing the old caulking and recaulking it. However, I'm a bit concerned if I do that, will I have a time bomb on my hands? If I do that, what can I use? I have some clear silicon caulk from Home Depot, but I'm afraid that isn't the right stuff...i.e. not strong enough. What can I use to fix this?

 

Thanks

[gsedlack]

From the vast world wide web

 

Make sure it is the tank that is leaking. Sometimes a hang-on power filter is overflowing or leaking, or an airstone is spraying water out the back corner, or a piece of paper, cloth or tubing is dangling into the water and "wicking" water out.

 

Empty the water - and everything else - from the tank. The sealant will need to applied to the inside of the aquarium, where it will be pushed into the seam by water pressure.

 

Remove old sealant with a razor blade scraper. If the leak is apparent on a side seam, remove all the sealant from the entire length of seam. If water appears mysteriously at the tank's bottom, scrape out all four bottom seams.

 

Prepare the seam. Some aquarists use rubbing alcohol to remove oily fingerprints, others simply wipe with a damp rag. It is essential that the area be extremely clean and completely dry.

 

Buy silicone sealer. It doesn't matter if you get it at the local fish store or hardware store, but make sure the packaging plainly indicates that the product is safe for aquarium use. Some products contain toxic mildew-retarding chemicals that will kill fish.

 

Apply sealer. Hold the tube at an angle and push it forward while squeezing out the sealer, forcing sealer into gaps. Some hobbyists then run their fingers down the bead, further pushing the sealer, but sealer is extremely difficult to remove from skin, so this is not recommended. If you feel a need to manipulate a wet seal, lay clean, dry plastic bags over the seals first. Leave bags in place until sealer is dry; they will then peel off easily.

 

Allow to cure. Follow sealant manufacturer's directions as to how long to wait before re-filling tank. Adding water too soon will weaken the seal and possibly contaminate the water.

[yagerboy]

Buy a new tank. Super Petz and Wally's both hav cheap tanks and less hassle than removing the sealant.

[YBeNormal]

The best bet is to remove all of the old silicone and reseal the entire tank. Attempts to reseal select areas will usually fail.

 

Here are two WAMAS threads on the topic:

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...amp;hl=silicone

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...amp;hl=silicone

 

I'm sure you will hear from others that it's not worth doing. That may be true for very small, cheap tanks but resealing larger tanks is worthwhile if you have time and patience to do it right and it's much cheaper thn buying a new tank. Picking up another used tank may be an option but then again, you may just end up with another leaker...