Fixing a leak on the seam of the tank.

[ian_m]

Sounds like issues from previous owner rather than you "breaking it". So no reason to not fix it.

Put some cling film/polythene on water surface along with kitchen towel to catch any rubbish whilst you work.
Cut out, with craft knife as much failed silicone as possible.
Dry the area to patch.
Clean if possible with either meths or IPA alcohol.
Try opening the gap slightly with say match stick, don't use metal object as might crack the glass.
Apply masking tape along edges of seam where you DONT want silicone.
Apply silicone. Smooth gently with finger or shaped piece of wood or silicone shapers. Otto-Chemie Fugenboy Sealant Tooling Set Blue (Small) - Otto-Chemie Mastic Sealants Adhesives & Tools - Mastic Sealant & Waterproofing Manufacturers - Product List - Sealants Online
Remove masking tape.
Leave 24 hours.
Fill with water.
Sit back and admire tank and handy work.🙂

 

[sciencefiction]

I've been reading, reading, reading about that and I have decided to take the plunge and empty the tank and check everything. It's the cheapest option as I can barely afford to pay for plastic containers, silicone, etc...., not to mind a new tank anysoon in the future. The tank is currently half full at the moment until I can move everything out the weekend possibly. I hope it lasts till then.

Then once all empty including the substrate, I'll move away the tank, check the stand and tank of course. I'll make sure the stand is level and it hasn't slipped or anything. The stand is on a carpet.
Then how do I go about resealing the entire seam on that side/corner? Should I cut out the old one from top down to a level, or what's the safest way to do it? I read that's a structural leak, meaning it's not just a pin hole, but an line/section of the seam so I need proper repair and resealing? Too bad I bought the clear colour of the CT1 and the old silicone is black 🙂 I haven't received it yet, so I may not be able to reseal the tank till next week.

My fish will live in plastic containers for a a good while until everything is ready and I am sure I can put all stuff back. I am dreading all possibilities that may arise, for example if the stand has failed somewhere and I can't put the tank back at all as I can't buy a new stand at the moment. It's the worst time of my life for that to happen. It took me a good while to save for this tank and all it needed to run it the way I wanted, now it's flaming useless and I can't buy another.

 

[sciencefiction]

Well, just an update. I still haven't fixed the tank. It has been running half full for 2-3 weeks now. The reason being something happened with my sealent order and the first one didn't arrive at all, so they had to resend another one. I finally got it this afternoon. I won't be able to start emptying the tank until the weekened.
My fish are visibly suffering. I got two dead fish for this period. Many of the plants melted for whatsoever reason. Some of them are barely getting any light because they got overshadowed completely with the lower water level.

 

[sciencefiction]

Well, the tank has been "kind of fixed" for the moment. We'll see for how long. We did not empty it at the end. The stand has some wear and tear damage although it should hold for another while. The corner where the leak is had kind of sank causing a twist, it must be the floor as well and that was not there when we initially levelled the tank. So we figured this was the reason for the damaged seal. Maybe the tank slipped or we unlevelled the tank as I remember we had to slightly push it more towards the wall at some stage and we may have created the problem then. Now it's re-levelled on the spot it is. It was hard doing as we didn't empty the tank fully but it's way better now and that corner is no longer lower. However, after that occassion I'll be dreading this happening again regardless because the tank and stand are quite old and they won't hold the minimum of irregularity.
Resealing the leaking seam is not permanent either because the old silicone is actually 1cm thick and the glass panels are not touching each other by design so I couldn't reseal it professionally without taking all glass panels apart which is not an option at the moment or actually ever. I'd rather buy another tank and stand and would have done so if I had the funds.
I only sealed over the old silicone inside and out. That's the best I could do. I used the CT1 sealant and it was pretty handy as it's non-toxic to fish and worked even under water as I splashed silicon all the way down just in case 🙂 The fish thought I was feeding them and were buzzing around my hands 🙂. I was able to fill the tank above the leak literally a couple of hours after fixing it and it's been non-leaking since although I still have a large plastic container under the leaking side just in case 🙂 I am hoping there's no pressure going to the tank glass or seams anymore as that's the worst scenario.
So let's see how long it lasts. I don't want to think about it leaking again and what I'd have to do if it does.

 

[sciencefiction]

Just to update that in the end I sealed a piece of glass over the side of the leaking seal and that has fixed the problem. Well, at least the tank the tank has been leak free for a few months but I've been afraid to fill it to the top since so now it's a bit like a riparium but keeps my mind at ease.