leak in tank

Carol H · 11-17-2010, 07:51 AM

I am at temping to repair a leaky55 gal tank. I have never done this before so If I could get some step by step instructions that would be awesome.

TY Carol

NursePlaty · 11-17-2010, 02:17 PM

You need to get a blade. Like the blade from those cardboard box cutters. Remove the blade, put on gloves, then use it to scrape all the old silicon off. The blade will not scratch the glass, at first I thought it would but doesnt. Once you remove all the excess silicon, put paper tape along the sides of the inner corners of the tank about half an inch away from the corner, so that way when you apply the new silicon, you can peel the tape off and the silicon will remain in a straight line. The silicon goes everywhere, like hot glue, without the paper tape, you will get blotches everywhere and it is a real hassle to make it clean looking. When you apply the silicon, be sure to press it into the corners and do not just squeeze it on. Any little gap will pose a chance of leakage agian.

sivakv · 11-17-2010, 11:49 PM

The points below are based on observations, after the silicone is peeled off using a sharp knife.

My local LFS guy, does not use paper or any other things to contain spread of silicone.(while pulling paper off, you might break continuity of bonding of silicon to glass, inadvertently creating gaps that eventually leads to leakage)

He uses the gun to squeeze silicone in the edges and gets them to stick together first, if required he ties a strong thread or mounts a metal frame to keep the glasses pressed. Tank shape is formed from plain glasses.

Then in the second pass, he applies silicone in the inner part of the tank on joints and just runs his index finger once to squash tubular shape of silicone extrusion into the glass joints there by sealing gaps and also giving a smooth finish. He removes any excess silicone smudged using knife while it is wet/semi-wet. Believe me, his approach did not need any usage of knife, it was only accidental smudging due to silicone from other hand or sticking from finger to glass while he was holding the tank etc, otherwise a clean job.

If you are not re-assembling , partially fixing a leak, then this guy scraped that length in the tank, applied inside and outside the glass,went about squashing with index finger as above. Apply more coats if required but wait for previous ones to dry(usually 24 hrs, i live in Bangalore, not very hot place in India).

I am sharing my experience, as i went through both pasting tank myself. Since the tank slipped and i broke the base, i did not know how to remove silicone, hence went to local LFS, got whole tank repasted by this guy, and then developed leak after 2 months due to slight imperfections in glass cutting, went about fixing the leak as well.

Yet another guy pasts black masking tape around the edges externally, gives a kind of photo frame look, silicone getting a dirty and getting visible over time will not happen in this case.

I guess any approach could be there, as long as it is practiced and perfected, has the desired outcome, should be fine

11-17-2010, 07:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
Carol H Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 25 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 11 Times Was Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	leak in tank I am at temping to repair a leaky55 gal tank. I have never done this before so If I could get some step by step instructions that would be awesome. TY Carol

11-17-2010, 02:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
NursePlaty Queen Platy NursePlaty's Photo Gallery Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 932 Name: Annie Pham Location: Dallas Ft Worth, Texas Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 266 Times Said "Thanks" 41 Times Was Thanked 186 Times in 180 Posts	Re: leak in tank You need to get a blade. Like the blade from those cardboard box cutters. Remove the blade, put on gloves, then use it to scrape all the old silicon off. The blade will not scratch the glass, at first I thought it would but doesnt. Once you remove all the excess silicon, put paper tape along the sides of the inner corners of the tank about half an inch away from the corner, so that way when you apply the new silicon, you can peel the tape off and the silicon will remain in a straight line. The silicon goes everywhere, like hot glue, without the paper tape, you will get blotches everywhere and it is a real hassle to make it clean looking. When you apply the silicon, be sure to press it into the corners and do not just squeeze it on. Any little gap will pose a chance of leakage agian. __________________ 55gallon Light - 6500K CFL, 23wattsx5 5hr/day Substrate - Red Mexican Clay, Sphagnum Peat moss, Eco-Complete Misc- Pressurized CO2, EI Dose KNO3, KH2PO4, CSM-B Plants -Limnophila Aromatica, Stargrass, Dwarf Hair Grass, Christmas Moss, Baby Tears (HM), Dwarf Baby Tears(HC), Rotala Rotundifolia, Ludwigia Glandulosa, Riccia Fluitans

11-17-2010, 11:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
sivakv sivakv's Photo Gallery Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 60 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 19 Times Said "Thanks" 4 Times Was Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: leak in tank The points below are based on observations, after the silicone is peeled off using a sharp knife. My local LFS guy, does not use paper or any other things to contain spread of silicone.(while pulling paper off, you might break continuity of bonding of silicon to glass, inadvertently creating gaps that eventually leads to leakage) He uses the gun to squeeze silicone in the edges and gets them to stick together first, if required he ties a strong thread or mounts a metal frame to keep the glasses pressed. Tank shape is formed from plain glasses. Then in the second pass, he applies silicone in the inner part of the tank on joints and just runs his index finger once to squash tubular shape of silicone extrusion into the glass joints there by sealing gaps and also giving a smooth finish. He removes any excess silicone smudged using knife while it is wet/semi-wet. Believe me, his approach did not need any usage of knife, it was only accidental smudging due to silicone from other hand or sticking from finger to glass while he was holding the tank etc, otherwise a clean job. If you are not re-assembling , partially fixing a leak, then this guy scraped that length in the tank, applied inside and outside the glass,went about squashing with index finger as above. Apply more coats if required but wait for previous ones to dry(usually 24 hrs, i live in Bangalore, not very hot place in India). I am sharing my experience, as i went through both pasting tank myself. Since the tank slipped and i broke the base, i did not know how to remove silicone, hence went to local LFS, got whole tank repasted by this guy, and then developed leak after 2 months due to slight imperfections in glass cutting, went about fixing the leak as well. Yet another guy pasts black masking tape around the edges externally, gives a kind of photo frame look, silicone getting a dirty and getting visible over time will not happen in this case. I guess any approach could be there, as long as it is practiced and perfected, has the desired outcome, should be fine

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