Aw-Oh...leak

[Fishmanic]

False alarm...I think my tank may be fine. After removing all the rocks and plants and moving the fish yesterday, I took off all the equipment and just let the tank sit filled with water. No leaking found after 24 hours. I am thinking maybe the filter was clogged and thus the filter housing may have been slowly overflowing. Today, I mildly cleaned the filter cartridge (it had been 3 weeks since last cleaning) and reset up the tank. After a couple hours and no further leaking, I put the fish back into the tank. Hope this is solved and there is no more leaking. I was ready to buy a new 10 gallon tank from Petco or $10. Hoping I don't get a mini cycling issue. I never let the media dry out. I will watch for it.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Great news!

 

[Back in the fold]

What a drag. I wanted to read spell binding accounts of daring do.

 

[Jordan_Deus]

Are you 100% sure it's a leak? I ask because I thought an old tank of mine was leaking and it turned out to be condensation seeping from under a poorly designed lid.

If it really is a leak, I have never tried to repair one so I'll leave that to someone else.

I second this. A 25 gallon tank that I took apart and rebuilt leaked. The leak was a mixture of condensation and and air stone bubbles popping on the lid. The water than slowly slid down the side of the lid and down the glass. Entire table flooded.

Assuming you're tank is actually leaking, silicone is cheap and there's no reason not to reseal the tank.

Since I doubt you want to tear the tank into five separate pieces of glass, here's what I recommend.

1. Remove as much silicone as possible with a razor blade.

2. Use a very small amount of acetone on a cloth and rub down the glass of the seams. Don't use too much so that you don't melt the seams!!!

2.5. (optional) put lines of of tape around each seam. This allows you to remove the tape after putting on the silicone which gives the tank a nice finish. Not necessary for structural integrity. I personally never bother with this step.

3. Add a heavy bead of silicone (aquarium safe silicone) around all the tanks seems including the bottom.

4. Rub your finger over the seams, this flattens the silicone and finishes the seal.

5. Let the silicone cure for 24-48 hours.

 

[Fishmanic]

A new 10 gallon tank is only $10 at petco. Instead of messing with it, I would have bought a new tank. But it is not leaking. So I’m good for now. Tank is 3 years old and on a solid flat surface and seams look fine and clear, so I think it should last.

 

[Jordan_Deus]

A new 10 gallon tank is only $10 at petco. Instead of messing with it, I would have bought a new tank. But it is not leaking. So I’m good for now. Tank is 3 years old and on a solid flat surface and seams look fine and clear, so I think it should last.

At those prices I'd say you're right, but I'm never the guy to throw out tanks lol.

Where I live a simple ten gallon tank can go for $50 in good reputable stores. This price is way higher in less reputable stores. That's why my motto is waste not want not (if it wasn't so I'd be broke lol).

 

[Fishmanic]

Well the 10 gallon started leaking for real this time. It was a slow leak but a leak nonetheless. So I moved my 3 harlequin rasboras and the one one neon to my 35 gallon hex tank, broke down the tank, and put it in the trash breaking it into pieces with a sledge hammer.

I had to deal with a recent bout of ich in the 35 gallon tank (due to heater being off for 24 hours). I lost all my serpae tetras and my Angelfish. but surprisingly, my 4 black skirt tetras and my BN pleco were unaffected. The ich had past (used heat and meds) a few weeks ago so luckily I had room for the new inhabitants. All fish in the tank are getting along just fine so no issue there.

Another day in the life of an aquarist.

 

[AbbeysDad]

So, reseal or purchase?

 

[Fishmanic]

I disposed of it. I dont plan on replacing it, at at least for now.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Well the 10 gallon started leaking for real this time. It was a slow leak but a leak nonetheless. So I moved my 3 harlequin rasboras and the one one neon to my 35 gallon hex tank, broke down the tank, and put it in the trash breaking it into pieces with a sledge hammer.

I had to deal with a recent bout of ich in the 35 gallon tank (due to heater being off for 24 hours). I lost all my serpae tetras and my Angelfish. but surprisingly, my 4 black skirt tetras and my BN pleco were unaffected. The ich had past (used heat and meds) a few weeks ago so luckily I had room for the new inhabitants. All fish in the tank are getting along just fine so no issue there.

Another day in the life of an aquarist.

You lost your beautiful angel fish? I’m so sorry!

 

[Fishmanic]

Yes it was a sad day in tank land. But we must go on.

 

[FallenPepper]

Rebuild the tank it's good experience if you ever have a leak on a larger tank too and before you know it you'll be buying used tanks fixing em then selling them for a bit of change

 

[PheonixKingZ]

If it wasn’t that bad of a leak, you could see if your LFS could have fixed it. But, I would have probably been more expensive to fix it up, than to buy a new tank.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Resealing an aquarium is child's play...it just takes some time and patience to remove all the old silicone and wipe/clean with alcohol. You just need to be careful not to penetrate between the panes of glass. I like to place my index finger right after the chalking gun nozzle so it's a one step process (I never use tape). Now some say you must use silicone I, but I've used silicone II - it just needs to 100% silicone window and door, NOT kitchen and bath (as they contain anti-bacterial ingredients).

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Resealing an aquarium is child's play...it just takes some time and patience to remove all the old silicone and wipe/clean with alcohol. You just need to be careful not to penetrate between the panes of glass. I like to place my index finger right after the chalking gun nozzle so it's a one step process (I never use tape). Now some say you must use silicone I, but I've used silicone II - it just needs to 100% silicone window and door, NOT kitchen and bath (as they contain anti-bacterial ingredients).

It is not child’s play for everyone. It is actually more expensive to buy silicon, than it would be to buy a new 10g at the $ per gallon sale at PetCo.