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Considering buying a 110-gallon used tank, but there's a catch...

joelfernandes

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Hey all.

I am looking at a sweet deal to get a Red Sea 525 XL rimless glass tank (about 110 gallons, I believe). The tank was decommissioned as a bubble formed in the silicon seal (picture below).

The bubble is right at the top, but I guess that makes no difference. How serious is such an issue? The last thing I want is to wake up to a pool of water in the living room.

In a scenario where the best course of action is to reseal the tank, how safe is such a job? Should I walk away from this? It is a really attractive price.

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It looks like the silicon is coming away from the glass and would probably need to be resealed. This means removing the panel of glass, removing the silicon, cleaning it and then applying new silicon. Wait a week and then fill it up.

It's probably not major urgent but I wouldn't fill it up to the bubble. You want the water level a few inches below the bubble and reseal it when the bubble gets bigger or if more bubbles appear, or before filling it.
 
What @Colin_T says is correct. But considering the logistics of doing the job once the tank is populated I would go ahead and do it before stocking up (if you choose to go ahead)
 
think of it this way...
you use the tank as is...and it'll be on your mind every other day "is today going to be the day?"
or you can reseal it and now have an additional thought ... "did I do good enough job..or is today going to be the day?"
Do you know someone in construction? or your dad? a family member? family friend?
ask someone that does windows sealing...
if you have nobody...take a picture of the tank...remove all the old silicone...clean it up real well...
reassemble it just like in the picture...and call any place that does windows/door installation and ask for an installation guy...they make around 25-30/hour
and you'll have it done professionally
just make sure the silicone gets between each glass connection point not just on the inside corner where the glass meets
thats the "secret" with fish tanks as it allows the tank to twist a few thou by having that silicone between the glass VS breaking if it was glass on glass
 
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Bubbles have a way of "running". They can be stable for a long time, but then take off.

If you had the tank in a basement with a floor drain, I'd say go for it, and fix it. A tank that size in an apartment? I don't think that would be a calming tank, especially since its rimless. I would walk away.

You can learn to reseal a tank. I'm getting better at it. It's those first few tries that have a high failure rate, and I never did a tank larger than 77 gallons (it failed). !0 gallons, 20s, 30s, they're easy. Big ones? No.
 
Hello joel. The tank was removed from the shelf for a reason. It's defective. This sounds like a great deal. But, if it's too good to be true, it likely is. I'd suggest you pass on this one.

10 Tanks (Now 11)
 
Yeah, I am definitely hesitant to move forward. I honestly wouldn't mind paying someone to reseal the whole front glass, but for a tank this size, I'll need to be careful in finding a good professional precisely to avoid having bad dreams.
 
Don't make the mistake of resealing just the damaged side...if you're going to reseal it..do the whole thing... When you remove a side the tank will wobble and lose its structural integrity.. Then you end up resealing 1 by 1 which is a no no
 
It is the type of tank where I should definitely do it the right way, no cutting corners. That said, I'll want to find a professional to do this for me. I contacted a few reps from that brand in Toronto, but if someone here knows or has a recommendation from someone here in Toronto, that would be awesome.
 
think of it this way...
you use the tank as is...and it'll be on your mind every other day "is today going to be the day?"
I know that feeling, when my husband bought me a 36 bow front tank it took me a long long time to trust it. As a kid all tanks were a box, seeing that curved front holding water made no sense me, seemed like all the water was pushing forward. I watched tons of videos of bow fronts and they were fine except I saw one where the front exploded! the poster said it had no cracks or anything but I now I am thinking it had a flaw some where. I used the tank for a long time then took it down, I just recently put it back up after it sitting outside all winter.
 
I actually just checked on google because of @davros post..and it seems this is a common issue with this company...
as for the price...you haven't mentioned it so people can advise whether its a good deal or not..the tank brand new costs 5k with the stand
in toronto and around....the price of a used tank with lid is about a dollar per gallon on kijiji
multiply that price by 4 if it's a tank with sump built-in which yours isn't as it is just a drilled tank with an overflow into an under the tank sump...
----> plus you still have to fix it
I wouldn't pay more than 1 dollar/gallon on it as its the value of used plus yours has to be fixed still...
so 110gal to be fixed 110$ bucks...maybe 150$ since it's drilled
stand if its solid wood...200-400$
from google the sump is a 30gal so around 100$
even if you pay more on it for being a set...piping pumps etc...let's say even as high as 1000
if you go on kijiji you can find decent deals on used tanks such as 150$ on a 110gal with stand ... https://www.kijiji.ca/v-equestrian-livestock-accessories/hamilton/aquarium-and-stand/1657774061
or a drilled 125gal with stand etc... for 500$ https://www.kijiji.ca/v-pet-accessories/ottawa/125g-aquarium-with-stand-and-top/1657596452
basically...if you're going to fix that one and its around these prices...you might as well buy one in good working condition
or since you're going to have to fix that one...you could also design your own tank....call a glass place and have them cut the glass..do the holes etc and have it tempered
the brand...or "reef" means nothing to a tank....these days they call any drilled tank a reef tank for its ability to plug a canister or into a sump
you can literally buy a tank of whatever size you want...buy 2-3mm glass and just build an internal sump
the one I'm doing now is a 20gal with a back sump with a double intake
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I actually like my tanks clear because it looks nicer in my condo being able to see through the tank from the kitchen island into the living room just gives it that extra humpf
but for the pople that don't like it...the sump front glass can be painted whatever color and the side in order to "hide" it
my shrimp tank was a test build to see how much turnover I could reach on a 10gal...basically my 10gal can do 400gph which is a 40x turnover...
useful? nop...but nothing like playing around xD
if you have the interest in sealing or doing custom built stuff...I suggest you watch 'Null' on youtube his channel is: https://www.youtube.com/@ilhamikul
and is probably one of the best if not the best aquarium builders on youtube...
don't try to apply silicone like him...because as you'll quickly learn..his fingers are damaged from cuts so he can do it without gloves
but you can get different ideas from him as he has many types of builds...internal sumps...under-sumps...water-falls etc...
I wish you luck in whatever decision you take...just make sure you weigh the pros VS the cons
 
Thank you, everyone. I ended up not getting the tank. I'm still new to all this, and I'm sure I would have regretted it sooner or later.

Thank you for sharing that YT channel, @kiko. Really great content.
 
if you have the space for it and the will...my advice is to start with 20 and 30 gal tanks that are side drilled...
you can connect them all so it increases the water volume...
and if you want to add another tank...you just connect it to the system and voilá...
or you can have a rack with 2 rows...and each row connected to each other...so you can have different water in each row...
when you manage to have a rack using a sump and a single pump to rotate the whole system without losing any fry to the filtration...
then you're ready for something else...
---> automation
 
I saw this on kijiji today and remembered you...
2 aquariums at 90gal + 70gal + a 70gal sump for both of them for 150$
pretty decent deal if you have the space for it...
 

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