# Leaking 125 gallon



## Tony La Morte (Nov 30, 2011)

Leak is cumming up thru the bottom plastic frame.
What to use for a reseal of my 125? 
Who has done it and how? 
Was it successful?
I did some searching on line and man there is no clear cut answers.
The only thing I really know is that the area to be sealed MUST be really clean, oil free and all old silicone removed.
Hope one of you have something for me.
Regards,
Tony


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## pelphrey (Apr 9, 2014)

Tony La Morte said:


> Leak is cumming up thru the bottom plastic frame.
> What to use for a reseal of my 125?
> Who has done it and how?
> Was it successful?
> ...


You need to take all of the existing interior silicone out of the tank. After that see if the seal is broken between the panel of glass and the bottom glass. If it is you'll need to remove the top frame for sure, probably be easier to remove the bottom plastic frame as well. Scrape all the silicone off that panel of glass and off the sides that are still intact. After that you can lay a bead of silicone and put the panel back in. Then reseal the interior part of the tank.

If the seal if broken under the glass no matter how many times you reseal the inside of the tank it won't hold water long term. Its really not a hard job. Getting the plastic trim off is no fun and you will probably break it. Finding the trim for a 125 could be kind of hard.

All in all its not a "hard" task. Just takes a lot of time. A 125 is a fairly common size, you could probably save the time spent on fixing this one and just buy a used one that does hold water. Because if I went through the process of fixing one panel I'd disassemble the entire tank and rebuilt it all. Just for ease of mind. It does take practice and you may not get it right on the first seal job. From my experience if you offered to give me that tank for free because it leaked I wouldn't take it. I've had all the fun I can handle from rebuilding tanks. On the other hand if it is just an inside seal that is broken that is an easy job and I'd tackle that in a heart beat!


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## Tony La Morte (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks for the reply but I do not understand what you mean when you say just a insde seal.
The water is coming up thru the bottom plastic trim. There has to be a leak path between the bottom glass and one of the sides. It is a very slow leak but a leak is a leak.
Thanks Again,
Tony


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

When the aquarium was originally assembled at the factory, the silicone that holds the glass panes together is considered the primary seal. The silicone inside the eight corners of the aquarium is considered a secondary seal.

Sometimes just redoing the secondary seals inside the tank is enough to eliminate the leaking and works just fine.

Sometimes this method does not work and you will need to remove the plastic trim at the top and bottom of the tank and remove the glass panel where the leak is located, clean all old silicone off, and reinstall the glass panel, and reseal the 3 inside corners and reinstall the top/bottom plastic trim.

I resealed a 125G tank a couple years ago, just the interior eight corners/joints and it lasted 2 years before it started dripping somewhere around the bottom and into/onto the trim. I tore the tank down and still haven't gotten around to resealing it but plan on just doing the interior joints and not disassembling the tank.


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## Tony La Morte (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi Deeda,
Thanks for the reply. I have been doing a ton of research and it is a mixed bag of results, with much discussion as to what to use and how to do it. The Silicone used is the biggest debate.

My thoughts at the moment are that the primary seal has been compromised and will remain a weak spot. I have Mbuna so require a lot of rocks. I purchased this tank used, and I have had it set up for just over a month and I added more rock last week and spotted the leak this past Saturday morning. 
I drained the tank and noticed some shifting in the wooden stand which may have been enough with the added weight to be the cause of the leak. 
My wife and I have just replaced all our flooring on the ground level, so fear of a bigger leak will most likely be the determining factor as to repairing or replacing.
I will update more once I have my head around this.

B.T.W. I live in Chippewa Lake, about 6 miles south of the Medina Square. Do you go to the Auction in November? I have been going for several years. I want to join the Ohio Cichlid Association and plan to do so at this Falls auction, perhaps we could meet.
Again, thanks for your feedback.
Best Regards,
Tony


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## pelphrey (Apr 9, 2014)

If the stand is shifting that could have very well broke the primary seal. I had a tank that was supported on all 4 corners break the primary seal on the front of the tank. Now all of my tanks are full supported around the entire plastic trim. I know the feeling of wanting to fix it quickly but fix it once. As far as silicone is concerned I've always bought my black silicone off amazon. I think the brand is ASI. You can use rtv-103 and rtv-108 to my understanding as well as GE 100% silicone.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Tony, yes I do go to the OCA Extravaganza in November, it's a huge affair and the auction is fantastic.

You can also check out this recent article in the forum Library regarding Silicone choices for aquarium use.


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## Tony La Morte (Nov 30, 2011)

Deeda,
Again, thanks for the info on the Silicone. 
I have toilled over this since last Saturday and I have to clear my head. I have decided to try and sell it as a Repitle or Terarium tank, in hopes of recovering some of the money I paid for it. I would rather take the loss then spending two days repairing it and then worrying over it leaking again. I would rather start new.

The auction is far and away the best I have ever gone to. I have purchased and sold fish there and will be going again this year. Hopefully we can meet, it is always nice to put a face to a name. If I remember correctly, you are a member of OCA right. If so I will look you up and find out about becoming a member.

Best Regards,
Tony


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Tony La Morte said:


> Deeda,
> Again, thanks for the info on the Silicone.
> I have toilled over this since last Saturday and I have to clear my head. I have decided to try and sell it as a Repitle or Terarium tank, in hopes of recovering some of the money I paid for it. I would rather take the loss then spending two days repairing it and then worrying over it leaking again. I would rather start new.
> 
> ...


Thirty or forty years ago, repairing a leaking tank would greatly increase its value. If you knew how, you could repair leaking tanks and build new ones to support the expenses of your aquarium hobby, or even make it a side business. But with the increase of the snake and reptile hobby in the Ohio area at least, a leaky aquarium with a broken top frame can be sold for just as much money as a good dependable tank. Unless you overpaid, you should be able to make your money back.

Since you like to put in lots of rocks, a repair option is to install a second bottom glass on top of the old leaking one. This will move the new silicone seals up a quarter inch, still below the bottom tank frame, into an area of glass not siliconed before. You can do almost the same thing with four strips of glass about two inches wide. This is called eurobracing and you can see examples of it if you look at some larger glass tanks. Like this 240 made by Glasscages.com.... http://www.glasscages.com/gc2/prodpics/ ... -close.jpg


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