# Setting up new 90 gallon (Possible tank issue)



## smoothie17 (Oct 2, 2015)

Hello, this is my first post. I am looking to get into the world of cichlids.

I have a 90 gallon on a wood stand with 1/2" foam from home depot underneath the stand to separate the floor and tank. Everything is pretty level.

I am slightly worried because I filled it up to 75% to leak test it, and it was fine, except for a small air gap i think in the seam. The tank is now full, and I see air gaps in both sides on the front of the aquarium. I have a pic, but I don't see how I can upload the pic from the computer.

Should I be worried, or is this normal sometimes for silicone seams?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Welcome to C-F

Instructions on posting photos: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=255444


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

Welcome to the forum!

Here's how to post a picture.

What you've described isn't sounding good. Are you saying you have the stand on top of the foam? If so, that's a bad idea. You want the foam between the stand and the tank. Level the stand using shims.

Post a pic of the issue with the seams and you'll be able to get input from others on whether that's a concern.


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## smoothie17 (Oct 2, 2015)

THe tank was bought used, and the original owner said he had the same seam markings when he had it setup for a year. The tank has now been full for 24hrs. No leaks yet, but will I need to keep an eye on these?







Foam


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

Welllll.

That spot seems to be directly inside the seam where the two glass panes meet. This verry thin layer of silicone is the only thing holding te tank together. The silicone bead in the inside of the tank doesnt do that much.

If its a reletively new tank. The silicone used is verry verry strong.

You could keep an eye on it and take a picture once in a while to compare. It probably wont cause your tank to explode 

If your paranoid like me you,re going to redo the seam or else you wont find rest


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## smoothie17 (Oct 2, 2015)

Yeah, as long as it's not going to cause a blowout, I can rest easy. The tank is from 2012, hopefully it holds. *fingers crossed*


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

The seam is structural when it's between the panes of glass. Only way to fix it, is remove the panels completely and reseal like they did when they built the tank. Adding silicone on just the inside FYI if it ever crosses your mind doesn't solve the problem

Chances are more that it will eventually leak, more likely then explode

Also you don't put foam under glass tanks that have rims on them. That could do more damage to the tank

Only rimless tanks with no tank bands on the bottom that are custom made, or acrylic tanks require foam

You want the weight of the tank band in the stand, not foam

Who built your stand and canopy, what height is your stand?

I'm building a 90 gallon stand right right now, with similar looks, good luck


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## smoothie17 (Oct 2, 2015)

fltekdiver said:


> The seam is structural when it's between the panes of glass. Only way to fix it, is remove the panels completely and reseal like they did when they built the tank. Adding silicone on just the inside FYI if it ever crosses your mind doesn't solve the problem
> 
> Chances are more that it will eventually leak, more likely then explode
> 
> ...


There isn't any foam in between the stand and the aquarium, just between the hardwood and stand, the foam helps with protecting the hardwood from scratching, helps level out the aquarium on oneven floors, and also will compress any imperfections in the stand. I'm quite impressed how that little bit of foam, hasn't noticeably depressed with over 1000lbs on it.

The tank and stand are pretty level, I seriously don't want to have to worry about the seam, but it does bother me, as I just set this up with about 80lbs of rock inside, and have begun the cycle. And being the potential leak point is close to the bottom which makes me uneasy as well. The last thing I need is to come home to a flooded living room.

The stand, canopy, and aquarium were bought used, the manufacturer is Marineland(2012). The stand is 28" tall.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Ahh got ya. I thought the tank was on the foam.

I had a similar issue with a tank a few years back, a custom made rimless

I ended up putting the fish into a seperate tank using the same tank water, small HOB filter. ( temporary tank ) while I fixed the main tank. It was really hard to get the panels to seperate. Once I got everything apart which took all the time, it was easy to clean, and reseal. I used painters tape with black silicone to reseal the tank. The painters tape gave me a factory line on the edges


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## smoothie17 (Oct 2, 2015)

Anyone else confirm if this is something to worry about or just an air bubble in the silicone?


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

This is something to worry about. But that doesnt mean the seam will fail. Nobody can tell you that. Its a risk your are or are not willing to take.


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## Roger That (Aug 12, 2015)

It appears to be the way the silicone cured. It's deep inside the seam and the silicone appears bonded well to the glass completely surrounding the blemish. Just keep an eye on it. If the blemish doesn't grow or spread and reach an edge of the glass I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. If water starts to penetrate the seam and reaches the spot then you should be concerned and repair.


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## RobsFishTank (Nov 11, 2014)

The pressure of the water on the silicone also helps keep it sealed. It's not perfect but, IMHO, there is little chance of catastrophic failure.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

That's incorrect. The pressure of the water inside the tank puts more stress on the seam. , then water holding the silicone together

Pressure, is in atmosphere's where every 33' in the ocean the amount of pressure increases

Pressure insIde the tank is transformed into force

I've read on the forums of people getting pushed back several feet onto the floor when a front panel has a failure

As several people stated, as long as the OP can live with the fact that at anytime, it may leak, and loose 90 plus gallons on the floor, blow completely out, or do nothing

Personally, I resealed mine several years ago when I went through this


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## RobsFishTank (Nov 11, 2014)

Let me explain further. Given that the rest of the tank is structurally sound. The area of the air gap is going to have little or affect the structural integrity of the tank. If the gap fills with water, I would start to be concerned. Of course, the smart money's on resealing the tank.


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## fltekdiver (Sep 27, 2015)

Thanks for explaining!


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## smoothie17 (Oct 2, 2015)

I assume this was a defect when the tank was originally made, the originally owner said the same "air bubble" was there when he had it setup for a year as well. It's tough to say if that's water or air inside, the seam inside the aquarium seems good. When water is in the tank, there is pressure exerting in all directions of the tank, so it helps the seam somewhat, the only issue I can see is if this is actually water pushing through the seam(like Robs said) and with enough pressure on that one point it may eventually cause a leak?

I guess I am taking a gamble with it running in it's current state, I am keeping a close eye on the size of the bubble, it hasn't got worse or any better since the tank has been full for the last 5 days.


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## TerryH (Jul 20, 2015)

Be very careful, I had my 160 gallon craigslist tank full and cycling for over a month when I had a catastrophic failure, the front glass seperated and dumped all 160 gallons in my living room instantly. it went from no leak to 4 min later being empty on my floor. I would take corrective measures before you have an issue.


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