# Resealing Used Tanks? Wish We Would Have...



## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

How often do you reseal the tanks that you've purchase used?

Last night at about 11:30 our 30 gallon fry tank ruptured at the seam between the rear and bottom panels and drained about half of its contents onto our carpet before we noticed and began evacuating (roughly 5 minutes of straight pouring)  :x :roll: This of course resulted in some serious clean up - a couple hours with the shop vac, while employing every towel in our home.

I will admit, the tank was supported on all 4 corners, but it was not in the best position. We had it located under a 125 (that made the cleanup fun), and it was suspended over iron frame shelving. I didn't think it would be a huge issue, but we learned our lesson (well, multiple actually). Luckily this time it was only 15 gallons of water or so and without the loss of any fish.

Now I'm second guessing the integrity of the other ~500 gallons of tanks in our home that we did not purchase new. They are all situated on better designed stands, but if a 125+ gallon tank ever came down like we experienced last night, we might be growing duckweed in our livingroom for a few months. Then again, it would be quite a fiasco to take everything down for 2 days and reseal as well. I always leak test tanks outside before filling them inside, and check for reasonable silicone coverage - again this tank was lacking the most in all areas. I guess it's just a good thing we were home. We've got some incentive to act before it's necessary now though.

Anyone ever lost a seam on a large tank?

Any tips for getting the last bit of dampness out of our carpet?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I only reseal used tanks over 10 gallons unless the tank I picked up had absolutely perfect silicone and of course that never happens.

I have not ever had a tank leak, yet! I could not imagine the pain it would be if my 220G sprung a seam leak.

The recommendation for properly drying the carpeting is to pull up the carpet just past the wet section, leave it peeled back, try and remove all moisture from the padding using a wet/dry vac or toweling. Use a box fan to circulate the air around the carpet and padding until it is completely dry which may take a couple days depending on the amount of water. Padding really holds a lot of water and can be difficult to dry out, depending on the thickness.

You want to avoid trapping any moisture against the sub floor which could lead to mold issues. 15 gallons isn't a terribly large amount of water but water does have the tendency to travel quite a distance when spilled.


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## DriverChaoz (May 1, 2013)

I had this happen once in a 110g tank. All happened while we were sleeping so needless to say I wasn't as lucky as you to catch it and save the fish! Not that you were lucky cuz I know what kind of a mess you are dealing with! I used my steam cleaner that I normally shampoo the carpet with to suck up all the water. After that the only thing I could do was run carpet fans $50 at walmart and a dehumidifier to keep the mildew at bay while the pad underneath the carpet dried.

I never did try to fix the aquarium after that...I was so pissed of I busted the glass tossing it into the garage. That was the end of large tanks for me for quite a few years until here recently when I purchased my 125.


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

Lost a seal on a 135 a few years ago. It was an older tank, and needed resealed, but I was feeling lucky (and stupid). Fortunately, it was in my unfinished basement, and I was right there when it happened. Still made a heck of a mess.

When in doubt on tank age or condition, take a few days and reseal. You'll never regret resealing it. You might regret not.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

If you have a seam that splits open, as opposed to a small leak, it is unlikely that a reseal would have prevented the split. There is clearly a fault in the but joint if the seam splits. A well built tank will not leak even without the inner fillet seam. If you look at some of the new Starfire tanks, they don't add an inner seal.


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

BillD said:


> There is clearly a fault in the but joint if the seam splits.


I planned on resealing this tank for future use assuming it was an issue with the stand and/or torsion on the seam. I haven't taken the trim off yet to investigate (holiday weekend 8) ), but I was guessing I would have to do a bit more work on the bottom panel where the seam tore. It was a factory tank but probably pretty old.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to disassemble the entire tank (or at least separate the vertical panes) to make it sure. :-?


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

PS The carpet has been completely dried at this point!  We used a fan and ran the AC a little extra to combat moisture - all seems well.

I'm also really glad I don't have quite the story to tell as some of you do (knocks on wood). 100+ gallons and we would probably be calling the insurance company!


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

So quick update on this adventure - as it turns out, this was not a seam failure :roll:

I finally got around to cutting out the old silicone to start over with this thing, and as I got to the side that failed, I noticed a nasty crack in the glass.

From the bottom


From the Top


What I find most odd is that it almost looks as if an impact caused the break rather than pressure (as there is a point about 1/2" from the end of the pane). Does this seem logical to anyone else?

I'm guessing the only fix will be an entirely new bottom pane. Any other suggestions :-?

This might be more trouble than it is worth fixing. I love the size of the tank though!


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

you can get a piece cut the dimensions inside the tank bottom and silicone it over the bottom pane. or like you said a new pane for the bottom.


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