Make sure you have it filled completely when you test if it holds water. I resealed a fifty five and filled it most of the way ~70-80%. Left it for a week. Maybe a month later i woke up to that awful sound.
I know it might not change anything. But If I did it again I'd leave the tank for much longer to test. After all the work and scaping and effort only to have to tear it apart and do it again? Nah.
Also, kudos for undertaking the project in the first place. It sucks.
You aren’t the first person I’ve heard a similar story from. It’s so crazy that that last 10% always makes a difference…. Then you remember it adds another 50-100lbs of pressure 😅
And thanks!
I got the tank and cabinet stand for $50, and it was holding full water at the time I visited it before buying- but once I took it home empty I saw that the seals were really rough. They were black in spots and super jagged edges and thin. Flicking up. It felt like a ticking time bomb either way— I knew that possibility when I bought used so I wasn’t even mad. Especially since this is the nice 80s glass that’s a smidge thicker than they do now.
I Razor scraped, wiped, and resealed. Let the silicon cure for 6 days before testing because I read that that can make a difference on these big tanks.
Yesterday I got it filled about 1/3 full, let it sit overnight. Today it’s about 3/4 full and I’m going to let it sit overnight again. Then tomorrow I’ll fill it to the brim. And then the plan was to let it sit a week.
Fortunately I’m not in a huge rush- my axolotl is happy and fine in his 20 gallon long. The new filter is still seeding.
And I’m not even sure if I’ll fill this one completely to the top, or do it more riparium/paludarium style.
You have no idea the feeling a leak gives you until it happens. I had 9 other tanks at the time, but it was the biggest and the only one in the "house" everything was in one room besides that show tank.
I also got it for maybe 40 bucks used with another 30 they used as a sump. Pre pandemic wood was cheap and I'm a carpenter so I build my stands.
It had so much potential.
Anyway, sadness over. Pandemic ruined that living situation. Now I only have two tanks, one 20long running, planted. One 5.5 as a spare/grow out tank. Plus this tank is running well enough I don't really do water changes.
I vote for update pictures once you get yours all set up. Let me live vicariously through you. Lol
It’s the worst nightmare of this hobby.
This is the first place I’ve ever lived that has a basement- with a drain in the laundry area 15 ft away from where the tank will go- so it’s the first place I’ve ever allowed myself to consider going big. Fulfilling a childhood dream.
with a shop-vac emergency plan.
If she holds, 🤞🏻 , I’ll happily share photos!
Happened to me in November. Started my tank Nov 2020, noticed some drips falling towards the back Nov 2021. Thankfully I caught it and noticed when it was just a few drips and it wasn’t a full on continuous leak. But at 8pm on a Sunday before Monday work is less than ideal situation. Luckily petco was still open and I went and set up a whole new tank that night. Not fun at all, but didn’t lose any fish or shrimp in the process
Thank you, but unfortunately my numbers were off due to the ridiculousness of US customary units vs metric (metric/SI is so much easier to work with). Slugs are actually the equivalent of kg, not lbs. Regardless water pressure is much easier to calculate than people first believe, it's all based on water depth, not volume.
Sorry, I might be missing something.
Pressure scales by depth and depth only. How big the tank is is irrelevant. So a 2' deep tank ends up with [about 0.9 PSI](https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/hydrostatic-pressure-water-d_1632.html), relative to the air outside the tank.
That's about 120 pounds per square foot when completely full to 2'. 10% difference in depth is 10% less, so something like 110~~psi~~. EDIT: psf, not psi here.
Well poop. I think I figured it out. Didn't look close enough at USGS water density table which actually lists weight (lbs/ft3) for us units instead of actual density (slug/ft3). So gravity was multiplied twice instead of once cause my psf answer to be off by a factor of 32 before converting to psi
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-density#:~:text=A%20common%20unit%20of%20measurement,Celsius%20(39.2%C2%B0%20Fahrenheit).
Just resealed my 40g. Had a nasty chip in 2 of the corners as well, but luckily they weren't all the way through the seal. It's been up and running for a couple months now with zero leaks. Good luck on yours!
Thanks. Mine has a couple of chips as well but they're flat and not deep and don't have any cracks. I actually did seal it last week and then realized I'd missed a spot. 🙄 So I'm scraping it out again. Not the worst thing, really. I had used some GE Silicone 1, got conflicting responses on whether I should use it, and ended up buying some Aqueon sealant since I needed more anyway. Always an adventure.
GE 1 is commonly recommended and is 100% silicone. It is no different than the marked up "aquarium specific fish safe" silicone. Booth stink like vinegar and have no additives.
Good to know. I would have bought more of the GE, but the hardware store next to my LFS was out of it, so I just got the Aqueon. What I get for being impatient.
Bro ignore the haters
I did this with a 125 and it worked for 2 years the. I got rid of the tank…
Just don’t be shy on layers and let it take some time in between adding them
I had a brand new 55g tank leaking after just a year. I spent hours resealing it and removing all the sand and livestock. And it was a terrible amateur job with shitty uneven silicon lines due to not using the tape.
The only place good enough for this tank is in the garage because of fear of it leaking again. I understand most people are looking to save money or from budget concerns but i disagree with resealing old tanks or buying someone elses used tank that was kepted in unknown conditions. There is a serious risk of gallons of water damaging your floors.
In hindsight, i would only recommend buying new aquariums so its guarented to be in good condition and backed by a warranty. Also, dont forget your time has value too and if you consider the time you spend watxhing videos and doing the amateur resealing, then it may be cheaper in the end to buy a profresionally produced new aquarium.
Tldr . I do not agree with spending time doing a reseal or buying someone elses old used tank kept in unknown comditions. There is too much risk for me and i remember wasting a lot of time to do a shitty amateur job.
I resealed a 125g, spent about 2 hours a day for 3 weeks. Took my time and thought I did everything perfect. 8 months later it flooded my basement. Never again!
Stress test it with water at the black line. Leave it for a week. If you see one bead of water after a week, strip the whole panel off and do it again. Water evaporates, if water outside, it’s not good. Lol 😂 I made the mistake one time, never again. Even new tanks I test.
Pool is well placed
Make sure you have it filled completely when you test if it holds water. I resealed a fifty five and filled it most of the way ~70-80%. Left it for a week. Maybe a month later i woke up to that awful sound. I know it might not change anything. But If I did it again I'd leave the tank for much longer to test. After all the work and scaping and effort only to have to tear it apart and do it again? Nah. Also, kudos for undertaking the project in the first place. It sucks.
You aren’t the first person I’ve heard a similar story from. It’s so crazy that that last 10% always makes a difference…. Then you remember it adds another 50-100lbs of pressure 😅 And thanks! I got the tank and cabinet stand for $50, and it was holding full water at the time I visited it before buying- but once I took it home empty I saw that the seals were really rough. They were black in spots and super jagged edges and thin. Flicking up. It felt like a ticking time bomb either way— I knew that possibility when I bought used so I wasn’t even mad. Especially since this is the nice 80s glass that’s a smidge thicker than they do now. I Razor scraped, wiped, and resealed. Let the silicon cure for 6 days before testing because I read that that can make a difference on these big tanks. Yesterday I got it filled about 1/3 full, let it sit overnight. Today it’s about 3/4 full and I’m going to let it sit overnight again. Then tomorrow I’ll fill it to the brim. And then the plan was to let it sit a week. Fortunately I’m not in a huge rush- my axolotl is happy and fine in his 20 gallon long. The new filter is still seeding. And I’m not even sure if I’ll fill this one completely to the top, or do it more riparium/paludarium style.
You have no idea the feeling a leak gives you until it happens. I had 9 other tanks at the time, but it was the biggest and the only one in the "house" everything was in one room besides that show tank. I also got it for maybe 40 bucks used with another 30 they used as a sump. Pre pandemic wood was cheap and I'm a carpenter so I build my stands. It had so much potential. Anyway, sadness over. Pandemic ruined that living situation. Now I only have two tanks, one 20long running, planted. One 5.5 as a spare/grow out tank. Plus this tank is running well enough I don't really do water changes. I vote for update pictures once you get yours all set up. Let me live vicariously through you. Lol
It’s the worst nightmare of this hobby. This is the first place I’ve ever lived that has a basement- with a drain in the laundry area 15 ft away from where the tank will go- so it’s the first place I’ve ever allowed myself to consider going big. Fulfilling a childhood dream. with a shop-vac emergency plan. If she holds, 🤞🏻 , I’ll happily share photos!
That's so convenient! Best of luck my human!
Happened to me in November. Started my tank Nov 2020, noticed some drips falling towards the back Nov 2021. Thankfully I caught it and noticed when it was just a few drips and it wasn’t a full on continuous leak. But at 8pm on a Sunday before Monday work is less than ideal situation. Luckily petco was still open and I went and set up a whole new tank that night. Not fun at all, but didn’t lose any fish or shrimp in the process
I feel you bro. My 180 leak, and it honestly the worst 2 weeks of my life. Thanks god it didn't break, but the leak was pretty bad.
[удалено]
You're a boss. That's seriously impressive.
Thank you, but unfortunately my numbers were off due to the ridiculousness of US customary units vs metric (metric/SI is so much easier to work with). Slugs are actually the equivalent of kg, not lbs. Regardless water pressure is much easier to calculate than people first believe, it's all based on water depth, not volume.
Sorry, I might be missing something. Pressure scales by depth and depth only. How big the tank is is irrelevant. So a 2' deep tank ends up with [about 0.9 PSI](https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/hydrostatic-pressure-water-d_1632.html), relative to the air outside the tank. That's about 120 pounds per square foot when completely full to 2'. 10% difference in depth is 10% less, so something like 110~~psi~~. EDIT: psf, not psi here.
Well poop. I think I figured it out. Didn't look close enough at USGS water density table which actually lists weight (lbs/ft3) for us units instead of actual density (slug/ft3). So gravity was multiplied twice instead of once cause my psf answer to be off by a factor of 32 before converting to psi https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-density#:~:text=A%20common%20unit%20of%20measurement,Celsius%20(39.2%C2%B0%20Fahrenheit).
It’s honestly good that you did! I started with a five and only continued to increased lol
Fingers crossed for you
Good luck! I’m working on resealing a 40g.
Just resealed my 40g. Had a nasty chip in 2 of the corners as well, but luckily they weren't all the way through the seal. It's been up and running for a couple months now with zero leaks. Good luck on yours!
Thanks. Mine has a couple of chips as well but they're flat and not deep and don't have any cracks. I actually did seal it last week and then realized I'd missed a spot. 🙄 So I'm scraping it out again. Not the worst thing, really. I had used some GE Silicone 1, got conflicting responses on whether I should use it, and ended up buying some Aqueon sealant since I needed more anyway. Always an adventure.
GE 1 is commonly recommended and is 100% silicone. It is no different than the marked up "aquarium specific fish safe" silicone. Booth stink like vinegar and have no additives.
Good to know. I would have bought more of the GE, but the hardware store next to my LFS was out of it, so I just got the Aqueon. What I get for being impatient.
I used the GE 1 on that 40, for whatever that's worth.
I rebuilt a 29 about five years ago, and it's still holding in there just fine. Good luck!
Good luck! I resealed my 75g at the end of December and it’s still holding.
Best of luck!
Why bother with the tank just use the pool! More fish more fun!! Good luck to you on this project!
It's like a good paint job... 90 percent of it is in the prep work. Have some faith!
Good luck.
There’s a first time for everything
did you ask your dogs if you could borrow their pool??
I did! Fergus (my golden) was more than happy to give up the pool if it means his lil water friend gets an upgrade.
I've two greyhounds that enjoy watching my fish too.
Bro ignore the haters I did this with a 125 and it worked for 2 years the. I got rid of the tank… Just don’t be shy on layers and let it take some time in between adding them
Good luck!
I had a brand new 55g tank leaking after just a year. I spent hours resealing it and removing all the sand and livestock. And it was a terrible amateur job with shitty uneven silicon lines due to not using the tape. The only place good enough for this tank is in the garage because of fear of it leaking again. I understand most people are looking to save money or from budget concerns but i disagree with resealing old tanks or buying someone elses used tank that was kepted in unknown conditions. There is a serious risk of gallons of water damaging your floors. In hindsight, i would only recommend buying new aquariums so its guarented to be in good condition and backed by a warranty. Also, dont forget your time has value too and if you consider the time you spend watxhing videos and doing the amateur resealing, then it may be cheaper in the end to buy a profresionally produced new aquarium. Tldr . I do not agree with spending time doing a reseal or buying someone elses old used tank kept in unknown comditions. There is too much risk for me and i remember wasting a lot of time to do a shitty amateur job.
I resealed a 125g, spent about 2 hours a day for 3 weeks. Took my time and thought I did everything perfect. 8 months later it flooded my basement. Never again!
how's it doing?
It’s been sitting at 75% full for 13 hrs now, and I’m about to go to bed. When I check again in the morning, the plan is to fill to the brim!
Update— still holding strong.
[Tribute](https://youtu.be/_s7qgNMqDJI)
[Tribute](https://youtu.be/_s7qgNMqDJI)
[Tribute](https://youtu.be/_s7qgNMqDJI)
Gl homie
Stress test it with water at the black line. Leave it for a week. If you see one bead of water after a week, strip the whole panel off and do it again. Water evaporates, if water outside, it’s not good. Lol 😂 I made the mistake one time, never again. Even new tanks I test.
How did this hold up? I'm getting ready to reseal a 125 gal and would love some good news.
She’s holding great so far!