# Professional Tank Sealer



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

I'm looking for someone that can seal up a bowfront tank for me. It has a slow leak on the back corner. PM the price to get this tank sealed up.

Thanks


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

I wouldn't trust a reseal on a bowfront to be honest.

There is too much forward pressure on the front bow panel. 

But that's just my personal opinion...


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

gucci17 said:


> I wouldn't trust a reseal on a bowfront to be honest.
> 
> There is too much forward pressure on the front bow panel.
> 
> But that's just my personal opinion...




Don't tell me I need to baseball bat this tank.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

lol no not necessarily.

Depends on your comfort level. I'm quite sure it'll be quite costly to have a professional come and reseal it for you.

You could always still put it up for sale. There's always someone that would risk it or someone using it for reptiles.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Slow leak on the back? Maybe an over lay of silicone wider than the existing ? or trim off the offending corner and reseal just it...assuming the leak is near the top of the tank.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Riceburner said:


> Slow leak on the back? Maybe an over lay of silicone wider than the existing ? or trim off the offending corner and reseal just it...assuming the leak is near the top of the tank.


It's on the bottom back corner. 

I wouldn't reseal it myself and rather have a professional do it.

Just checking if anyone here is capable and confident enough to seal the tank before I goto LFS and ask them.

Thanks


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## Flazky (Jan 9, 2010)

Two words:

Duct Tape


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Worst possible spot....not sure anything but a full reseal would be trustworthy.


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## Chromey (Sep 25, 2010)

Cant just put another beed of silcon? Just asking from inexperience


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Any leaks in aquariums above 30gal is a complete disassembly for peace of mind. It's labour intensive (4+hrs) and that's where the costs are considering warrantied work, insurance/liability, silicone solvents, better silicone (CSC/RTV grade vs hardware store silicone) that are factored in the labour rate. Other than waiting at least 24-48hrs before a leak test (aquarium size dependant), the next Q is, after gettig quotes, what's the cost differential vs a new BF aquarium w/LFS warranty.

99% of the time, it's easier, faster and cheaper to get a new aquarium.

JM2C


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

The problem is silicone does NOT stick to cured silicone. If you were to cut out the old bit past the leak(just the inside bit and not the bit between the glass) and lay a new bead, the leak spot would be sealed. The issue would then be the ends where the new met the old. If the ends are over a spot that is sealed, then hopefully it would not leak there. It should work, but it's a big IF. That's why it's usually a better idea to do a complete inside reseal. You could spread a wider bead overlapping the old, but even that may be suspect. Technically it could work, and worst case "should" be a slow leak at a new spot. I favor a full reseal usually.


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## shiver905 (Nov 2, 2010)

+1 Old silicone does not stick to new.

You can pull off the old new silicone from the old in perfect beads.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

It is bad practice to reseal over old silicone or try to patch a leak. It is only a matter of time before you have a leak again. The bigger the tank, the bigger the return on investment when you reseal. Having someone do it may not be cost effective, but it is not a difficult task to do it your self. to me it is worth the effort to reseal rather than replace. However, I am glad for those that don't wish to do it, are afraid to do it, or have enough money to not bother. Most of the tanks I own were obtained as leakers. A $4 tube of silicone caulking goes a long way when used to reseal.
Before I took a tank apart, to rebuild, there would have to be a compelling reason, not just a minor leak.


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## cidco (Aug 10, 2010)

*Lmao*

I am not sure what all the fuss here is...
I have a 170+ Bow front tank.
The tank had a very slow leak in the back lower seam (middle).
I knew about the leak so I bought and made it my summer project.
I re-sealed the tank in my garage. I did a complete re-seal (following and allowed 3 weeks for curing, I then filled it and ran two Mag 24 and ran that for about a month..

So total project was 2 months... Yes I know it took a while, but I rather have the tank blow out in the garage then in my house.. Tank never leaked and it hasnt leaked since.


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## ryno1974 (Dec 6, 2009)

Disassembly is over kill and not required. Do a full interior reseal and you are good. Our throw away society does not need any more disposable things in it.......

I did a 100 gallon last year, no issues. Well worth the effort. 

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk


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## kev416 (Aug 22, 2010)

Pull off the bottom trim and take a look. I had a 125 gallon with a slow leak given to me and after removing the bottom trim I realized the entire back seam had let go. It was just the trim capping off the leak that stopped the seam from blowing out fully. I had to pull off the entire bottom to rebuild and reseal. A half a day of work.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks for all the help!

I ended up getting someone to seal it for me, feel much safer now.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Here's an update on the sealed tank.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

Heh Fishman,,, is the person you had help you or contracted someone on the forums such as GTA aquaria or PN etc. IF you could pm me some details as i might be looking for some help and so forth when i do my 6 footer as my 1st project.... I'm really diving in..... 
Tank Looks great BTW....


cheers!!!


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks!

Send you a pm with info.


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