120 gallon blowout

[Planters]

I had a rear bottom seam blowout on my 120,took about 30 minutes for the entire tank to drain, good times! Looks to be like maybe a 12” section of the seam came apart, also the trim piece on outside of tank is loose in same area.
The tank was manufactured in 2016. And has only been up and running the past month or so.
My question Is , can I just remove all the silicone inside the tank and reseal it?
Or does whole tank need to come apart and seams redone?
Or just buy a new tank?

 

[dbl]

Sorry to hear about his and the troubles. Given it's a relatively new tank and running for such a short time for such a catastrophic failure, I would lean towards a complete tear down and rebuild if you have the skill set. In my case, I would start again with a new tank, but it's easy for me to spend your money.

 

[Scotty Buttons]

That's too bad, sorry to hear about your troubles. I personally would buy a new tank. What kind of stand did you have the tank on? I would be concerned about there being a problem with the stand. Who manufactured the tank?

 

[Blaine C]

I went thru this exact thing a little over a year ago on my 150 gallon that is built into my wall. You will need to remove the bottom completely and clean off all the silicone really really well then reseal it up again. It's a pain in the a@# but mine was redone and back up and running in about a week, it's been fine ever since. I found that my stand had a little flex in the middle which likely cause enough stress on the seam for it to let go. I was lucky as it only lost a gallon or 2 before I found it leaking and my water alarm going off. Good luck.

 

[Planters]

Sorry to hear about his and the troubles. Given it's a relatively new tank and running for such a short time for such a catastrophic failure, I would lean towards a complete tear down and rebuild if you have the skill set. In my case, I would start again with a new tank, but it's easy for me to spend your money.

That’s exactly what I didn’t want to hear.
But kinda figured.

Thanks.

That's too bad, sorry to hear about your troubles. I personally would buy a new tank. What kind of stand did you have the tank on? I would be concerned about there being a problem with the stand. Who manufactured the tank?

Topfin. Tank and stand, km thinking its the stand that is the problem, we’ll part of it.
Thanks.

I went thru this exact thing a little over a year ago on my 150 gallon that is built into my wall. You will need to remove the bottom completely and clean off all the silicone really really well then reseal it up again. It's a pain in the a@# but mine was redone and back up and running in about a week, it's been fine ever since. I found that my stand had a little flex in the middle which likely cause enough stress on the seam for it to let go. I was lucky as it only lost a gallon or 2 before I found it leaking and my water alarm going off. Good luck.

I’m thinking that may be the problem.
The tank is obviously empty now, but looking at it there is a gap in the middle where the tank isn’t even touching the stand, maybe that gap went away when it was filled, or maybe not.

You removed plastic trim and bottom pane and resiliconed bottom pane back on, and you left the side panels alone?

 

[Planters]

I’m looking at the tank on the stand now and it’s basically only supported on the four corners, maybe about 12” in from each corner, then the stand dips down to almost an 1/8” away from tank , so That leaves about 36” unsupported pretty much I’m the middle of tank. Also I hate to admit but I didn’t ever check for level, until now, and I’m a little surprised how off it is.

 

[dbl]

I’m looking at the tank on the stand now and it’s basically only supported on the four corners, maybe about 12” in from each corner, then the stand dips down to almost an 1/8” away from tank , so That leaves about 36” unsupported pretty much I’m the middle of tank. Also I hate to admit but I didn’t ever check for level, until now, and I’m a little surprised how off it is.

Well, although still a major bummer, it does at least appear you've discovered the issue. Sounds like you have some work to do.

 

[High ICP]

I had a rear bottom seam blowout on my 120,took about 30 minutes for the entire tank to drain, good times! Looks to be like maybe a 12” section of the seam came apart, also the trim piece on outside of tank is loose in same area.
The tank was manufactured in 2016. And has only been up and running the past month or so.
My question Is , can I just remove all the silicone inside the tank and reseal it?
Or does whole tank need to come apart and seams redone?
Or just buy a new tank?

Buy new tank

 

[RobW]

I’m looking at the tank on the stand now and it’s basically only supported on the four corners, maybe about 12” in from each corner, then the stand dips down to almost an 1/8” away from tank , so That leaves about 36” unsupported pretty much I’m the middle of tank. Also I hate to admit but I didn’t ever check for level, until now, and I’m a little surprised how off it is.

Is the tank flat bottomed or does the bottom panel sit up inside the four side about a 1/4"?

 

[RobW]

You need to get that sag in the middle addressed, make sure you're level. You can reseal the glass yourself. It's not that hard. However, I would personally cut all the silicone joints, clean everything up really well then wipe the mating surfaces with acetone and then run new bags of silicone and restick all the panels.

 

[w2inc]

I’m looking at the tank on the stand now and it’s basically only supported on the four corners, maybe about 12” in from each corner, then the stand dips down to almost an 1/8” away from tank , so That leaves about 36” unsupported pretty much I’m the middle of tank. Also I hate to admit but I didn’t ever check for level, until now, and I’m a little surprised how off it is.

I have a 110 tall that sat on 3 corners for a year and a half. No issues and no concerns on my part. If you are really concerned, do a double pane bottom like Elos does. More surface area to attach the panels to and not much chance of breaking.

I have some experience and this is me talking about what I think would work if this happened to me.

The answer to your original question is, mostly yes on all three.

No, you can not just reseal it. You need to pull the back panel and remount it. So, yes you can reseal it that way.

No the whole tank does not need to come apart! I did a panel replacement last year because my 120 front pane was too scratched up. Not an issue. In fact, if you are new to resealing tanks and you can't bring it to my house in San Diego, I would recommend just doing the back. If you are worried about the seams, cut off the front and do it as well. Do it in two separate stages. It will be way easier for a first time tank build. There is just not that much pressure on the ends. Dont worry about them. You could scrape them and reseal them if you like. If you want to get fancy, Order some 4" strips for the front and back from your local glass shop and do a euro brace while you are at it.

More info than you might want. Scrape it down good, but after speaking to the tech support guy at GE, I think that is enough. He that it will stick to old silicone so I relaxed a little. I replaced the front glass of my 12o a year ago and there are no issues. I still like to get everything as clean as possible, but It is ok if there is still some material left. He told me that sc-1200 was the best option to build a tank with in their product line.

If you can afford to buy a new tank, just go buy one. You will never regret having a spare 120 laying around. Seems like it would still be under warranty. Check on that?

Food for thought. Damage too the house is done, right? Don't want to sound flippant but worse case, how much new new damage will there be to your home if there is another leak?

I don't build tanks for a living, but I did at one time, I started building them when I was in High School (in the 80's) and I have learned a lot since then....

Good luck! And if you do live in so cal, I have some time and wold be happy to help you out.

 

[Planters]

I have a 110 tall that sat on 3 corners for a year and a half. No issues and no concerns on my part. If you are really concerned, do a double pane bottom like Elos does. More surface area to attach the panels to and not much chance of breaking.

I have some experience and this is me talking about what I think would work if this happened to me.

The answer to your original question is, mostly yes on all three.

No, you can not just reseal it. You need to pull the back panel and remount it. So, yes you can reseal it that way.

No the whole tank does not need to come apart! I did a panel replacement last year because my 120 front pane was too scratched up. Not an issue. In fact, if you are new to resealing tanks and you can't bring it to my house in San Diego, I would recommend just doing the back. If you are worried about the seams, cut off the front and do it as well. Do it in two separate stages. It will be way easier for a first time tank build. There is just not that much pressure on the ends. Dont worry about them. You could scrape them and reseal them if you like. If you want to get fancy, Order some 4" strips for the front and back from your local glass shop and do a euro brace while you are at it.

More info than you might want. Scrape it down good, but after speaking to the tech support guy at GE, I think that is enough. He that it will stick to old silicone so I relaxed a little. I replaced the front glass of my 12o a year ago and there are no issues. I still like to get everything as clean as possible, but It is ok if there is still some material left. He told me that sc-1200 was the best option to build a tank with in their product line.

If you can afford to buy a new tank, just go buy one. You will never regret having a spare 120 laying around. Seems like it would still be under warranty. Check on that?

Food for thought. Damage too the house is done, right? Don't want to sound flippant but worse case, how much new new damage will there be to your home if there is another leak?

I don't build tanks for a living, but I did at one time, I started building them when I was in High School (in the 80's) and I have learned a lot since then....

Good luck! And if you do live in so cal, I have some time and wold be happy to help you out.

Wow, thanks for all the info, you make it sound easy. I feel like taking the whole tank apart would be beyond my skill set, but doing it in the manner you described seems doable.
Thanks

I would like to just buy a new tank, but my budget is pretty much blown till next fall.
I pretty much had $500 left to put some livestock in the tank. Now I have to use a lot of that to repair tank and build a better stand.

 

[Planters]

Is the tank flat bottomed or does the bottom panel sit up inside the four side about a 1/4"?

Hmmm, I assumed it’s flat bottomed , but I’ll have to take a closer look when I get home

 

[dantimdad]

What area do you live in?

Maybe someone with more experience in that area can help out?

 

[dantimdad]

I guess I should have mentioned that I am doing a complete tear apart and redo of a 120 4x2x2 soon and will do a pictorial thread on it.

 

[BestMomEver]

I realize that I’m spending your money but if it is a stand problem AND the bottom of the tank exploded, I would buy a whole new setup. Stuff like that scares the mess out of me. So much coral, fish, and inverts gone. That sucks... I’m so sorry.

 

[w2inc]

There are a lot of options to rebuilding a stand. Is there a chance that the trim on the tank was glued on crooked and the stand is ok? Flip the tank upside down and see if there is a better fit. That was the case with my 110. I never had an issue with it not sitting on all 4 corners. It didn't wobble or anything. Post a photo if you have one.

 

[Lukas75]

Sorry to hear that. I would probably do a full reseal on the effected pane and replace the stand.

 

[Planters]

What area do you live in?

Maybe someone with more experience in that area can help out?

I’m in Akron, OH
I’ll have to checkout your rebuild.
Thanks.

I realize that I’m spending your money but if it is a stand problem AND the bottom of the tank exploded, I would buy a whole new setup. Stuff like that scares the mess out of me. So much coral, fish, and inverts gone. That sucks... I’m so sorry.

Thankfully tank was just cycled and no livestock was added yet. And very lucky my wife was home and I was only 10 minutes away. It could’ve been way worse!
I’m hoping it was just the stand and the tank not being level issue. If it isn’t that... well it is kinda scary to think about.
I just hate to spend another $700+ on another tank if $30 of silicone and an hour or so of time can fix the problem.
Either case I still need a new stand.
Thanks.

There are a lot of options to rebuilding a stand. Is there a chance that the trim on the tank was glued on crooked and the stand is ok? Flip the tank upside down and see if there is a better fit. That was the case with my 110. I never had an issue with it not sitting on all 4 corners. It didn't wobble or anything. Post a photo if you have one.

I’ll have to check that, but I think it’s the stand and my floor.
It would be nice if I could say for sure that’s what caused the failure.
Thanks.

 

[Lukas75]

If it's that new is it covered under warranty?