240 gallon acrylic tank leaking HELP!!

[Fin]

Let's put it this way - you have almost 1 ton of water in that tank and it is pushing against that faulty seam. You ever see what happens when a tank that size ruptures? Major damage to the interior of your home. It is not worth the risk. Please drain that thing and have an acrylic aquarium specialist look at it.

 

[beardown]

OK, I'm not going to be a Debbie Downer here. This is what you NEED to do:

- if you have corals / fish in the tank, get a temp tank for cheap...and put them in it.
- Drain the tank completely, and let it dry
- Silicon the tank, and not just the part you know is leaking now.
- Fill the tank after drying, and check for leaks
- Recycle the tank...(wont take that long w/ existing rock)
- reap the benefits of a great tank


The sad thing is, the people who said they would re-silicone it, didn't. I hope the best.

 

[robbous]

I have a 500 gallon tank made of acrylic and I had a leak on the side towards the middle of the tank I drained the tank to where the leak was which was on a Seam in the overflow area thank God, I purchased some weld on which looks like water and it comes with a needle that way you can inject it into the seam it bonds the acrylic together like cement. 24 hours later the leak was fixed. This was last year and to date no issues

 

[MnFish1]

Correct me if im wrong - acrylic experts - won't the 'super glue' he put into the seam prevent the bonding process from completely occurring?

 

[robbous]

Correct me if im wrong - acrylic experts - won't the 'super glue' he put into the seam prevent the bonding process from completely occurring?

Super glue does not adhere to acrylic , There's a product called Weld on its specifically made for acrylic Bonding

 

[MnFish1]

Super glue does not adhere to acrylic , There's a product called Weld on its specifically made for acrylic Bonding

That was my point he injected super glue into the area of the leak. Meaning the weld will not bond properly?

 

[Ashish Patel]

The tank is newly setup so why not just drain it and get it fixed? New or Used you paid for it and the guy you mentioned said its free of leaks and he did the seams? Well apparently he missed a spot! Good luck

 

[Adamc13o3]

That was my point he injected super glue into the area of the leak. Meaning the weld will not bond properly?

The weld on will melt the superglue as well.

 

[MnFish1]

The weld on will melt the superglue as well.

This is interesting:

"First, let's talk about what glues acrylic together. Few people know this, but superglue is actually one of the most potent bonding agents available for acrylic. I mean to tell you, this stuff works wonders. Slap it between two pieces put them together within a couple seconds and BAM! It's over, folks. It'll take a hammer to separate them.

Unfortunately, super-glue welds look like, well, crap. Sure, there's points where you can get away with them – if you're using all opaque pieces, for instance, it's silly to NOT use superglue. Nobody is going to see between the two pieces!'

 

[Dom]

Here is what the stand looks like

You're good.

 

[dede]

I would empty the tank and have the guy who was supposed to seal the tank go over the whole tank. There may be more than one area that is compromised and it is just not worth the risk. You need to use Weld On to bond acrylic.

 

[techhnyne]

if you can drain the tank do it and run weldon 40 down the whole seam of the tank.
or you can try and put it on the outside where it drips from only after you can stop the drip from inside. this woul not be a permenent fix just a quick short fix. wldon 40 inside would be a full fix


also before you use weldon40 if you drain it, run weldon 4 into the bubbles and let dry then put weldon 40 ontop

 

[Dom]

Unfortunately, things like this are the risks associated with used equipment. Moot question but was the tank holding water when you purchased it or was it dry in the garage?

Deals on used equipment are a gamble, as you can see. In this case, the gamble hasn't paid the dividends you anticipated. IMO, the only thing to do is to start over.

If I am in your position, I'm going on Craig's List and looking for a used 90 gallon which has been tested for leaks. Purchasing the tank, I take it home, give it a thorough cleaning and place it on a temporary stand. Then, I'd rig a canister filter to it, drop in a heater and siphon off water from the 240 to the 90.

Move all inhabitants to the 90 gallon, place your light on the 90 gallon and make peace with the fact that this will be a temporary home for all concerned. Now you can focus on the 240 repair without too much concern for your inhabitants.

Completely siphon off the remaining water (I once used a plastic kiddie pool to hold my water during a repair) and empty the tank of all substrate and remaining live rock.

Now give the tank a thorough cleaning as a clean surface is important, regardless of the solution you choose.

I use glass tanks as they are easier to repair. I've separated Aqueon tanks in the past to replace broken glass panels, something you can't do with acrylic.

But as I understand it, acrylic tanks are not glued, but welded so clear aquarium grade silicon isn't the best solution... or is it?

I'm wondering... considering the amount of water in the tank, if all seams of the tank were sealed with a silicon bead, wouldn't the extreme pressure of water against the silicon help to make a good seal?

It's worth a try, so I think that I would go this route. After 24 hours allowing the silicon to cure, I'd fill the tank with water from a garden hose and let it sit for a few weeks. If you don't have any leaks, I'd say problem solved.

 

[RamsReef]

*Not a tank builder*

Drain the tank
Use a trim router with edge guide and the smallest bit possible 1/16 - 1/32
Route out the seam for atleast a couple inchs past where that gap was
Apply acrylic cement into the gap
Stuff with acrylic shavings from routing and possibly from a scrap piece
Let cure
Sand or Trim off the excess acrylic from said stuffing

 

[Brian Jones]

definitely weld on #3 to bond it back together

 

[Pelagic One]

I’ve repaired a used acrylic 100 gallon tank that had a similarly-located leaky seam, front and center on the bottom seam. It was an emptied and dried-out tank, so Weld On 40 did the job. With its thicker consistency, I poured it into the damaged seam, and watched it ooze into the opening. It was hard to the touch within minutes, cured within hours, and hard to see where the damage was the next day. I was so impressed with Weld On 40 that I used the remaining stuff to pour along all bottom seams, smoothing it out with a putty spatula. Again, clear as new acrylic, and that tank lasted for eight years, and never leaked before we tore it down due to a move.

I know this is a months-old thread, but I’m curious how the OP’s tank repair turned out. Hopefully it went really well and already has a build thread started.

 

[lonewonderer]

It's an old thread but I have promised you guys an update. Since november the tank still holds water and no leak at all. thank you all for your input and advice.

 

[Dom]

I stopped the leak. I used loctite gel glue for my corals. Wipe the water and quickly pressed the glue with my finger. I let it dry for a minute then i took my finger off. "Ouch" part of my skin is in there. But it stopped. I'll wait another hour and see what happens. I will put more gel glue after an hour.

I hate to burst your bubble, but I would guess that this fix won't last. You see, the amount of pressure created by that volume of water is huge. Over time, that pressure will push out through the plug and you will see leakage again. As many before me have posted, and the only solution that would give ME peace of mind would be to drain the tank, dry it out and do the same thing on the INSIDE so that the water pressure aids in sealing the leak.

I'd even be happy to use silicon as a solution if you use it on the inside as the water pressure will try to force the silicon through the hole, effectively sealing it.

 

[Crimson]

His tanks future:

 

[MnFish1]

Well - according to sources - the super glue that he injected is as strong or stronger than weld-on - so then there's that. Im not sure I would have done it with water in the tank (or at all). but. there is no reason to be so down on the idea.... (JMHO)