Acrylic Tank Leak!

[GatorReef]

Was lucky to have spotted it in the morning and didn't look like it was leaking for to long since salinity only dropped from 1.025/1.026 to 1.024. there was only a small water puddle.

Is there away to re-glue an acrylic tank or fix the seam that started to separate?

 

[NewGoby]

Was lucky to have spotted it in the morning and didn't look like it was leaking for to long since salinity only dropped from 1.025/1.026 to 1.024. there was only a small water puddle.

Is there away to re-glue an acrylic tank or fix the seam that started to separate?

Yes, you can empty the whole tank, take it apart, remove all the sillicone, and then brace the tank, and put in new sillicone, let it cure for up to 48-72 hours & you're good to go,

I'd recommend watching:
It's made by the King of Diy Joey, who has lots of experience in doing these kinds of things, and has made huge tanks of acryllic all by himself.

 

[4FordFamily]

Acrylic tanks cannot be safely resealed, I would argue that for most, re-sealed glass tanks aren’t very safe either.

In truth, acrylic tanks are chemically bonded so when they leak the tank itself is largely useless as I understand it.

Sorry, I know you don’t want to hear that.

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

No you cannot repair an acrylic tank safely. I’ve been down that road, find a new tank.

 

[NewGoby]

No you cannot repair an acrylic tank safely. I’ve been down that road, find a new tank.

So, you can create an acryllic tank, but not reseal it?
Not even if you remove all of the resedue.. or is that the impossible part?

Eitherway, I guess personal experience says more than reading experience

 

[Frtdrmrose7]

So, you can create an acryllic tank, but not reseal it?
Not even if you remove all of the resedue.. or is that the impossible part?

Eitherway, I guess personal experience says more than reading experience

When mine leaked (5yrs ago) I called everywhere and everybody said it couldn’t be done because when you separate the tank panel it will never be true enough to reseal on the edges where it was sealed before. I’m assuming you resealed yours? How did you do it?

 

[andrewkw]

So, you can create an acryllic tank, but not reseal it?
Not even if you remove all of the resedue.. or is that the impossible part?

Eitherway, I guess personal experience says more than reading experience

There is no residue on an acrylic tank. You chemically bond the pieces so it's in effect one piece of acrylic. This is completely different to how glass tanks are made.

That being said you may be able to patch it for now with weldon 16 but I wouldn't trust it at all and only do this if you are ordering a new tank and don't have the means to store all livestock elsewhere. I watched a ton of acrylic making videos but after attempting to build one with thicker then needed acrylic it only lasted about 1 year before it developed a small leak. A well made acrylic tank should never leak.

 

[dantimdad]

I am all for fixing things... Except acrylic tanks. Been there, tried it failed. Then found out from a couple experts that it's almost impossible.

Glass tanks can be safe again. You just have to know what you are doing and use the proper silicone.

You could bond more acrylic along the seam to use it as a holding/frag/refugium tank for something that's not a display. Possibly. Not worth it.

Now, I have seen people cut up acrylic tanks to make smaller ones and they work. BUT: You have to let the acrylic dry out for a couple months. It absorbs water.

 

[NewGoby]

When mine leaked (5yrs ago) I called everywhere and everybody said it couldn’t be done because when you separate the tank panel it will never be true enough to reseal on the edges where it was sealed before. I’m assuming you resealed yours? How did you do it?

I've not resealed mine, that's why I mentioned that personal experience is better than reading experience.
I've researched it a bit when King of DYI made that video.

@andrewkw I understand that you chemically bond them, but surely something remains, even if it cannot be seen?

Eitherway, I guess you're out of luck OP

 

[andrewkw]

I've not resealed mine, that's why I mentioned that personal experience is better than reading experience.
I've researched it a bit when King of DYI made that video.

@andrewkw I understand that you chemically bond them, but surely something remains, even if it cannot be seen?

Eitherway, I guess you're out of luck OP

When you use weldon or another solvent, you are melting the ends of the acrylic together. The solvent is just dissolving the ends. Someone with more acrylic knowledge can probably explain this better but you are just making 2 pieces of acrylic 1.

 

[davocean]

I would clamp it, and drain it and pull livestock, and you have to be careful in doing this as the reverse pressure from draining can actually flex it and it can burst.

I had to do this once on a 180g, and midway draining it made a really loud pop and the seam went milky white, and this was while I was on a step ladder in front of it, I'm so lucky it did not blow.

I'd get your livestock in brute cans or some type of holding vessel.

Good luck

 

[soflmuddin]

I saw an episode of Tanked or Fish Tank Kings where they had a seam bust a leak and they fixed it on site. I would guess it can be done by anyone with some experience in acrylic work. I have used acrylic silicone on some that I wasn't worried about cosmetics.
Resealing a glass aquarium can absolutely be done. My 25 year old 180 gallon has been resealed twice.

 

[GatorReef]

Thanks for all the feed back. I do have it clamped which also stopped the leak or slowed it way down. I think I will try to fix the leak and I have a replacement tank in the works. And I too have resealed many glass tanks without issue. I almost always reseal a used tank that i get just to be on the safe side and never had a problem. I will post photos of the fix once I get the tank empty.

 

[MnFish1]

No you cannot repair an acrylic tank safely. I’ve been down that road, find a new tank.

Why? Seems like if you empty the tank, dry it and inject weldon into the leak it will work (ie using a small syringe). Is it that the empty space where the leak is will not adequately melt the acrylic back together?

 

[MSB123]

Why? Seems like if you empty the tank, dry it and inject weldon into the leak it will work (ie using a small syringe). Is it that the empty space where the leak is will not adequately melt the acrylic back together?

I would assume it is because once it has started leaking in one place, the entire tank has failed.

 

[dantimdad]

I would assume it is because once it has started leaking in one place, the entire tank has failed.

Safe assumption in my book.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Silicone is not part of the construction of an acrylic tank and if you see one with silicone, there is a red flag in the construction of tank. They are bonded chemically with a resin that gets warm and fuses the panels together.
I would empty yes, but prior to that, speak with a company that constructs aquariums or an acrylic manufacturer who may be interested in doing repair for you - THE RIGHT WAY. Not worth the chance of siliconing to have it reoccur or weaken under the silicone and become a larger leak

 

[jsvand5]

How large is the tank and where is the leak?

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Was lucky to have spotted it in the morning and didn't look like it was leaking for to long since salinity only dropped from 1.025/1.026 to 1.024. there was only a small water puddle.

Is there away to re-glue an acrylic tank or fix the seam that started to separate?

You can empty the tank find the leak and apply solvent to the seam then back it up with a strip of acrylic as a gusset for added strength. The real question is what kind of acrylic was used in the construction and is the material thick enough for the tank size. Most production acrylic tanks are on the thin side to compete with glass prices somewhat. I can help you with this or you can go to the Acrylic Fabrication Thread on this forum for extra advice. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/acrylic-fabrication-q-a.224773/

Silicone will not bond to Acrylic and will leak. Never use silicone on an Acrylic tank.

 

[lapin]

So it really depends on the tank and the leak. We will need a picture of the tank, the joint and the leak. If its a mass produced tank the panels are prob too thin to start with. They have absorbed water over time and are no longer straight. I would not tackle this repair. If the seam has a hole because they failed to properley fill the joint at that one small spot or it where the pin was pulled it might be repairable. The tank will need to be drained dried and cleaned to a spotless condition along that seam. I would buy a new tank unless its something like a 1" thick custom job.