Are these seals questionable?

[Jberge]

I just purchased this oceanic 175g bow front. The seller said it’s sat dry for about a year but he had no issues with it before. Since it’s the largest tank I’ve owned I’m a little paranoid about the condition of the seals. I noticed these bubbles in some of the corners and don’t know if I have to worry about it. They don’t go past where the silicone thin and feathered out. Also I see someone added clear silicone around the entire perimeter of the bottom glass. I’m sure many people here have a lot more experience with this than I do. Thanks in advance

 

[Buffalou]

I would reseal it, don't take a chance with it. If you search R2R and web you will see info on how to do it. Do not cut into seal between glass just use razor to remove old sealant inside tank. Then you can wipe it down with acetone or alcohol and reseal with aquarium grade sealant. This will reinforce inner seals and maintain seal strength. I just recently did this on a half round tank with no issues. Last thing you need is sleepless nights doubting whether your tank is going to spring a leak, and there are plenty of instances where a tank left dry for any length of time shrinks its seals and ends up leaking.

 

[Jberge]

I would reseal it, don't take a chance with it. If you search R2R and web you will see info on how to do it. Do not cut into seal between glass just use razor to remove old sealant inside tank. Then you can wipe it down with acetone or alcohol and reseal with aquarium grade sealant. This will reinforce inner seals and maintain seal strength. I just recently did this on a half round tank with no issues. Last thing you need is sleepless nights doubting whether your tank is going to spring a leak, and there are plenty of instances where a tank left dry for any length of time shrinks its seals and ends up leaking.

Thanks, I think I’ll look into that

 

[SaltISlife]

Reseal it. Get yourself 3-4 tubes of aqueon black silicone.. dozen razor blades and change using them often. And start scraping that silicone out.. clean it good and seal it

If you havent done it before watch videos and do research.. it isnt hard just takes a week for it to fully cure and stuff..

 

[Rjramos]

I will tell you my experience and what I’ve learned. I have the same 175 oceanic bowfront upside down on the side of my house. I wanted to replace my 120 gal with this tank but I decided not to because although it didn’t leak when I got it, I didn’t trust the seams. The inside beads are a bit shredded but still not as bad as the picture of yours above. I still love this tank, they don’t make these bowfronts any more. So my plan is to someday, very carefully, cut off the top and bottom frames, disassemble the tank , and rebuild it again with new silicone and euro bracing.
What was mentioned above, replacing the inside bead,I did with a smaller 65 gal peninsula in October 2013. In March 2019(almost 6 yrs) this tank sprung a leak between the front and bottom glass. I was able to make it to the clients house and saved all the livestock while he mopped the floor. Good thing it was only 65 gal!
I then investigated what caused failure on what I thought was a great repair on the inside beads. I found out that cured silicone is inert, this means that new silicone will not bond to old silicone between the glass panes. Furthermore, if a tiny air bubble is left in the corner under the bead, it will expand and seek the path of least resistance, usually between the 2 panes of glass. This will cause a leak no matter how good the bead on the inside is redone.
There should be a manufacture date near the bottom of the tank. Most tank manufacturers guarantee their silicone anywhere from 20-30 years. Mine is well over 20 years old, so it will sit until I can rebuild it completely again. My experience and research showed me something that I will not try again. I’ve also heard my share of stories that were much worse with much more loss in interior damages and lifestock. Don’t risk it, 175 gal is a lot of water!

 

[Jberge]

I will tell you my experience and what I’ve learned. I have the same 175 oceanic bowfront upside down on the side of my house. I wanted to replace my 120 gal with this tank but I decided not to because although it didn’t leak when I got it, I didn’t trust the seams. The inside beads are a bit shredded but still not as bad as the picture of yours above. I still love this tank, they don’t make these bowfronts any more. So my plan is to someday, very carefully, cut off the top and bottom frames, disassemble the tank , and rebuild it again with new silicone and euro bracing.
What was mentioned above, replacing the inside bead,I did with a smaller 65 gal peninsula in October 2013. In March 2019(almost 6 yrs) this tank sprung a leak between the front and bottom glass. I was able to make it to the clients house and saved all the livestock while he mopped the floor. Good thing it was only 65 gal!
I then investigated what caused failure on what I thought was a great repair on the inside beads. I found out that cured silicone is inert, this means that new silicone will not bond to old silicone between the glass panes. Furthermore, if a tiny air bubble is left in the corner under the bead, it will expand and seek the path of least resistance, usually between the 2 panes of glass. This will cause a leak no matter how good the bead on the inside is redone.
There should be a manufacture date near the bottom of the tank. Most tank manufacturers guarantee their silicone anywhere from 20-30 years. Mine is well over 20 years old, so it will sit until I can rebuild it completely again. My experience and research showed me something that I will not try again. I’ve also heard my share of stories that were much worse with much more loss in interior damages and lifestock. Don’t risk it, 175 gal is a lot of water!

Thank you for all the info but you kind of lost me...is your advice to only use the tank if I completely rebuild it or check the mfg date and use it as is, if it’s not that old. Btw, it was built feb 2005

 

[SaltISlife]

Bowfronts are lnown to leak. I have a 92g corner 1/4 cylinder bowfront. Its about 15-16 years old now. But the bottom front seal is bad. I can pull it and grsb it by finger.. its bad... Its been like this for a couple years... I know i know i know... i need to reseal it... but yea.. ive heard bowfront leak due to the bow

 

[rblackmon89]

I agree. It may seem like paranoia to some, but if you have a concern, you may as well spend the extra time and effort to gain some peace of mind.

 

[Jberge]

I agree. It may seem like paranoia to some, but if you have a concern, you may as well spend the extra time and effort to gain some peace of mind.

You’re saying to simply reseal it? I actually did order the sealant already

 

[Rjramos]

Thank you for all the info but you kind of lost me...is your advice to only use the tank if I completely rebuild it or check the mfg date and use it as is, if it’s not that old. Btw, it was built feb 2005

The 65 gal I re-beaded was 15 years old when I did the work. It was set up and running for 5 1/2 years before it failed. I thought afterwards if i would have set it up as is, would it have failed? Did my repair contribute to the leak? I really can’t be sure if and when yours may fail after repair. You can take your chances with it. I personally won’t, not in my house or someone who cares about theirs. I had to keep all the livestock and rock from the 65 at home, while it took 4 months to build a new custom one to replace it ($400). I ended up paying half and the client the other half.

 

[ca1ore]

The seal is the silicone between the glass panels. If that’s in bad shape then no amount of silicone run inside the tank corners will compensate. The practice of ‘reasealing’ is principally a cosmetic exercise regardless of what the resealer may think. I’ve never actually bothered to reseal any of my tanks. I also wouldn’t personally use a 16 year old tank. That about the time I start thinking about selling ....

 

[Jberge]

Well it sounds like from these responses I made a bad choice buying this tank

 

[jeffrey750750]

My vote is to not use it, too risky due to age. The other thing is if the seller said it was sitting empty for a year, add 2 years to that. Its a whole lot of money invested down the road to have catastrophic failure

 

[Jberge]

I certainly wasn’t expecting this turn of events

 

[Jberge]

Anybody else vote that I get rid of this tank? I’d hate to do that considering the money I spent and effort to get it in the house but will if it’s the right thing to do and especially since even more time and money will go into the set up

 

[davidcalgary29]

Have you done a water test yet?

I had a tank burst at the seams on me in the middle of the night sixteen years ago. I lost most of my livestock and decided to shut everything down at that point. It was pretty hard -- I only started new builds last November. Can you use this tank an area, such as a basement with a drain with a concrete floor, where a flood may not be as harmful? Can you change plans and turn it into a marine paludarium?

 

[Jberge]

Have you done a water test yet?

I had a tank burst at the seams on me in the middle of the night sixteen years ago. I lost most of my livestock and decided to shut everything down at that point. It was pretty hard -- I only started new builds last November. Can you use this tank an area, such as a basement with a drain with a concrete floor, where a flood may not be as harmful? Can you change plans and turn it into a marine paludarium?

No water test yet. I cut off the old bulkheads and ball valves so I was going to be ordering new ones. Unfortunately, it is already in my basement but it’s finished. I don’t think I go the paludarium route. This is basically my dream build so I want it everything to be perfect which kind of tells me what I need to do

 

[nereefpat]

I guess I'm not as worried as the other people here.

"Resealing" the interior cosmetic seals doesn't do much.

I would leak test it in the garage for a couple days.

 

[davidcalgary29]

I guess I'm not as worried as the other people here.

"Resealing" the interior cosmetic seals doesn't do much.

I would leak test it in the garage for a couple days.

Well there's always some risk with any tank, irrespective of age, right? The Parting of the Red Sea Tanks proved that to me.

 

[nereefpat]

The Parting of the Red Sea Tanks proved that to me.

And that's a good point. I would trust an old tank with a frame from an old school manufacturer over most of the new rimless builds....as long as it passes the leak test.