Help tank leaking

[BlueSallymandr]

I have an older Oceanic BioCube 14 gallon AIO setup that I bought used. Well, tonight I noticed that there is a slow leak coming from the top of the tank, where the plastic meets the glass.

What do I do? I don't think I have any aquarium silicone left. I am going to try siphoning out some water, but if you are familiar with this tank the filter will not run correctly if you drop below a certain level...

 

[Reefacist]

I have an older Oceanic BioCube 14 gallon AIO setup that I bought used. Well, tonight I noticed that there is a slow leak coming from the top of the tank, where the plastic meets the glass.

What do I do? I don't think I have any aquarium silicone left. I am going to try siphoning out some water, but if you are familiar with this tank the filter will not run correctly if you drop below a certain level...

Where is it leaking from? You would most likely need to take apart the glass clean the silicone and resilient the inside of the glass seems. But considering it a a 14gal maybe worthwhile to use this opportunity to upgrade.

 

[BlueSallymandr]

The leak is coming from between the glass and the plastic at the top rim, as far as I can tell.

I got the leak stopped by draining a bit of the water, but now my filter pump is struggling because the water has fallen below the minimum fill level. I'm not sure that the BioCube systems are really meant to be disassembled like you described, might break during the process because of how the glass is attached at the sides? (I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying I don't think I am capable of this)

 

[Coral Your World]

If it’s in the budget, replace the biocube with one of these and don’t look back IM Nuvo 15

 

[Reefacist]

If it’s in the budget, replace the biocube with one of these and don’t look back IM Nuvo 15

Do this. To properly fix your leak you have to take the glass panes apart

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

If one seem is leaking, the rest are sure to follow. Unless you are comfortable with resealing its not worth the risk. Better to replace in my opinion.

 

[Johnd651]

The leak is coming from between the glass and the plastic at the top rim, as far as I can tell.

I got the leak stopped by draining a bit of the water, but now my filter pump is struggling because the water has fallen below the minimum fill level. I'm not sure that the BioCube systems are really meant to be disassembled like you described, might break during the process because of how the glass is attached at the sides? (I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying I don't think I am capable of this)

I would need to see a picture, since I thought the biocubes had the curved glass on the front corners and were acrylic? But usually you can use something like piano wire to go through the silicone seem to cut it and save the glass.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

The first thing you should do is run to the LFS, buy a 15 gallon tank, and transfer your rock and livestock over to the new tank. Make sure you have a heater and powerhead to put into the new tank, or else buy one.

Now you can relax and figure out the next step of how to deal with that leak.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

The leak is coming from between the glass and the plastic at the top rim, as far as I can tell.

I got the leak stopped by draining a bit of the water, but now my filter pump is struggling because the water has fallen below the minimum fill level. I'm not sure that the BioCube systems are really meant to be disassembled like you described, might break during the process because of how the glass is attached at the sides? (I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying I don't think I am capable of this)

some people have removed that whole black plastic rim and hood to make it rimless and use a single AI 16.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Definitely would replace the tank before it gets worse

 

[DCR]

If it is leaking from the top, there is a strong possibility that it is just wicking over the edge of the glass and not a leak. It is like a siphon that can go over the top edge of the tank. I have seen this on other rimmed tanks that run the level very near the top of the tank. Lowering the water level can prevent this. I would try to get a small tube of silicone, lower the level and get it dry under the rim, and then run a bead of silicone along the inside rim and glass, and smear it along the glass and the rim. I would not tear the tank down before trying this and I doubt you need to break the tank apart. If you cannot get a tube from an aquarium store or order online, GE Silicon 1 from a big box hardware store like Home Depot or Lowes will work