How long will the silicone on a tank last?

[javajaws]

So I've got a tank that has been sitting empty since I think around 2008 (indoors, air conditioned). Before that it held saltwater for somewhere around 3 years as I recall.

I'm currently wondering if this tank is still usable (again for saltwater). The silicone still looks fine to the eye to me (1/2" glass fwiw). This is a roughly 4ft 120g tank but isn't a standard tank - it was custom built (by AGE I seem to recall) and also has a PVC bottom and an external overflow attached with silicone as well. I do plenty of DIY but I think re-sealing a tank of this quality is beyond my skillset if that's what it needs.

Thoughts? Still usable? I really don't want to invest in a whole new setup and then have an old tank break a seal and have 120g of water on my floor. Thx in advance.

 

[nereefpat]

Welcome to R2R!

Being older doesn't, by itself, make it unsafe. The older stuff was better in some cases. I wouldn't be afraid to use it, as long as I leak tested it in the garage for a day.

Is it rimmed or rimless? Got any pics?

 

[javajaws]

It's rimless. Ignore the dust, cobwebs and driftwood lol. This kind of shows what the silicone looks like. The bubbles in the silicone between the glass and pvc I think have always been there.

The salt creep below the overflow is just some vinyl peeling back from inside the overflow. The seals to the overflow box (acrylic) look good. There was always a hairline air bubble along the top of it (second pic).

 

[mfinn]

As long as there is no visible damage to the silicone I would use it.
I would do a 3-4 day freshwater leak test with powerheads and a heater

 

[nereefpat]

I agree, and stand by my original comment of 'if it looks okay and you leak test it', no problem.

 

[jda]

My current display is an oceanic made in 1989 or maybe 1991 - I had two identical tanks and I cannot remember which one that I used for this build. Oceanic was perhaps the highest quality tanks ever made, so maybe that matters.