Leaking 120 Gallon Tank

bmac300 · Dec 22, 2019

Talked to my local LFS and he said the tank was probably a Marineland and that they are known for this and he no longer sells them. Bad timing he sold his last 120 yesterday so i'll have to wait until maybe Friday to get a new one.

MnFish1 · Dec 22, 2019

It is a perfecto tank - now owned by marineland as you have surmised. You may be able to check on a warranty replacement (if you were the original purchases - I'm assuming you weren't_

bmac300 · Dec 29, 2019

Just a quick update, got a new Seapora 120 yesterday and today finished transferring everything back into the new tank. Very fortunate that so far the only thing missing is a Royal Gramma but it could just be hiding in the rocks. The tank is still cloudy and things need to settle down but overall looks good.

jsvand5 · Dec 29, 2019

Good to hear you got it taken care of. I had a similar situation with a 210g about a year ago. Luckily I found the cracking before it started leaking and my LFS replaced it under warranty with one they had in stock. Still a huge headache transferring everything though and buying 4 Brute trash cans wasn’t exactly cheap either.

inletfish · Dec 29, 2019

bmac300 said:
Just a quick update, got a new Seapora 120 yesterday and today finished transferring everything back into the new tank. Very fortunate that so far the only thing missing is a Royal Gramma but it could just be hiding in the rocks. The tank is still cloudy and things need to settle down but overall looks good.

can we see a pic

vetteguy53081 · Dec 29, 2019

Of course, on a sunday night. Is/Was tank level??
You will need aquarium sealant. Most home depots open until 9p on sundays.

Best recourse:
If you don't have one, unplug heater and run to even a Walmart and get yourself a big Rubbermaid or similar tub. Transfer fish/coral and water into it. Run heater , at least a powerhead and lights.

refill tank to 1/3 and look for leak location. If you cannot find it. Tilt to one side and see if it still leaks. If not, you know it's the other side. Drain. clean are and cut away silicone. Clean area again with rubbing alcohol and apply a generous bead alon entire seam and allow to dry no less that a full day. Then do a freshwater test for at least 8 hrs to confirm NO leak and prepare to repack the 120.

MOST IMPORTANT STEP IS CLEANING THE OLD SILICONE AWAY. GET IT ALL !!

BornHandy · Dec 29, 2019

Late to the party, I know, but resealing a tank is a pretty easy project. I am no master tank builder, so take that for what its worth. Still, I've built somewhere around 10, and resealed at least twice as many.

The silicone that's between the edge and pane is the structural silicone. It mostly holds the tank together - and just happens to be waterproof as a bonus. ...but sometimes, that bond can stretch enough to let the tiniest trickle through, so a second seal is applied over that one. That's the seal you see in the corners - the one you can feel with your finger.

If you're up for it, you can razor that seal out, and redo it. As an extra measure, you can put a bead of silicone on the bottom, press narrow strips of glass on top of the silicone, then seal the new glass in too. It will look like a euro brace along the bottom of the tank.

In case my explanation is a little cloudy, here's a picture of the additional glass and seal on the bottom of my tank... (that's my refugium light shining back through the bottom).

ca1ore · Dec 30, 2019

The made by sticker with the anchor symbol is a marineland tank. Maybe installation error or maybe just bad luck. I’ve had a bunch of their tanks and never had a seam give, but I am OCD about ensuring the stand is perfectly coplanar and level. The practice of ‘re-sealing’ is fine as long as the structural seal is completely intact.