Tank seam bubble...cause for concern?

[Vmacisback]

Hi guys,

I picked up a large tank. 83.5x24x30 I have removed and replaced some of the silicone on the inner panels but I know that doesn’t do much for the structure of the tank. At this time it doesn’t leak but this bubble in the very front bottom seem makes me nervous. That’s a lot of water. Here are some pics, some expert advice would be great. The tank is a leemar not sure of the age.

 

[trido]

Looks to be solid on both sides of the seem. I wonder if its from the original build.

 

[Vmacisback]

So are you saying if it was coming apart it would start at the top or bottom of the seam?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

I would not trust that on a 30" high tank. I would disassemble and resilicone front and back panels one at a time.

it sounds like you just out new silicone fillets in there. which is a very minimal amount of strength in the joint.

 

[trido]

So are you saying if it was coming apart it would start at the top or bottom of the seam?

No, I'm saying that sometimes builders, with a larger piece of glass would run two beads of silicone and its possible to have a small air pocket between the two beads.

 

[Vmacisback]

One thing to add is that when I did my last leak test it was not level from front to back, in fact it was putting more pressure on the front pane. This caused the bubble to expand a bit. Now that the tank is unfilled the bubble shrunk back a bit but is still there. Wondering if having the tank fully level like it will be when I set it up will eliminate worry.

Does anyone know if crystal dynamics will reassemble a tank? They are my closest tank manufacturer here in CA.

 

[jtl]

I have built a few 100 gallon tanks and seams are not always perfect. Having said that a large/deep tank puts a lot of pressure on the bottom seams but the side seams would need to fail as well. One thing you could do is put a euro brace around the perimeter of the bottom panel. It doesn't need to be very wide but use at least 1/2 glass. This will give you a lot more surface area and shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[ca1ore]

One thing you could do is put a euro brace around the perimeter of the bottom panel. It doesn't need to be very wide but use at least 1/2 glass. This will give you a lot more surface area and shouldn't be too expensive.

I think that is an excellent suggestion. Were I to have a large glass tank again, I would absolutely require that of the builder. I know of at least two custom houses that do it as a matter of course.