Pin Hole Leak?

[Roland]

I have a 65g tall reef tank. It's been running since March 2007. It's a relatively simple setup, with an external protein skimmer, power compacts, and a sump. All was well.

I'm seeing water gathering around the lower plastic rim of the tank and have been mopping it up with paper towels. I've re sealed the gaskets on the bulkheads as this is a Marineland Corner-Flo aquarium. I just don't see water wicking out from any other location such as wires or powerhead spray. It all appears dry. The leaking water is salty. I have a feeling this situation is very unusual. I have way older FW tanks that have not had problems.

My questions are:
Anyone ever heard of this?
What would you do? The tank is no longer under the store warranty. I've made inquiry to Marineland via email just now. I doubt they can do much and I'd imagine shipping would be extreme. I'd be almost willing to buy a new tank.

What I plan to do is remove the entire contents water, rocks, fish, corals etc to a 75 gallon spare tank setup with heater and powerheads on Saturday morn'. Pull the 65g from the wall, which it is enclosed. Dry it out then fill it up with freshwater and see if it leaks. At this point it better. Then reseal all the edges with aquarium safe silicone.

Should I scrape the existing silicone or over apply on the old. I know silicone doesn't stick to itself therefor I'd "feather" the new silicone over the old.

I'm reaching out here, as the slow drip can't continue, as much as I wish this problem would just disappear. It's going to take work. That I can do. I want to get this right on the first crack, nice pun eh?

Suggestions?

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[Funkmotor]

Before you take it down, be sure where the water is coming from.  You could do that by completely drying the area, then inserting coloured paper (construction paper works well) between the glass and the plastic rim to see where it's coming from...the water will wick into the paper at the source and you'll be able to pinpoint it.

It is, after all, still possible the water is coming from somewhere else even though you've looked.  One thing that comes to mind is that if the water level in your tank is high you could have water wicking over the edge - over the glass but under the top plastic rim - and coming down the end seam or something...you just never know.  (But, if you're nervous about it just letting go, then go ahead and take it down so you can stop worrying about it.)

If you go to reseal the tank you'll need to remove *all* of the silicone or you'll never get a good seal.  In my opinion, you;d be better off selling it to someone that keeps snakes or something and buying a new tank for yourself.  I resealed a 30 gallon once and it took forever to do it...never again.

[JD]

Hi Roland, sorry to hear about the leak. As Funkmotor says there is a possibility it's wicking over from the top rim. This happened to an Aqua Pod I have. It was quite obvious though with salt trails down the outside of the glass.

When it comes to resealing, all the old needs to go. I have resealed 6 tanks now with no issues. I used a single sided razor blade in a holder(tool) to remove the old silicone and acetone to clean the seams just prior to applying the new silicone. Once I went to a lot of extra work to tape all the seams to get a "perfect" straight edge...this I will never do again. Using the black silicone does not give the best "looking" results as any variances in silicone thickness is vary obvious. You can see more or less light through the thin areas. Even if the tank had the black originally, I would still use the clear for better looking results. The main seal between the glass panels will still be black, just the edges will be clear. The biggest tank I have redone was an old 5/8" thick 180. This tank is still in use as my sump tank.

On a 65 gallon, the resealing job will take about 2-4 hours to do and and 2 days to cure properly.

If you feel the main seal needs to be redone, the glass panels can be separated using strong fishing line. This I have never attempted...nor will I!!!

If your tank is scratched at all, a new tank now will be easy to justify! The old tank is still very sellable.

If you are in the Brockville area I would be glad to give you a hand redoing your seal if you choose to go this route.

Jeff

[Roland]

Thanks for the replies. At best I know I'm on the right track. I'm in the process of eliminating the known unknowns. The construction paper route/brown paper towel is one I've been doing consistently. The tank is walled in on the left and right sides as it is built into a closet.  It also occurred to me to drain the corner over flow which I just did. That will tell me for sure if there may be a leak in the gasket around the in and out bulkheads.
All edges are bone dry. The salt water is accumulating at the bottom left, mainly...I'll keep posting.
Yes, it did cross my mind to pack it all in but what would be the fun in that? One way or the other this is going to get fixed.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening or is it just me?

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[salvini55]

In my opinion, you;d be better off selling it to someone that keeps snakes or something and buying a new tank for yourself.  I resealed a 30 gallon once and it took forever to do it...never again.

Looks like you can use it to keep your own reptiles 

[10gnano]

is it possible that it is condensation occuring from the heat of your light, and it is just gathering at the bottom. how much air flow do you have around your tank. if its built into the wall I would be worried about the airflow aound it. thats alot of heat in a boxed in space

[Roland]

Problem solved or at least delayed.

I thought about condensation too. One of the reasons I put the tank in the basement is the house is located on rather high ground water level or should I just say flood plain. I'm just a couple klicks away from the Rideau river. The sump hole is full and the basement is cold all year, and in the summer it's cold as well as clammy. I run a dehumidifier at night in the summer, even in the fish room. Needless to say it sucks the water but the carpet feels dry on the feet at least. So fortunately, there's no concern for over heating the tank as it's always warmer than the air temp and can't collect condensation.

I did manage to seal the leak. I'm now positive it's a pin hole leak somewhere along the lower inner front seal. Where along the 2ft stretch I'm not 100%. I hypothesize left side. It's a strange thing. The gaskets around the in and out take are not the source of water. That refugium from the corner overflow is dry dry dry.

Saturday morning the leak seems to have gotten a little faster.

So...I take scraper, a 1-1/2" putty knife, air compressor and my silicone. I would have preferred to use http://www.aquarium-munster.com/eng/GB_16.5_Bed_Aquarium.asp available at http://www.fishtail.ca/ but I'm the other end of the region.

I jam the scraper between the glass and plastic rim, pry the plastic back not even 1/8th of an inch, blow off the salty water and caulk as far down as possible, which ain't much.  I use the putty knife to mash the silicone, hopefully, further into the V. I do this about every two inches along. The drips coming faster now, water filling up. It's wet. I chase the water to the right side  and now I have this drip drip drip coming through a pin hole through the silicone when I'm done. Hardly surprising. Argg. It wasn't pretty. Whatever. I pry back the pin spot where it's dripping from and repeat the process again. Sloppy work HOWEVER the water ceased to drip. I applied a thicker coating. Waited 24 hours and turned on the main pump, a Quiet One 3000. Sunday night still dry.

In preparation for a complete meltdown, I got my wife to help me placed the 75 gallon tank in the closet as well. In case I really screw this up. My wife is now complaining of a lower back pain. It's a small price to pay. Which I will pay, believe you me.

Anyhow so far so good. I haven't heard back from Marineland regarding their warranty policy, which I can guarantee is now void. I can say I'll never buy a Marineland aquarium again. The tank sits on a 3/4 inch sheet of plywood, glued onto a 2x4 frame using PL3000 and 2 1/2 inch screws counter sunk every 6 inches. I have constructed many stands in the past using my trusty table saw. The first I made, way back when, didn't work. It's a good yarn too! The oscar lived.

So far so good. 

[reefdava16]

IMO I would just replace the tank. Why put all your stuff at risk when the tank is the cheapest part of the setup?

[Roland]

That is exactly what I will do, however not so fast. We will probably be moving from this location by this time next year and it is at that point I will buy a new tank. This tank was not cheap. I paid full price brand new in March 2007 from our big box aquarium retailer. The store warranty had long expired I was told when I called them last week. Not that I expect any after sales help from any big box store however I won't reward them by buying from them again.

What makes this leak so baffling is that I paid top dollar for a brand name aquarium, The Marineland Corner-Flo, just to avoid this type of unexpected event. I could have bought used and jerry rigged my own overflow on the cheap but with this project I was, what I thought, being very meticulous. It has largely been a great success and Marinescape deserves much of that credit. What I believe to be an inferior product leaves me with the sense that somehow I might have caused the problem despite having kept aquariums and herps for 20+ years. It leaves me to doubt my own ability to maintain a proper aquarium. I've made plenty mistakes and will make more but what are the odds of a 3 year old aquarium springing a leak along a silicone bead?

When I do eventually get a new tank. It will be larger of coarse.