How Long Do Tanks Last?

[Justin Boucher]

I think it certainly could vary from tank to tank. I once had a 100gal
glass and silicon tank where most of the silicone along the seam was peeled
out after all the years (bought used and at least 8 years in my posession).
The important part (I believe) is the silicone that's between the panes and
actually in the joint itself. Look through the glass joint, the more
bubbles you see in the joint, the higher the chance of it failing.

Justin

"Angrie.Woman" > wrote in message
...
> My 29 gallon is probably 20 years old. Today, I was scraping a little
algae
> off with a magnet, and I saw a small flap of loose silicone. So, what is
> the lifespan of a siliconed tank - anybody know?
>
> A
> --
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> "Default quoting of previous message in replies."
>
>

[Angrie.Woman]

My 29 gallon is probably 20 years old. Today, I was scraping a little algae
off with a magnet, and I saw a small flap of loose silicone. So, what is
the lifespan of a siliconed tank - anybody know?

A
--
http://snipurl.com/cz4a : Submit a Google Request
"Default quoting of previous message in replies."

[Richard Sexton]

In article >,
Angrie.Woman > wrote:
>My 29 gallon is probably 20 years old. Today, I was scraping a little algae
>off with a magnet, and I saw a small flap of loose silicone. So, what is
>the lifespan of a siliconed tank - anybody know?

Ocasionally - very very occasionally one, fails. I've heard of exactly one
letting go and it wasn't old. They just don't seem to fail. My newest tank
is 25 years old the oldest probably 10 yrs older than that. Use of silicone
as a glass glue was first published as far as I can see, in Robert P.L.
Straugns book _The Salt Water Aquarium In The Home_. Metal was a great
concern and problem and he tried fooling around with a bunch of different
things including epoxy to make an "all glass aquarium". Such things
were unheard of. None worked. Then he tried the "new silicone
bathtub sealant". It worked and the rest is history. This was in the
early to mid 1960s and dollars to donuts that tank is still working
just fine today. IMO the first "all glass" (back then it was a
type of tank, not a brand) ought to be in some sort of museum.

I got into fish in the early 70s as a kid and at tht time half the
tanks in the store were metal framed and half were all-glass.

The warrenty on silicone is 30 years. They keep bumping it up
as the stuff just seems to last forever.

Don't worry about a dangling bit of silicone, I routinely
cut all mine away anyway so the only stuff that's left is
that which bonds the actual glass. There's no reason for any
excess to be there, it's just more convenient for the manufacturor
to smooth the wet silicone down than to remove it.
--
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[HairyMcLeary]

"Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> Angrie.Woman > wrote:
>>My 29 gallon is probably 20 years old. Today, I was scraping a little
>>algae
>>off with a magnet, and I saw a small flap of loose silicone. So, what is
>>the lifespan of a siliconed tank - anybody know?
>
> Ocasionally - very very occasionally one, fails. I've heard of exactly one
> letting go and it wasn't old. They just don't seem to fail. My newest tank
> is 25 years old the oldest probably 10 yrs older than that. Use of
> silicone
> as a glass glue was first published as far as I can see, in Robert P.L.
> Straugns book _The Salt Water Aquarium In The Home_. Metal was a great
> concern and problem and he tried fooling around with a bunch of different
> things including epoxy to make an "all glass aquarium". Such things
> were unheard of. None worked. Then he tried the "new silicone
> bathtub sealant". It worked and the rest is history. This was in the
> early to mid 1960s and dollars to donuts that tank is still working
> just fine today. IMO the first "all glass" (back then it was a
> type of tank, not a brand) ought to be in some sort of museum.
>
> I got into fish in the early 70s as a kid and at tht time half the
> tanks in the store were metal framed and half were all-glass.
>
> The warrenty on silicone is 30 years. They keep bumping it up
> as the stuff just seems to last forever.
>
> Don't worry about a dangling bit of silicone, I routinely
> cut all mine away anyway so the only stuff that's left is
> that which bonds the actual glass. There's no reason for any
> excess to be there, it's just more convenient for the manufacturor
> to smooth the wet silicone down than to remove it.
> --
I have had one fail on me, the tank was about 10 years old. the whole seem
along the bottom front opened up and drained half the tank.
The main reason the tank failed was because the base board the tank sat on
had become wet ( I had a Hoplo catfish that used to spit water over the side
of the tank) and started to bow and no longer gave proper support to the
tank or the polystyrene it was resting on.

Tony

[Angrie.Woman]

"HairyMcLeary" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
> ...
>> In article >,
>> Angrie.Woman > wrote:

>> --
> I have had one fail on me, the tank was about 10 years old. the whole seem
> along the bottom front opened up and drained half the tank.
> The main reason the tank failed was because the base board the tank sat on
> had become wet ( I had a Hoplo catfish that used to spit water over the
> side of the tank) and started to bow and no longer gave proper support to
> the tank or the polystyrene it was resting on.

Hee Hee - stupid fish!

Thanks for the answers. I won't worry about it then. The tank does have a
leak, it's at the very top somewhere. I've never bothered trying to fix it
because I think it would entail taking off the trim around the top. I just
don't fill the tank up quite all the way.

A

[Richard Sexton]

>Hee Hee - stupid fish!

They're all stupid :-)

>Thanks for the answers. I won't worry about it then. The tank does have a
>leak, it's at the very top somewhere. I've never bothered trying to fix it
>because I think it would entail taking off the trim around the top. I just
>don't fill the tank up quite all the way.

Keep in mind that if there is not a continuous bead of silicone
between the trmi and the tank thenby capilliary action water
can seep out under it. You usually notice this by white
mineral depostits on the glass near the area where this happens.


--
Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org
http://www.mbz.org | Mercedes Mailing lists: http://lists.mbz.org
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | Killies, killi.net, Crypts, aquaria.net
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Old wris****ches http://watches.list.mbz.org

[Angrie.Woman]

"Richard Sexton" > wrote in message
...
> >Hee Hee - stupid fish!
>
> They're all stupid :-)
>
>>Thanks for the answers. I won't worry about it then. The tank does have a
>>leak, it's at the very top somewhere. I've never bothered trying to fix it
>>because I think it would entail taking off the trim around the top. I just
>>don't fill the tank up quite all the way.
>
> Keep in mind that if there is not a continuous bead of silicone
> between the trmi and the tank thenby capilliary action water
> can seep out under it. You usually notice this by white
> mineral depostits on the glass near the area where this happens.

Hey! Did you sneak in here and look at my tank??? :)

Actually, I think that's exactly what is happening. While I don't see any
crud built up on the inside, the water drips down one spot the back, leaving
a white trail after a bit. As long as I keep the water beneath that trim,
I'm fine.

If I ever get a bigger tank, I'll try to fix it before adding anything to
it.

A