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#1
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I ask because I the seals on my 29 gallon planted tank seem to peeling at the
edges. I bought the tank new in 1989, and it has been up and running continuously since. There are many algae-eating critters in the tank (bristlenose pleco, various species of snails, an oto or three, etc.), and I suspect one or more of them have been gnawing on the seals to get at the algae growing on on them. Is it time to buy a new tank, or am I being paranoid? Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#2
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![]() "LeighMo" wrote in message ... I ask because I the seals on my 29 gallon planted tank seem to peeling at the edges. I bought the tank new in 1989, and it has been up and running continuously since. There are many algae-eating critters in the tank (bristlenose pleco, various species of snails, an oto or three, etc.), and I suspect one or more of them have been gnawing on the seals to get at the algae growing on on them. Is it time to buy a new tank, or am I being paranoid? Leigh Hi Leigh, AFAIK, the silicone sandwiched in between the glass panes performs most of the structural integrity, while the extra bead run along the inside is primarily to protect the sandwiched silicone from predators (which you mentioned) and to provide a more uniform water-proofing barrier. Essentially, your 29g could have no silicone bead along the inside, (only the sandwiched silicone) and it would still be structurally sound. If you have a lot of wear & tear on the bead, inspect the sandwiched portion for bubbles (areas of weaker bonding and potential water paths), and for any discoloration (water/humidity ingress with algae growth or calcium deposits). If your sandwiched silicone is sound, but the bead is very mangled, then your tank will just be incrementally more vulnerable to a potential leak. If you ever observe the reverse, where the bead is sound but the sandwiched silicone is in bad condition, don't stand in front of that tank ;~) I don't think age is a good indicator of tank condition. There are too many chemical formulas for silicone and the surface preparation prior to applying the silicone is very important. A properly prepared surface with a high quality silicone operating within it's specifications will probably outlive anyone old enough to be reading this. JMO, I can't remember how I came to think that I know these things ![]() NetMax |
#3
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On 2003-11-16, NetMax wrote:
I don't think age is a good indicator of tank condition. My relatively meager experience agrees - the 20gal tank I first put up two years ago, was bought by my mother before she got married. I'm almost 22, which says the tank is probably from the early-mid 1970's. It's in great shape. The internal bead of silicone does show some wear and tear like LeighMo mentions, but the internal seal looks good. -- Ross Vandegrift A Pope has a Water Cannon. It is a Water Cannon. He fires Holy-Water from it. It is a Holy-Water Cannon. He Blesses it. It is a Holy Holy-Water Cannon. He Blesses the Hell out of it. It is a Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon. He has it pierced. It is a Holey Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon. He makes it official. It is a Canon Holey Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon. Batman and Robin arrive. He shoots them. |
#4
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Hi Leigh, AFAIK, the silicone sandwiched in between the glass panes
performs most of the structural integrity, while the extra bead run along the inside is primarily to protect the sandwiched silicone from predators (which you mentioned) and to provide a more uniform water-proofing barrier. Essentially, your 29g could have no silicone bead along the inside, (only the sandwiched silicone) and it would still be structurally sound. If you have a lot of wear & tear on the bead, inspect the sandwiched portion for bubbles (areas of weaker bonding and potential water paths), and for any discoloration (water/humidity ingress with algae growth or calcium deposits). If your sandwiched silicone is sound, but the bead is very mangled, then your tank will just be incrementally more vulnerable to a potential leak. If you ever observe the reverse, where the bead is sound but the sandwiched silicone is in bad condition, don't stand in front of that tank ;~) Thanks. I'm not sure if I'm reassured or not. :-) The silicone between the glass seems to be the same as always, but it's kind of hard to tell. It feels good, but it's kind of hard to see. I oughta move that bristlenose to another tank. I think he's the one chewing on the seals. Only I'm afraid he'll do the same thing, and it will be worse if there's ever a failure, because the other tank's larger. =:-O The other tank has more algae, though, so maybe he wouldn't be driven to nibbling on silicone. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#5
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You never need to buy a new tank.
If it springs a leak, then it will be because the Silicone Sealant has gone. Just use a sharp knife to cut off as much of the surface sealant as you can and then buy some Silicone Sealant from the local hardware store and glue it up again. Of course, it takes a week or so for the silicone to cure, so you need somewhere to put your fish while you do it. Perhaps you should buy a new aquarioum to hold the fish while you fix the old one ![]() Jim LeighMo wrote in message ... I ask because I the seals on my 29 gallon planted tank seem to peeling at the edges. I bought the tank new in 1989, and it has been up and running continuously since. There are many algae-eating critters in the tank (bristlenose pleco, various species of snails, an oto or three, etc.), and I suspect one or more of them have been gnawing on the seals to get at the algae growing on on them. Is it time to buy a new tank, or am I being paranoid? Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#6
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"Jim Morcombe" wrote in
: You never need to buy a new tank. If it springs a leak, then it will be because the Silicone Sealant has gone. Just use a sharp knife to cut off as much of the surface sealant as you can and then buy some Silicone Sealant from the local hardware store and glue it up again. Of course, it takes a week or so for the silicone to cure, so you need somewhere to put your fish while you do it. Perhaps you should buy a new aquarioum to hold the fish while you fix the old one ![]() Jim LeighMo wrote in message ... I ask because I the seals on my 29 gallon planted tank seem to peeling at the edges. I bought the tank new in 1989, and it has been up and running continuously since. There are many algae-eating critters in the tank (bristlenose pleco, various species of snails, an oto or three, etc.), and I suspect one or more of them have been gnawing on the seals to get at the algae growing on on them. Is it time to buy a new tank, or am I being paranoid? Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ Hello all, First post to the group, here goes... After reading this thread I took a look at my 75 gallon (Perfecto) I bought from PetSmart back in March of this year. I can see bubbles on the right side/edge of the tank, and there are what appears to be channels on the left side almost from top to bottom. This has me a bit worried, is this normal? What should I do with the tank if it's not safe? There was a small piece of paper indicating that the tank was assembled Jan. 2003. I'm planning on taking a trip over to PetSmart to look at some of the larger tanks there. Here's a pic from the left side of the tank. http://home.comcast.net/~harrisal74/...ss/Glass_L.jpg Pic of the tank. http://home.comcast.net/~harrisal74/...Glass/tank.jpg Alex |
#7
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snip
Hello all, First post to the group, here goes... After reading this thread I took a look at my 75 gallon (Perfecto) I bought from PetSmart back in March of this year. I can see bubbles on the right side/edge of the tank, and there are what appears to be channels on the left side almost from top to bottom. This has me a bit worried, is this normal? What should I do with the tank if it's not safe? There was a small piece of paper indicating that the tank was assembled Jan. 2003. I'm planning on taking a trip over to PetSmart to look at some of the larger tanks there. Here's a pic from the left side of the tank. http://home.comcast.net/~harrisal74/...ss/Glass_L.jpg Pic of the tank. http://home.comcast.net/~harrisal74/...Glass/tank.jpg Alex Nice tank Alex. Sorry for the delay. I suggest you trim your pictures down in size (or compress them). I'm not familiar with the Perfecto tanks, so I can't say if that's what their siliconing normally looks like. My normal tanks look better than that, and the one the blew looked far worse. ymmv Every bubble or air channel decreases the bonding strength, but how much bubbling it takes for it to have any significance, I can't say. I don't think you're in any immediate danger though. I'd just keep an eye on it to see if it worsens. It's not unusual for properly constructed tanks to last over 20 years. NetMax |
#8
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"NetMax" wrote in
: snip Nice tank Alex. Sorry for the delay. I suggest you trim your pictures down in size (or compress them). I'm not familiar with the Perfecto tanks, so I can't say if that's what their siliconing normally looks like. My normal tanks look better than that, and the one the blew looked far worse. ymmv Every bubble or air channel decreases the bonding strength, but how much bubbling it takes for it to have any significance, I can't say. I don't think you're in any immediate danger though. I'd just keep an eye on it to see if it worsens. It's not unusual for properly constructed tanks to last over 20 years. NetMax Thanks Netmax, I took a look at some of the larger perfecto tanks in the pet store and they all looked the same as far as having bubbles/channels in there. There were some 135 gallon tanks with thicker glass (black trim) that were perfect in comparison to the perfecto tanks. I'm keeping an eye on the channels on the left side to see if they are moving. I was testing out a friend's Canon Powershot G5 digital camera, very nice camera. I forgot to clip the pics in a rush to upload them to the page. This is my first attempt at a large planted tank after putting my 20 gallon away about 10 years back. http://home.comcast.net/~harrisal74/DeepEndTank.htm Thanks again for your response, I feel a bit better, but I'll track it for any changes to what's already there. Alex |
#9
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I agree with the relatively meager experience - in the 20gal tank, I first of all two years ago, was my mother, she purchased before marriage. I'm almost 22, wherein said tank may be from the early mid 70s. It's in good health. Silicone beads also show some internal wear as LeighMo mentioned, but the internal seal looks good.
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#10
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Just use a sharp knife to cut off as much of the surface sealant as you
can and then buy some Silicone Sealant from the local hardware store and glue it up again. Of course the hardware store silicon would kill the fish, but they died anyway when you took out them and laid them on the table to work on the tank. ![]() |
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