EMERGENCY!!

Hi,

Maybe you can help. I have a 29g with 3 fish in it. I topped of the water
yesterday due to evaporation. Now, I get home tonite, and look over at the
tank, and the water level is down 2"?? I thought: "Didn't I just fill that
yesterday?". Well, turns out I have a leak.

The leak is in the right back edge, about 1/4 the way up from the bottom.

How do I fix it? Emptying the tank and drying it out are NOT options. I
have no huge garbage can right now, nor can I get one.

Please help!! I live in a 2nd floor apartment and this is going to leak
thru their floor.

In Distress,

Viper

On 2005-04-13, Jason Tsangaris wrote:
How do I fix it? Emptying the tank and drying it out are NOT options. I
have no huge garbage can right now, nor can I get one.

There's no way to fix it without drying out the leak. You don't need to
empty the whole tank, so long as the water level is below the leak.

However, since it's about a quarter of the way up, you'll be emptying
most of the tank anyhow.

Bummer to hear - good luck with the repair, and make sure to use
non-toxic silicone. The All-Glass stuff you can get at the LFS is
pretty good.

--
Ross Vandegrift

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37

Thanks Ross,

I have a tube of Archer silicone from Radio Shack. I read the lable, but
it does not say anything about toxicity. Can I use that?

Please let me know asap.

TIA,

Viper


Ross Vandegrift wrote in
:

On 2005-04-13, Jason Tsangaris wrote:
How do I fix it? Emptying the tank and drying it out are NOT
options. I have no huge garbage can right now, nor can I get one.

There's no way to fix it without drying out the leak. You don't need
to empty the whole tank, so long as the water level is below the leak.

However, since it's about a quarter of the way up, you'll be emptying
most of the tank anyhow.

Bummer to hear - good luck with the repair, and make sure to use
non-toxic silicone. The All-Glass stuff you can get at the LFS is
pretty good.

remember, silicone doesn't stick to cured silicone
"Jason Tsangaris" wrote in message
. 97.131...
Thanks Ross,

I have a tube of Archer silicone from Radio Shack. I read the lable, but
it does not say anything about toxicity. Can I use that?

Please let me know asap.

TIA,

Viper


Ross Vandegrift wrote in
:

On 2005-04-13, Jason Tsangaris wrote:
How do I fix it? Emptying the tank and drying it out are NOT
options. I have no huge garbage can right now, nor can I get one.

There's no way to fix it without drying out the leak. You don't need
to empty the whole tank, so long as the water level is below the leak.

However, since it's about a quarter of the way up, you'll be emptying
most of the tank anyhow.

Bummer to hear - good luck with the repair, and make sure to use
non-toxic silicone. The All-Glass stuff you can get at the LFS is
pretty good.

There is a type of silicone you can get that will cure under water. I
haven't used it, but I read about it a while ago on a random web site.
The author said he got it from a local pet store, and used it to seal a
leaky divider in a paludarium.

Hope that helps.

On 2005-04-13, Jason Tsangaris wrote:
Thanks Ross,

I have a tube of Archer silicone from Radio Shack. I read the lable, but
it does not say anything about toxicity. Can I use that?

Please let me know asap.

In all honesty - I'd suggest no. I recently redid the seals on a used
tank I bought, and I found that it is harder than you might think to
find silicone that is rated strong enough for tanks and also is
non-toxic.

It was hard enough that I just bought a special tube at the LFS. I
think it was $8 or $9 for a tube the size that fits in a caulk gun.
Well worth the price to me, but hey, it's your tank...


--
Ross Vandegrift

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37

On 2005-04-13, blue sky wrote:
remember, silicone doesn't stick to cured silicone

This isn't entirely true. I've sucessfully patched small leaks in a
tank by covering the outside of the leak with silicone. I had to be a
bit gratuitous with the silicone - so it didn't look professional or
anything. But that's a hell of a lot better than a leaky tank!

Have the leaky area be dry, however, is very important. Water will
prevent the silicone from curing.

--
Ross Vandegrift

"The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who
make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians
have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine
man in the bonds of Hell."
--St. Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram, Book II, xviii, 37

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 23:34:13 -0500, Jason Tsangaris wrote:

[putulin]

How do I fix it? Emptying the tank and drying it out are NOT options. I
have no huge garbage can right now, nor can I get one.

Please help!! I live in a 2nd floor apartment and this is going to leak
thru their floor.

In Distress,

Viper

Are you the viper in AWW?

Duct tape is your friend!

--
Tayo'y Mga Pinoy

"wormsburp" wrote in message
ups.com...
There is a type of silicone you can get that will cure under water. I
haven't used it, but I read about it a while ago on a random web site.
The author said he got it from a local pet store, and used it to seal a
leaky divider in a paludarium.

Hope that helps.


I used one. Came from Germany. The company DAS (Dutch Aquarium Systems)
equips their installers with it. I tried to source it but my German is
not very good.
--
www.NetMax.tk

You can't get a 10 gallon tank as a temporary measure? Jeez, you should be
able to grab one for about 10 bucks... I have half a dozen empty tanks that
I got for that price... new in box at Wal-Mart.
You might want to try this BTW - Mr Sticky's Underwater Glue:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/...tegory_id=1559

I have no idea if it works or how well, but I happened to notice it in a
catalog...

Good luck.

---scott

"Jason Tsangaris" wrote in message
7.131...
Hi,

Maybe you can help. I have a 29g with 3 fish in it. I topped of the
water
yesterday due to evaporation. Now, I get home tonite, and look over at
the
tank, and the water level is down 2"?? I thought: "Didn't I just fill
that
yesterday?". Well, turns out I have a leak.

The leak is in the right back edge, about 1/4 the way up from the bottom.

How do I fix it? Emptying the tank and drying it out are NOT options. I
have no huge garbage can right now, nor can I get one.

Please help!! I live in a 2nd floor apartment and this is going to leak
thru their floor.

In Distress,

Viper