deligirlmss Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Well my 14BC has been up and running for 3 weeks. A few days ago I noticed salt creep on the glass. Well my tank is leaking around the top in two places now. How would I fix this? I think I would use a sealant right? Would I put it on the inside or outside of the tank? If around the inside, what brand should I use that's going to be safe? Link to comment
iball1804 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Use GE I Window and door. Put in on the inside, you will probably have to loewr the water level depending on where it's happening. Nice profile pic. Link to comment
krodmandoon Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Probably want to drain the tank and make sure it is completely dry before you do anything. Run a google search for "aquarium safe silicone". You will see many results but the most important thing is that you have 100% silicone with no antibacterial additives. Marineland sells some through foster and smith aquatics for a reasonable price or you can pick up some ge stuff at a lowes or home depot. I would also go around all the seams just to be safe. Make sure you tape areas surrounding the seams like you would tape off trim if painting your house. Good luck. Link to comment
deligirlmss Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 My cycle just ended. I had planned on adding my clean up crew this weekend, what a bummer! Any idea how long it takes the GE to dry? I have quite a bit of live rock with sponges and brain corals on them, so I really don't want to have to completely drain the tank. To be honest since it took it 3 weeks to start leaking at the top, I'm now concerned it might start leaking somewhere else. I wish there was some way to stop the leak from the outside of the tank, so I wouldn't have to drain it. Link to comment
krodmandoon Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Any idea how long it takes the GE to dry? I want to say that it dries in 24 hours and is fully cured in 48. go get yourself a Rubbermaid container and put your sand rock and water in there with a pump or power head of some sort, keep the stuff wet and keep the water moving. When you are done just put it back in the tank and do a water change. You shouldn't see much of a re-cycle. Patching a tank from the outside is like trying to stop a water balloon from leaking with duct tape. Just because you see the salt creep doesn't mean the leak is in that location. Best to do all of the seams. If you are concerned for the water tightness of your tank, your best bet is to do it right once. Link to comment
iball1804 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Not necessarily. Start by lowering the water level a couple inches. Pinpoint where the water is leaking and patch it up. Keep the lowered water for 24 hrs while it cures. Then raise it again. I have had to do that before and it worked great. Just make sure to keep the fresh silicone area dry. Link to comment
BLoCkCliMbeR Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 you are positive its leaking and its not just water that collected in the outside rim that dried out and left salt creep? ive thought a couple times my tank was leaking, but it was just me being sloppy . Link to comment
iball1804 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Could be that too. Mark the water level with an erasable crayola marker and track its progress day after day. If it's more than a quarter of an inch, it could be a very slow leak. Or just a lot of evap... do you have a hood? Link to comment
deligirlmss Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 Yeah I know exactly where it's leaking from. I actually watched it leak. I repositioned my power head nozzle and it caused more turbulence at the surface, at which point I discovered another leak. I then removed a little bit of water and moved the nozzle again, and the leaks have stopped for now. It's a pain, but I would rather fix them now than wait . Also I did check to make sure my tank wasn't to full and leaking over the top lol. I also have 20lbs of sand and 18lbs live rock. That would be one huge pain in the rear to move. Maybe it's just coincidence, but Ia few days ago I had to pry one of my hitch hiker urchins out of the silicone in the same spot where the new leak is. Its a rock boring urchin. Link to comment
Reef Hollister Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Before I did anything to try to repair it myself I would contact Oceanic. If it is only three weeks old it is under warranty unless you bought it used. Don't do anything that will give them the opportunity to void the warranty. Link to comment
jeirdo Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Oceanic has great customer service...give them a call. Link to comment
deligirlmss Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 I've already done some mods to it. I'm not sure if they would take it back now. Link to comment
Formula462 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I've already done some mods to it. I'm not sure if they would take it back now. If your water level is too high due to a media rack being too obstructed or something along those lines, check to see if you can get better flow through the chambers. Try to move your filter media or your filter floss. If my floss gets too dirty or my chemi-pure is sitting wrong, it makes the water level go up to the tip top of the skimmer grates. This causes water to leak from the front left corner of the tank. Biocubes seem to leak there alot but if it's level (check that too) and the water circulation isn't somehow impeded, then it shouldn't get high enough to do that. Link to comment
deligirlmss Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 How high is the water level in chamber 1 supposed to be? Also have you cut the plastic between chamber 1 and 2? I haven't done that mod yet. Link to comment
Formula462 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 How high is the water level in chamber 1 supposed to be? Also have you cut the plastic between chamber 1 and 2? I haven't done that mod yet. Yes, almost everything you can do to a Biocube short of taking the rim off, I have done. How far up on the skimmer grate is the water in yours? And what are you wearing right now? Link to comment
gulfsurfer101 Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I use that three hour dry stuff and never had any casualties. It set's in three hours and will continue to dry even when wet. What I would do in your situation is drain the about 6 inches to work with drop a power head in there to keep water circulation going and lay a bead of silicone down and let it sit that way for about 5hrs then fill her back up. I usually give it a press test to see if it's ready. I press on the bead and if it cave's in it's not ready, if I press on the bead and it returns back to where it was or feels dry underneath then it's ready. Sorry for the boys on here, they start talking to a girl over the internets and then they just prematurely shoot their load off in their jeans. Link to comment
deligirlmss Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 I took enough water out that its still over the minimum water level in chamber 3 and my pump isn't shooting out air bubbles. Also my water level is about 3/4 of an inch away from the top of the skimmer grate. The leaking has stopped for now. I'm thinking about just letting it be for awhile. It's going to leak whenever I mess around inside the tank though. When I get sick of it or it starts leaking again I will find the stuff that dries in 5 hours. As for what I'm wearing, I'm wearing my scuba gear. Doesn't every one when they are working in their tank? Link to comment
Formula462 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Sorry for the boys on here, they start talking to a girl over the internets and then they just prematurely shoot their load off in their jeans. I'm just messing around because that kid above me made the unavoidable, "nice profile pic" comment. You are damn vulgar btw. Besides she looks like someone I used to know Link to comment
iball1804 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 It was honest! I'm not being vulgar/mean! Link to comment
Formula462 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 As for what I'm wearing, I'm wearing my scuba gear. Doesn't every one when they are working in their tank? See, she played back. Although a liar, she is clearly a good sport. It was honest! I'm not being vulgar/mean! Your not the vulgar one . Just the kid. The dude that made the load blowing in the jeans comment was vulgar. Link to comment
iball1804 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 Let's keep it fresh. It was an honest comment. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.