Question On Leaking 300 Gallon Tank...

Hello,

I just picked up a 300 gallon glass fish tank and stand with canister filter, heater, lights, etc... The only caveat is the tank has a small section on the bottom where water was seeping out from underneath the black frame. The real estate business did not want to deal with the tank and just gave it to me.

I am not familiar with leaking tanks and wanted to see if there is advice on what to look for and whether it might be repairable or not. I am also happy to post pics once I get it out of the truck. Looking forward to hearing back and hopefully fixing this leak.

Thanks!

 

If the glass is not damaged you can strip the silicon off and reapply new silicon. I have no experience with this, perhaps a member who has done this before can chime in.

 

IMO it will be easier to take the whole thing apart, and either rebuild it or make a few other plywood aquariums out of it.
The seal that holds the aquarium together (not the seal on the inside of the tank, but the seal in between the glass), is probably broken so you will need to reseal it to make sure that the aquarium is able to hold water.

 

you could do what the above said. Or put a glass sheet over top the damaged area. Or just replace the whole bottom. I'd just say be really careful whatever you do. 300 gallons is a lot of water to leak into your house

 

Never had one really leak. I had one explode though. Lol. It was a 75 gallon tank. Its kind of funny now but I lost my tank and my oscar that day.

 

300 gallons is A LOT of water to explode on your floor. There's $10K in water damage right there....

Be careful!

 

You should probably call a professional fish tank repair company.

 

I've resealed a 75g. To be honest, I wouldn't even attempt to reseal a 300g.
If you do, you have to remove ALL silicone, not just where the leak is..new silicone will not adhere to old silicone. You must make sure that you remove every single little itty-bitty piece of silicone, and be extremely careful no to dig too deep into the corners and cut the silicone that connects the glass panes.
Take your time and don't rush. It takes time and patience to do this. I can promise you that just when you think you cleaned every piece of silicone, you will find more.
It took me 3-4 days just to strip the silicone, and to make sure the glass was spotless.
Acetone will help with the stripping, but be very careful not to get it in the seems. Also make sure that you have plenty, and I do mean plenty, of razor blades.
Go to YouTube to get a good handle on how to do it.
When you are ready to seal the tank, you can use DAP Window Door and Siding silicone. It is perfectly safe, and it comes in different colors. It's only 6 bucks a tube at Ace Hardware.

 

still. 300 gallon aquarium weighs a lot. Just be careful and have people help you. A tank half that size (6' 150 gallon), weighs around 400-500 lbs empty. So 300 gallons probably is twice that. Don't want 1000 lbs of glass on top of you. Just be careful

 

You might be able to find someone nearby to do it. Try calling a LFS.

 

Thanks everyone for the excellent tips and advice. I looked more into the aquarium and after measuring and researching online, it was not the 300 gallons that he mentioned. It was actually a 150 gallon tank. Based on many of the tips above and from what I read, fixing it myself would likely have been a bandaid fix and a leak waiting to happen. I decided to re-home the tank and will begin looking for another 150 gallon that is 48" x 24" x 30". I would hate to worry about when the old tank was going to burst and then have water damage, peace of mind is worth a lot. Thanks again!

 

Thanks everyone for the excellent tips and advice. I looked more into the aquarium and after measuring and researching online, it was not the 300 gallons that he mentioned. It was actually a 150 gallon tank. Based on many of the tips above and from what I read, fixing it myself would likely have been a bandaid fix and a leak waiting to happen. I decided to re-home the tank and will begin looking for another 150 gallon that is 48" x 24" x 30". I would hate to worry about when the old tank was going to burst and then have water damage, peace of mind is worth a lot. Thanks again!

good choice!

 

If you can, get a longer 150. The one you describe will be tall and have more of a box shape.

 

If it,s a small crack you can just reseal it with a silicon gun . If its deep then I think you should change that specific glass panel and reglue the whole tank again . Glass is pretty durable and if you take care there are very few chances of any accidents.

 

Never had one really leak. I had one explode though. Lol. It was a 75 gallon tank. Its kind of funny now but I lost my tank and my oscar that day.

Wow how could it explode ? What happened ? What brand ?