# 55 gallon seals



## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

Hey all, I got a 55 gallon from my cousin, he had freshwater fish for a few years. they all died a long time ago and it sat in his basement out of the elements (finished basement). So now for the past year its been in my basement (less finished). Do I need to redo the silicone seals around the edges? or just do a check? I'm moving and would like to set it up but not if its going to leak!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Feel the sealant, make sure its soft and consistent, check for cracks in the trim or the center brace. Then fill it outside or on newspaper or towels so you can see any leaks. The most likely thing you'll see is an oozing under the top trim. Only if it leaks or is pulling away from the glass do you need to reseal. Don't carry any tank by the top trim.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Leak check it anyway. Take the tank somewhere it can leak safely. Fill it 1/4 and leave it overnight. Continue adding 1/4 the volume per day until the tank is full on the 4th day. If the full tank lasts overnight with no wet spots, it doesn't leak.


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## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

Sweet. If I do need to reseal it is there an easy way to do that? Just buy some silicone and apply it with my finger? Also, is there any website that sells cheap but good equipment? I have the tank and two air pumps, but need two hoods that fit the openings, filters and stuff.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

If it does leak, you have to cut out the bad silicone and reapply it very carefully. It can be quite a mess if you dont do it right. There are a billion guides to doing it on the internet. Just do a quick Google search for it.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Even if it doesn't leak you may still want to cut out the inside seals and re-do them if you don't trust what is there. I redid my seals on a 10-year-old tank that was in constant use the last time I tore it down, but I almost certainly did not need to. I mainly did it to get rid of some algae growing between silicone and glass in a few areas.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Yea what they said^ lol.

The only way to know for sure is to fill it with water, and even then, like has been said, a very small leak can still happen without you even knowing.

If it does leak, personally I would do 1 of 2 things.

1. get a pro to fix it for a good price. I have been in aquatics pretty much since I was born, and thats still something I absolutely hate trying to do, at least a good looking job which I will always do. If its a small and obvious leak though, maybe you can just go get some tank silicone and do it your self. 

2. Try to sell it then wait for the Petco 1 per gallon thing and pick one up for 55 bucks, or even go find another used one that does work. Though NEVER take the owners word for it!


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

If you need to re-seal the tank, be sure to use AQUARIUM silicone. Most silicone you'll find has all sorts of toxic chemicals. Here's a quick link, and it's on sale too!

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3963


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

100% Silicone (clear) is what people often use for aquariums. It is the same stuff as the aquarium silicone, and can be found in most home improvement stores. What you are trying to avoid, is any caulk with anti-fungus, anti-mold, and anti-mildew in it.

This is the type I use:









Also, its about half the price of aquarium sealant.


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## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

well I just checked the seals. They look okay to me but Im not entirely sure what Im looking for. No visible cracks, silicone was clear and springy to the touch. The only thing I did notice, and maybe the manufacturer was just really good, but the seals on the inside were not very large. I'll try to upload some pictures, one more problem, its winter so the outside water test is out of the question. Any ideas how to remedy that? Probably just do it in the basement with lots of towels ready!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Yeah, do it on a tile or concrete floor if you have one. Like emc7 said, put newspaper under it so you can see if it leaks and where. Sounds like a good tank to me, but its always good to check.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

The real issue is that you don't want to discover a leak, even a slow one, in your living room.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

SOft and spongy is what you want: It doesn't have to be a heavy seal for it to work. Just a regular seal is fine. My 100ga has sweet seals. The manufacturer was good at their job


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Fishpunk said:


> The real issue is that you don't want to discover a leak, even a slow one, in your living room.


Thats exactly what I was saying, your going to have to fill it up, then wait and see to be sure. Silicone on the aquarium isnt always easy to see flaws in. Like what was said above, use an aquarium silicone, I ascendantly said tank silicone lol, even though it means the same thing lol.


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## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

its partially filled up, has been since this morning and no leaks. Ill fill the rest up tomorrow and let it sit for a day or two. Probably set up the filter that was given to me to make sure that works too. thanks for all the help and advice, much appreciated.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

yea man good luck


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## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

All filled up. No leaks. Super excited everything is holding up. One small detail which I don't think is a problem--there were tiny bubbles on the glass and silicone. There are no leaks as said. The tank is dirt and needs a cleaning I'm going to assume that's the cause. Any ideas?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

There is air in tap water, when you fill a tank, it comes out as bubbles on everything. If you hit them with an algae scraper, they will come up the surface. That't one reason you fill the tank 24 hours before you add any fish. Totally normal. Foam on the surface means you need to keep rinsing.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Even if it is a bubble in the silicone it probably isn't an issue, but if it makes you uncomfortable put a little extra silicone over it.


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