# 55 gallon sitting around



## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

My cousin is giving me his old 55 gallon tank with some filters and such, but I have no place to set it up right now but for $30 bucks I can't turn this down. Is it bad for a tank to sit around for a while without being used? Like, will the seals be bad when I do go to set it up in a few years?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

modern silicones are good and last for years, even dry. But if a tank has been dry any length of time, leak test it (outside is good) before you fill it in the house. I've had tanks dry for 20 years that were fine. But I did have one 55 that I filled up and the center brace snapped with a loud crack within a hour of filling. So trim can get brittle. You are going to be really tempted to fill this tank, even on the kitchen counter.


----------



## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

i inherited a bunch of ten gallons that looked like they were sitting around for ages i mean these things were completely filled with spider webs and were caked in dust. the ones with seals still intact still hold water.


----------



## pdoyle2 (Sep 17, 2009)

When I eventually do do the fill test, however long it may be from now, how long do I let the water sit in there? Or do I just fill it up and once it holds water for 5 minutes drain it?


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I would try to let it sit outside full overnight. That is usually enough to tell if it will pop a seam or crack a center brace. It depends on how impatient you are and how easy an indoor cleanup would be. I don't leak test tanks for the basement, just watch them for a few hours. 55s are usually well behaved, IME, and the most common leak is under the top trim. There isn't any weight on the top trim to hold it down, so it works loose (esp. if you lift the tank by it). But its about the easiest fix. A bead of silicone around the bottom of trim inside is easier than resealing the tank.


----------



## robj6767 (Aug 31, 2010)

It's a good idea to silicone the edges, just as a precautionary measure.


----------

