Help with a leak on my 29 biocube

[crd04666]

Hello everyone! I started with my biocube about 6 months ago so I'm fairly new at this. Chose to go with a biocube so I don't have do a whole lot of up keep or modifying. I recently moved the tank from one room to another and I've noticed a small drip/ leak on the upper left side about 3-4 inches from the corner--water leaks between the glass and plastic casing on the top. It probably drips about a drop every 5minutes. Can someone help how I can fix it? I'll be out of town next week for about 4 days and I'm afraid I might come back with a "disaster". Help!!!!

Thanks,
Coleen

 

[Pronster]

Hi

I had the same problem with a leak on my tank awhile back. I tried to seal it about six times but it never stopped it, I think the only way to do it is to remove the top plastic frame and put a lot of silicone in there and push the plastic back on. I also found that my power head that I had blowing over the surface made it leak worse

 

[crd04666]

Do I need to empty out my tank to reseal with silicone? Is it safe for the livestock? Unfortunately, I don't have another tank to temporarily house them

 

[Pronster]

yes you would need to empty it first and let the silicone cure for 48 Hours to be on the safe side

 

[crd04666]

I'm afraid you'll say that. Thanks for the quick reply

 

[Pronster]

Don't you have somewhere to put the fish while you do it ?

 

[crd04666]

I actually don't have any fishes yet..just shrimp,snails and corals. Will it be ok if I transfer everything in a bucket for 48 hours while I'm drying up my tank?

 

[Pronster]

well in the past i have done it but i kept them in my RO water butt,that holds about 100L

 

[crd04666]

I hope this question does not sound stupid...so where do I buy the silicon to seal the tank?

 

[Pronster]

No Its not stupid. I'm not over there in America but you could try here

Shop GE 9.8 Oz. Clear Silicone at Lowes.com

Or Ebay. If you can get hold of it buy RTV silicone as its much stronger

 

[mfinn]

Instead of buying a large tube of silicone and (possibly) making a mistake and buying the wrong one, going to a local fish store and picking up a tube of aquarium silicone might be a safer option.
Most every store carries it.

 

[Aquanaut]

See if your local stores have the large rubbermade Heavy Duty 35gallon bins, I easily hold 25g of my 29Biocube. They're not to expensive and are great for making mix water/storing equipment/emergency holding of livestock. Just toss a couple of pumps in the bin w/the stock from the cube. They'll be ok for a day or 2 with out a light. Sometimes the filter can hang on the lip too.

 

[Frankie]

Instead of buying a large tube of silicone and (possibly) making a mistake and buying the wrong one, going to a local fish store and picking up a tube of aquarium silicone might be a safer option.
Most every store carries it.

I agree. Not to sure of any silicone in the depots being aquarium safe. Be sure to read the bottle. It should say on it aquarium safe. If not don't use it. The link provided by Pronster leads you to the GE clear silicone type 1 that people have used for gluing in sump baffles but this stuff will not hold an aquarium together for very long.
RTV 108 from Granger is aquarium safe and good to use to build aquariums. The company I use to use (CE Lawrence) stopped making their brand because of shelf life problems. This is a common problem with most aquarium safe silicones due to certain properties missing and chemical breakdown. I think the best bet is to just hit the LFS and use the stuff they supply like mfinn recommended. Can't really go wrong there

 

[user 2204]

Definatley check with the LFS for your silicone. Also you should allow the silicone to cure for anywhere between 48 and 72 hours and then water test before you put it back in action. Being that you are only resealing the black plastic rim you shouldn't have any issues. Very simple job and the hardest part will be removing the plastic rim without damaging it.

 

[Chichas01]

See if your local stores have the large rubbermade Heavy Duty 35gallon bins, I easily hold 25g of my 29Biocube. They're not to expensive and are great for making mix water/storing equipment/emergency holding of livestock. Just toss a couple of pumps in the bin w/the stock from the cube. They'll be ok for a day or 2 with out a light. Sometimes the filter can hang on the lip too.

I second this. If you save your receipt and clean it up when you are done, you can even return it...especially if you get it at Home Depot:wink:

 

[Kickwrasse]

I had the problem.then I let it go for a week and salt built up, no more leak this has been my cure for 9 months or so.bio cube 14

 

[vetschroger]

I know you said you moved your tank before this happened. Did you make sure that the tank was level in the new location? I had this problem and it was an unlevel tank causing the leak.

 

[crd04666]

I agree that it may have been due to the floor making the tank not leveled/balanced. For some reason the leak resolved after using a thinner filter pad that I placed on top of the tray in the second chamber. What puzzles me is I used the same thick pad before I did the move so maybe the flooring made the water rise higher at the spot where the leak was. Anyhow, I did buy a silicone gel from LFS just in case.

 

[Peppie]

I had to seal the top inside corner of my acrylic tank with silicone. I dropped the water level 3" so I could get to the corner. I placed my heaters in the DT( I have an AIO) and turned off the return pumps. I sealed the inside. Turned on my PHs and placed a fan across the top. I let the silicone cure for 24 hrs, toped off the tank returned the heaters to the back. This may have been risky. The tank had fish and corals in it. I had not ill effects. It did work for me. I dont know if I would want the responsibility of harming your tank, but I got away with it without having to tear the whole tank down.