Conern about silcone seal on tank

[Schlafrig]

Hopefully I've just read too many horror stories of red sea tanks failing and this is nothing to worry about. When I was going to feed my fish I noticed this part on the silicone that concerned me. This is on a 75 gallon aqueon tank that ive had for a little under a year. Does this look like the silicone could be failing or am I just overthinking it.

 

[rayadog]

that looks bowed out. I would bet you could close that gap with your fingers. And then get really worried lol. Good luck.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Wow it does look like there’s quite the gap in the last picture. Can you take a photo of that side with a straight shot. Also the salt under the silicone in the first picture is concerning. Just to make sure that’s not on the outside correct?

 

[Schlafrig]

This is a straight shot of the side

 

[Schlafrig]

And another

 

[rayadog]

That’s 2 days in a row I’ve put my foot in my mouth. I don’t see anything from the straight shots

 

[Reef Jedi]

Interesting, the straight shots do look pretty good and no gap. I would keep an eye on it and watch out for bubbling under the silicone. Looking at that angle I wouldn’t be worried about it.

 

[Schlafrig]

Yeah i think it might just be the subpar fit and finish of aqueon tanks

 

[Schlafrig]

@UncommonSense do you have any input?

 

[Schlafrig]

I also noticed these two spots this morning

 

[UncommonSense]

This looks a lot like the panes were pressed too tightly together during initial assembly, in addition to sloppy application of silicone!

The first pic tells the story:

That white stuff is all tiny bubbles, formed as the panes try to peel apart the incredibly thin film of silicone between them…

I believe this tank should still be in warranty, I’d recommend reaching out to them, and seeing if they’re willing to do an exchange!

Barring an exchange, I’d recommend marking around these bubbles with a sharpie or tape to monitor for signs of growth, while simultaneously starting to hunt for a replacement tank!

 

[Schlafrig]

Oof not what I wanted to hear but what I kind of expected.

It looks like it would be under warranty but based off of the website I would have to pay shipping so not really sure if its worth the hassle.

I was thinking about upgrading to a nicer Innovative Marine tank but would need to save up some more. Any idea how long before this becomes a bigger issue? Would putting clamps on the tank help at all?

 

[nicky263]

I've just had a Max E260 aged 2.5 years leaking in the front seam... the white lines in the black silicone look similar to what my tank showed.
It's not a given that yours will fail but you better keep a close eye on things.

 

[KrisReef]

That is nice clear 100% silicone , and with a frame these kinds of tanks last 10 years under normal use without much care. It's not one of the modern tanks that uses 2 part silicone, the kind of sealant that fails routinely.

 

[UncommonSense]

It looks like it would be under warranty but based off of the website I would have to pay shipping so not really sure if its worth the hassle.

Would it be worth giving them a call to see if you can work out a credit towards a bigger tank? This is definitely a case of assembly error, thus falls under “defects in materials and workmanship”…

— Talking to someone on the phone often gets more movement than an email chain with this sort of thing!

I was thinking about upgrading to a nicer Innovative Marine tank but would need to save up some more. Any idea how long before this becomes a bigger issue? Would putting clamps on the tank help at all?

IM would definitely be an upgrade! They do have a lead time to ship unless the model you want is semi-local in a warehouse/etc…

How long you’ve got is a tough one to accurately answer… there appears to be some amount bonded silicone left in the structural seam, and this tank is rimmed… I don’t think it’s an emergency situation yet!

— I don’t think clamps will help you too much in this particular situation, given the nature of a rimmed tank, and the worst of the peeling being at the top (where the siliconed-on plastic rim captures all four vertical panes firmly)… they would be beneficial if the seam was peeling from the middle (glass does actually bend), but will only serve to block your view of the seam in your specific case!



— I’d recommend the aforementioned marking of the perimeter of each visibly peeling section, probably via sharpie, to have a reference point to monitor any growth of the peeling!

— if silicone bubbles continue to visibly grow, this tank should be proactively taken out of service!

— A 50-100 gallon plastic stock tank, such as those made by Rubbermaid, works excellent as a livestock holding system, and can even be plumbed to an existing sump if desired! This gives you a holding tank which can run indefinitely while you take your time making plans for your system upgrade!