How long does aquarium silicon last?

[madere]

I have a red sea reefer 350 I got way back in 2015ish. I've been running it freshwater but my fish have aged out and I'm thinking of using it for it's true purpose: saltwater.

I'm a bit concerned about silicone as I read the lifetime for most glass aquariums is 10 years. Is it safe to set up a saltwater aquarium? Has anyone been running these things for 15/20 years without failure? Once I get the tank set up I plan to leave it filled for at least 5-10 years.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I'm running a Marineland tank that is 19 years old, purchased it in 2006, I have no concerns.

 

[Fish Fan]

Many here at R2R would advise not trying a Red Sea tank, they have a bunch of well known failures. Do yourself a favor and just do a search for "Red Sea Tank Failure" to see for yourself. Apparently, the silicon they used was not very good, according to those that have dealt with these tanks first hand (I have not).

Good luck!

 

[exnisstech]

You might have the longest surviving RS tank

My reefer 170 split after 5-6 years.

 

[madere]

What should I look for that may be signs of it splitting? I heard to look for bubbles, but honestly the silicon looks the same to me as it did on day one.

I really like the Red sea, and I did find out about failures a few years after buying, but never had issues with mine. Just trying to avoid a major catastrophe.

I'm running a Marineland tank that is 19 years old, purchased it in 2006, I have no concerns.

Wow! Is that a rimless tank?

 

[Fish Fan]

What should I look for that may be signs of it splitting? I heard to look for bubbles, but honestly the silicon looks the same to me as it did on day one.

I really like the Red sea, and I did find out about failures a few years after buying, but never had issues with mine. Just trying to avoid a major catastrophe.


Wow! Is that a rimless tank?

I think that clearly many more Red Sea tanks did just fine than failed, we just hear a lot about the failures. If the silicon looks good, it may be good to use. Can you post a couple pics of the silicon? Maybe someone here will be able to tell for sure.

 

[exnisstech]

I wonder if anyone knows around what year the failures started to show up? Maybe the OP has a tank made before they started using whatever silicone they've been using lately?

 

[Uncle99]

Aqueon (cheap) 20 years. Obviously sealed well.

Depends on the workmanship and that seems to vary widely, not as much the “size” of the builder.

Depends on how careful you are when cleaning inside glass where the seam is with scraper.

Depends on how solid your stand is in terms of flex which can put stress on the seams.

Not unreasonable to expect 20+.

 

[UncommonSense]

I have a red sea reefer 350 I got way back in 2015ish. I've been running it freshwater but my fish have aged out and I'm thinking of using it for it's true purpose: saltwater.

I'm a bit concerned about silicone as I read the lifetime for most glass aquariums is 10 years. Is it safe to set up a saltwater aquarium? Has anyone been running these things for 15/20 years without failure? Once I get the tank set up I plan to leave it filled for at least 5-10 years.

I just dealt with a refer 425XL (Generation 1) from 2016 which was starting to have the top left corner bubble quite badly…

that’s a ~9yr old tank, and was the oldest surviving G1 RS Reefer I knew of until you brought yours up!

I wouldn’t start a saltwater tank with this one; as others have said, these tanks are notoriously unreliable! — get something rimmed or eurobraced, and definitely NOT from Red Sea!

 

[madere]

I just dealt with a refer 425XL (Generation 1) from 2016 which was starting to have the top left corner bubble quite badly…

that’s a ~9yr old tank, and was the oldest surviving G1 RS Reefer I knew of until you brought yours up!

I wouldn’t start a saltwater tank with this one; as others have said, these tanks are notoriously unreliable! — get something rimmed or eurobraced, and definitely NOT from Red Sea!

Here's some pictures of the silicon, is this the bubbling I've read about online? I feel like it's looked this way since I purchased, but it's been some time.

 

[UncommonSense]

Here's some pictures of the silicon, is this the bubbling I've read about online? I feel like it's looked this way since I purchased, but it's been some time.

Would you mind cleaning viewing pane in those corner then getting another picture? — Ideally using a flashlight/etc, shined from the direction these photos were taken, into that section of the silicone seam?

It’s difficult to tell what’s a reflection/smudge, and what’s between the glass/silicone!

 

[UncommonSense]

Here's some pictures of the silicon, is this the bubbling I've read about online?

Here’s an example that’s just beginning in the top left corner of the viewing pane on my Red Sea Reefer 450 (G2), which I am not comfortable filling with water…

note that examining the seam from the traditional tank viewing position shows flawless silicone…

But, when the same seam is examined from the opposite direction; you can see that it is starting to separate from the side glass pane…

Now, here’s an example of the top right side of the same tank; much more severe silicone separation, also invisible when examining the seam through the front viewing pane!

The previous owner had this thing half-full of water, too…

 

[Ehder]

I think the problem with RedSea failures has more to do with the size and stand. In my case i had a peninsula linked directly to a warping stand which was also on carpet. Here is an image below of what i believe they call bubbling when the failure happened to me. You’ll see it start to separate and be a different color (water gap bubble).

 

[Ehder]

Also i know of people that have had tanks for 30+ years but they are properly supported and reinforced. Silicone can last plenty long if done properly and taken care of. Red Sea i don't trust unless the tank is 90gal or below due to my personal experience.

 

[Alexraptor]

My 38 gallon is a made-to-order tank, which I've had since 2003, so like 22 years now. Seals are still holding up quite nicely.

I had some concerns when i repurposed it for SW, as there were some small bubbles i hadn't noticed before. But after about a year of observation, they haven't grown or changed character one bit.

 

[madere]

Also i know of people that have had tanks for 30+ years but they are properly supported and reinforced. Silicone can last plenty long if done properly and taken care of. Red Sea i don't trust unless the tank is 90gal or below due to my personal experience.

Tank is 75G. Ill snap a better picture tonight

 

[Ehder]

Also i know of people that have had tanks for 30+ years but they are properly supported and reinforced. Silicone can last plenty long if done properly and taken care of. Red Sea i don't trust unless the tank is 90gal or below due to my personal experience.

Tank is 75G. Ill snap a better picture tonight

You're very likely fine as there is less opportunity to cause shearing forces and static pressure from an unbalance in the stand with that sizing. Plus being fresh for a while, i would guess you didn't have huge waves rolling about your tank for flow.

 

[UncommonSense]

I think the problem with RedSea failures has more to do with the size and stand. In my case i had a peninsula linked directly to a warping stand which was also on carpet. Here is an image below of what i believe they call bubbling when the failure happened to me. You’ll see it start to separate and be a different color (water gap bubble).

Red Sea tank failures are primarily caused by inferior quality silicone, not stand construction… your case was due to not having a plane and level surface, which compounded the silicone issue.,,

You're very likely fine as there is less opportunity to cause shearing forces and static pressure from an unbalance in the stand with that sizing. Plus being fresh for a while, i would guess you didn't have huge waves rolling about your tank for flow.

We haven’t even seen any clear photos of what OP is working with… keep in mind, this is a decade old tank from a notoriously bad batch…. I helped with one of a similar age/size with the seams starting to split barely a week ago…

 

[Nate Chalk]

My self sealed tank from scratch is going on 5 yrs

It's about safety factor and technique used .

 

[Ehder]

I think the problem with RedSea failures has more to do with the size and stand. In my case i had a peninsula linked directly to a warping stand which was also on carpet. Here is an image below of what i believe they call bubbling when the failure happened to me. You’ll see it start to separate and be a different color (water gap bubble).

Red Sea tank failures are primarily caused by inferior quality silicone, not stand construction… your case was due to not having a plane and level surface, which compounded the silicone issue.,,

You're very likely fine as there is less opportunity to cause shearing forces and static pressure from an unbalance in the stand with that sizing. Plus being fresh for a while, i would guess you didn't have huge waves rolling about your tank for flow.

We haven’t even seen any clear photos of what OP is working with… keep in mind, this is a decade old tank from a notoriously bad batch…. I helped with one of a similar age/size with the seams starting to split barely a week ago…

The red sea stand i had started bowing nearly immediately (maybe 6mo into owning) which caused plenty of pressure to be centered on one area of the tank at the bottom. Both sides of the tank had the same issue and one side just happened to fail before the other. The silicone quality probably adds to it yes but a solid stand does wonders for adding years of use.