My tank failed yesterday at a lower seam, and today when I inspected the emptied tank I noticed a hole in the seam. When I lifted up the tank I could see that the rubber mat below the tank has a horizontal worm-hole about 3mm in diameter bored into it just below the hole. Any ideas on what could have caused this? We were thinking maybe the bristle worms that live in the sand bed.
Is it possible for something to bore a hole through the silicone seal?
- Thread starter hmmyes
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Yes that long hole in the red oval is in the rubber mat under the tank, that came with the tank. We are trying to decide if maybe the saltwater could have chemically ate away at the rubber but as you can see in the 3rd pic the hole through the bottom silicone seal has a rough opening as if it were chewed. Also the worm-hole shape of the hole in the rubber mat just seems very "tunneled". I wouldn't think that anything that small could eat through silicone rubber but figured I'd ask if anyone else has seen this.
That's wild. Never heard or seen anything like that. Hope you were able to save whatever was in the tank! Well, besides the devil borer worm or whatever it was.?
Skynyrd Fish
Valuable Member
I think it came from outside the tank in??? The Matt under the tank has a hole, leading me to think that that hole was bored first, then the tank started leaking when it burrowed into the tank silicon.
That's an interesting theory and it looks like you might be right. I propped the tank up on blocks now that the foam has dried out a little more. You can see the arrow indicating where there's a tiny hole in the front face of the foam, that opens into a tunnel leading to the larger cavity.
I'm still not convinced that it didn't come from the inside, because of all the chew marks on the inside portion of the silicone seal, whereas the outer hole in the seal doesn't have any cratering around it (same with outer hole in the foam.) Maybe whatever got out was able to keep chewing until it hit the outer edge, and then water started flowing. If it came from the outside, my best guess at this point is a termite but I'm not sure why it would do that.
For now the corals are living in this bin. Thinking about attempting a repair with some silicone sealant if this was really caused by some creature and not a defect.
I'm still not convinced that it didn't come from the inside, because of all the chew marks on the inside portion of the silicone seal, whereas the outer hole in the seal doesn't have any cratering around it (same with outer hole in the foam.) Maybe whatever got out was able to keep chewing until it hit the outer edge, and then water started flowing. If it came from the outside, my best guess at this point is a termite but I'm not sure why it would do that.
For now the corals are living in this bin. Thinking about attempting a repair with some silicone sealant if this was really caused by some creature and not a defect.
Whatever the case may be, sorry that happened to ya! Will be interesting to see if anyone else has an idea of what may have caused this. To me it's beyond coincidence the holes and tunnels all line up, just have never heard of anything like that?
Skynyrd Fish
Valuable Member
Call a insect control company and ask what bugs they think it could be. That sucks that happened.
kchristensen8064
Well-Known Member
If you silicone it just make sure to use the right silicone and give it plenty of time to cure.
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Not unheard of for ants to chew through silicone calking.. I've never heard of them chewing through a tank seal before! Going after a dried sweet spill of some sort, would be my guess.
I agree that from the photos, it looks like the damage was done from the outside.
Weird one, for certain!
I agree that from the photos, it looks like the damage was done from the outside.
Weird one, for certain!
No, have never fed this tank or had any kind of food near it. Ants are very unlikely as I haven't seen a living ant on my property in years. There have been some termites gnawing at one of the walls (recently treated) so I guess that could be a possibility.
I've been trying to decide whether a fix to the seal would be feasible. Doing a couple of quick searches seemed to confirm what I already thought I knew: most silicone is non-toxic unless impregnated with pesticides, and you can buy formulations specifically labeled for aquariums, but fresh silicone doesn't bind to already-cured silicone.
I've been trying to decide whether a fix to the seal would be feasible. Doing a couple of quick searches seemed to confirm what I already thought I knew: most silicone is non-toxic unless impregnated with pesticides, and you can buy formulations specifically labeled for aquariums, but fresh silicone doesn't bind to already-cured silicone.
cracker
5000 Club Member
I'm pretty sure You could pack some silicon into the hole & would seal just fine. Iv'e done it with success. Just clean it out as bast as possible. Was it leaking real bad?
That really is crazy !
That really is crazy !
It was leaking slowly but the actual hole in the silicone looks like it could be at least 2-3mm wide. I can't say for sure without flipping the tank on its side but it would have been leaking a lot more quickly except that the water was traveling through the tiny hole in the foam pad, which was compressed down at the time.
rkpetersen
walked the sand with the crustaceans
Excellence Award
Reef Squad Emeritus
Pacific Northwest Reefers
OP, you seem remarkably calm about all this. Just reading that this is possible is more nightmare fuel as far as I'm concerned.
When I got this tank I was pretty concerned about the number of complaints I found online about glass failure at the bent rimless upper corners. So we were just glad that it was a slow leak instead of a sudden rupture. I'm really not sure what to do at this point. At first we blamed it on manufacturing quality so I was thinking of upgrading to something like a Red Sea system. But if there's either some creature in my sandbed or some insect in my home that's capable of doing this, I guess that any tank could fail.
Second ants. They have very strong mandibles.
I dont think you are ever that far from ants. Some colonies number in the millions, one colony in europe stretches for acres. Some also travel quite far for a meal.
A non toxic method near an aquarium would be diatomaceous earth. Your also going to want to clear away any pheromone trails. They found something that interested them. I get them occasionally in my terrariums for wanting uneaten fruits.
I dont think you are ever that far from ants. Some colonies number in the millions, one colony in europe stretches for acres. Some also travel quite far for a meal.
A non toxic method near an aquarium would be diatomaceous earth. Your also going to want to clear away any pheromone trails. They found something that interested them. I get them occasionally in my terrariums for wanting uneaten fruits.
Similar threads
