Reefer 525 G1 seam possibly failing, hopefully not urgent, please advise

[Brian1f1]

Not an emergency, yet….

Reefer 525 in service almost 6 years.

Discovered that sections of the seam bonding the front to the side on one side are cracking/crumbling, flakes off easily on my finger and has thin lines radiating inward with the worst of them going about 1/4 of the way in. When I press on the outside I can actually easily cause them to disappear temporarily.

What in the world could cause this? The only thing I can think would be different on that side is potential salt creep as it’s close to against the wall. That shouldn’t cause this though! I’m really hoping this is cosmetic and not structural, or if I need to replace it that it isn’t urgent.

I wonder if there is anything I can do stop it and/or repair it since it’s still dry. Maybe clean any salt off too start… Maybe chip off the loosest of it and jam it with two part epoxy? I have some PC-7 here.

A bunch of photos…

Any help is much appreciated. I do not like this.

 

[musel101]

How long have you had the tank for?
As much as a pain in the butt as it might be is it possible for you to drain the tank and reseal it?
There is a couple of clamps that can help hold the glass in place too, if you want extra support while you reseal it. You can buy them at Home Depot

 

[musel101]

My guess is they did a crappy job caulking the seams. The worst thing that can happen is if you don’t take care of it now it breaks a couple of months a couple of weeks or a year or two down the road.

 

[Brian1f1]

How long have you had the tank for?
As much as a pain in the butt as it might be is it possible for you to drain the tank and reseal it?
There is a couple of clamps that can help hold the glass in place too, if you want extra support while you reseal it. You can buy them at Home Depot

Almost six years. It’s possible. Really sucks. I guess that’d be easier than buying a new one. I have no idea what I’m doing. Would I have to strip it all off? Could I do it with the tank in place? How long would it be out of commission?

I will search… I know it could be so much worse, but I just finally got it good and spent a ton on live stock. Thanks for the reply.

 

[musel101]

Almost six years. It’s possible. Really sucks. I guess that’d be easier than buying a new one. I have no idea what I’m doing. Would I have to strip it all off? Could I do it with the tank in place? How long would it be out of commission?

I will search… I know it could be so much worse, but I just finally got it good and spent a ton on live stock. Thanks for the reply.

I built a couple of acrylic tanks whenever I did repair on some of my glass tanks or friends.
It’s always good to go over the existing caulking it’s on the scene with a fine sandpaper so you roughen up the caulking so when you apply a new layer over it, it sticks way better. And just make sure when you do it you clean the area really good too with a damp rag and a little bit of alcohol.

 

[Brian1f1]

My guess is they did a crappy job caulking the seams. The worst thing that can happen is if you don’t take care of it now it breaks a couple of months a couple of weeks or a year or two down the road.

Any chance I could sort of inject something into it since it’s on the dry side without draining it that would do the trick?

 

[musel101]

Almost six years. It’s possible. Really sucks. I guess that’d be easier than buying a new one. I have no idea what I’m doing. Would I have to strip it all off? Could I do it with the tank in place? How long would it be out of commission?

I will search… I know it could be so much worse, but I just finally got it good and spent a ton on live stock. Thanks for the reply.

But honestly, I deal with it sooner rather than later you don’t wanna be at work or on vacation and have this thing break and lose everything. Even if you got a 55 gallon trashcan with a wave maker and submersible filter or air, stone and a heater your fish and corals will be fine in there depending on what kind of fish.

 

[musel101]

Any chance I could sort of inject something into it since it’s on the dry side without draining it that would do the trick?

If it’s on the dry side, yeah I’m not a problem at all. I’d still get a couple of clamps to hold it together so it gets a good seal.

 

[Brian1f1]

If it’s on the dry side, yeah I’m not a problem at all. I’d still get a couple of clamps to hold it together so it gets a good seal.

It’s on the dry side. Isn’t that strange? I think you’re right in that it’s a crap job. Maybe has been this way and I didn’t notice. There are areas that are straight up holes with tunnels. Like maybe bubbles?

I’ll clamp it and try to gently dig out what’s loose and force new silicon in with the old.

Can you point me in the right direction on clamps? I’m clueless. I will google the rest!

 

[musel101]

It’s on the dry side. Isn’t that strange? I think you’re right in that it’s a crap job. Maybe has been this way and I didn’t notice. There are areas that are straight up holes with tunnels. Like maybe bubbles?

I’ll clamp it and try to gently dig out what’s loose and force new silicon in with the old.

Can you point me in the right direction on clamps? I’m clueless. I will google the rest!

They’re similar to this, and they have them in a bigger size.

 

[musel101]

It’s on the dry side. Isn’t that strange? I think you’re right in that it’s a crap job. Maybe has been this way and I didn’t notice. There are areas that are straight up holes with tunnels. Like maybe bubbles?

I’ll clamp it and try to gently dig out what’s loose and force new silicon in with the old.

Can you point me in the right direction on clamps? I’m clueless. I will google the rest!

The DIY king uses clamps on YouTube. Also he has a couple videos on building Fish tanks.

 

[musel101]

It’s on the dry side. Isn’t that strange? I think you’re right in that it’s a crap job. Maybe has been this way and I didn’t notice. There are areas that are straight up holes with tunnels. Like maybe bubbles?

I’ll clamp it and try to gently dig out what’s loose and force new silicon in with the old.

Can you point me in the right direction on clamps? I’m clueless. I will google the rest!

And if you have any other questions, feel free to ask

 

[Brian1f1]

Advised by RedSea that it’s cosmetic. We shall see!