Tank seal has been damaged.

[fisherc92]

hello all 9 days ago i moved from cleveland to columbus with my 40G AIO. all my corals and 8 fish survived. The tank its self looking like it wont... The floors at my new apartment are not as nice. i went from hardwood floors to carpet and wooden underneath. Long story short the tank on the current stand is not very sturdy. It has a bad wobble to it, even after my terrible shimming job.
I inspected the tank a couple days ago and noticed cracking in 3 of the 4 corners where the seals and glass connect, of course at the lowest part of the tank.

2 days ago i was inspecting the worst seam damage and ran my finger over it and salt was on my finger after, no water yet. this morning i ran my finger over it again and again salt but no water. My current tank stand is that cardboard crap. I had a new tank stand made by a very close friend who has been welding for 30 years. I was ready to drain and move it over the to the new stand when i saw the damage.

Ive already been playing chance for a week now with my tank unbalanced. now its been 4 days since ive noticed the cracks, and under 24 hours since ive seen salt accumulation. And am no longer confident that moving the tank to its new stand will save what will eventually happen. I have four 10 gallon brutes, two 5 gallon buckets, and a 10G breeder from petco ready at the whim. My RODI unit wont hook up to my sinks at this apartment, they have smaller connections and underneath the pipes are too small for my fittings so i need to find smaller adapters. So i havent been able to clean my testers or cuvettes to test my water or make backup saltwater. I put about 15 gallons new saltwater in when we moved on the 20th and today put 5 new gallons in and took 5 gallons out to my new build.... I have no locals who are into the hobby. I made a facebook post in some ohio saltwater groups a week ago and got literally no responses.

Today I went out and purchased a 32.5 Flux fluval with 25 pounds of sand. I added the sand and some water from my water change on the cracked tank. My question is how long can I allow this sand and water to sit? I added the clarity packets but there is no movement in the tank so will I be ruining this sand?because the new old stand is a 22 x 22 cube he said he will gladly make me a new one. I don't fully trust it on that stand. My new stand for the fluval should be done within the week. Do I transfer everything over or hold out for my new stand . I set my fluval on my kitchen table for the time being.

 

[RedReefer]

I would not fill it. With damage and separation at the seams its bound to leak or burst!

 

[fisherc92]

I would not fill it. With damage and separation at the seams its bound to leak or burst!

It's been filled.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

If it were me, I would get everything out of the damaged tank asap even if I had to move the critters to a LFS temporarily.

 

[ggNoRe]

I would definitely transfer everything over if I was you. Good thing you caught the issue before it was too late!

 

[fisherc92]

I was gonna wait for this sand dust to settle, add rock, fill with water, and all fish and coral and biomedia. How long till water clears?

 

[ggNoRe]

I would just use water and rock from your current system which should give you an instantly ready to go tank. As long as the sand is pre-rinsed and you use a plate or something similar on top of the sand to pour water on top of you shouldn't be dealing with too much cloudiness.

 

[Gup]

hello all 9 days ago i moved from cleveland to columbus with my 40G AIO. all my corals and 8 fish survived. The tank its self looking like it wont... The floors at my new apartment are not as nice. i went from hardwood floors to carpet and wooden underneath. Long story short the tank on the current stand is not very sturdy. It has a bad wobble to it, even after my terrible shimming job.
I inspected the tank a couple days ago and noticed cracking in 3 of the 4 corners where the seals and glass connect, of course at the lowest part of the tank.

2 days ago i was inspecting the worst seam damage and ran my finger over it and salt was on my finger after, no water yet. this morning i ran my finger over it again and again salt but no water. My current tank stand is that cardboard crap. I had a new tank stand made by a very close friend who has been welding for 30 years. I was ready to drain and move it over the to the new stand when i saw the damage.

Ive already been playing chance for a week now with my tank unbalanced. now its been 4 days since ive noticed the cracks, and under 24 hours since ive seen salt accumulation. And am no longer confident that moving the tank to its new stand will save what will eventually happen. I have four 10 gallon brutes, two 5 gallon buckets, and a 10G breeder from petco ready at the whim. My RODI unit wont hook up to my sinks at this apartment, they have smaller connections and underneath the pipes are too small for my fittings so i need to find smaller adapters. So i havent been able to clean my testers or cuvettes to test my water or make backup saltwater. I put about 15 gallons new saltwater in when we moved on the 20th and today put 5 new gallons in and took 5 gallons out to my new build.... I have no locals who are into the hobby. I made a facebook post in some ohio saltwater groups a week ago and got literally no responses.

Today I went out and purchased a 32.5 Flux fluval with 25 pounds of sand. I added the sand and some water from my water change on the cracked tank. My question is how long can I allow this sand and water to sit? I added the clarity packets but there is no movement in the tank so will I be ruining this sand?because the new old stand is a 22 x 22 cube he said he will gladly make me a new one. I don't fully trust it on that stand. My new stand for the fluval should be done within the week. Do I transfer everything over or hold out for my new stand . I set my fluval on my kitchen table for the time being.

Aggravations. Such a shame.

I did note though that your new tank is one that I was seriously considering purchasing last January. Only it was just a little too small for my space and need. So I went with a 55 gallon high

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive repaired numerous number of tanks. This is not as bad as it will sound- rather easy.
Place your livestock in a rubbermaid tub or similar. Drain tank and refill with freshwater to dissolve remaining salt and empty again.
Using a sharp razor blade or razor knife like box cutter , Cut away one bead at a time. Scrape away all silicone and rub clean with a cotton/lint free rag and clean area with rubbing alcohol. Place new bead of aquarium sealant - Not silicone and smooth out with popsicle stick or wet finger. Aqueon aquarium sealant works great.
Allow to dry at least 10 hours. Go to next bead and so forth. Allow to dry addition 24-48 hours and water test with fresh water. If all good, add salt to desired salinity, add liquid bacteria and plan restock next day.
Youre about 7 hours from me- Bring it to WI and I'll do it for you

 

[ScottJ]

I was gonna wait for this sand dust to settle, add rock, fill with water, and all fish and coral and biomedia. How long till water clears?

The water should clear in a few hours, or overnight once you fill and get the pump running. I would just transfer everything and let the water clear up. The cloudiness shouldn't bother anything.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Unless you DO decide to bring it to Wisconsin and take @vetteguy53081 up on his very generous offer, I’d say ‘chuck it’ and start fresh.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I would switch asap. I have that exact Aquatop tank and stand. I didn't sleep for 3 weeks when I put that stand together and had the tank on it. I could move the entire thing while cleaning the glass...... It has done fine on hardwood floors for me so far.

The tank, Yea that took a smack on something as you can see the impact point. I wouldn't t try to reuse it if it were me. That would terrify me just looking at it.
I think what you have going for you is that the Aquatop tanks seem to have a quality silicone job done to them. Mine was very clean. Your crack isn't in a real high pressure place so I wouldn't panic about it, but I would change everything over to another system.

That sand will settle after about 48 - 72 hours when you get your filtration going. It won't hurt anything if it was the live sand in a bag type. I like that Fluval actually.

 

[scardall]

Ive repaired numerous number of tanks. This is not as bad as it will sound- rather easy.
Place your livestock in a rubbermaid tub or similar. Drain tank and refill with freshwater to dissolve remaining salt and empty again.
Using a sharp razor blade or razor knife like box cutter , Cut away one bead at a time. Scrape away all silicone and rub clean with a cotton/lint free rag and clean area with rubbing alcohol. Place new bead of aquarium sealant - Not silicone and smooth out with popsicle stick or wet finger. Aqueon aquarium sealant works great.
Allow to dry at least 10 hours. Go to next bead and so forth. Allow to dry addition 24-48 hours and water test with fresh water. If all good, add salt to desired salinity, add liquid bacteria and plan restock next day.
Youre about 7 hours from me- Bring it to WI and I'll do it for you

question if only one seal/ side corner failed would you redo the other corners as well?

 

[vetteguy53081]

question if only one seal/ side corner failed would you redo the other corners as well?

I generally don’t but if in question, now is the time while empty

 

[BanjoBandito]

I kept an entire tank worth of coral and fish in rubber made tubs for a week+ while I’ve repaired tanks, moved, and/or setup new tanks. The hardest part is keeping the lights setup. I agree with vetteguys advice. That tank can be repaired. It’s the seals not the actual panels. I bet you could get him to cook you dinner and you might learn something if you do take a drive! I’m outside of Pittsburgh so I’m about as far away and my kids and wife won’t tolerate me on my fish tank BS during easter! Lol. Good luck!

 

[fisherc92]

thanks for the replies. i currently have a 10Gal aqueon and a 32.5 flex setup and running. this tank and stand still sit in my living room. its been winter so ive been hibernating on the project. my girlfriend hates it though and i told her id figure it out with he weather getting nicer. i would like to keep and use the tank. its good size and i upgraded to return inlet hole from half inch to inch or something like that for better return... it has value. i need to get the tank clean and flipped over so i can see the extent of the damage. i have no reefer friends in columbus and these shops are gonna bend me over just to look at it. im gonna get back to you guys on here. thanks for the support