Seeking Fish Tank Repair Tips

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

NicG

AussiePythons Supporter
Supporting Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
560
Reaction score
26
Location
Melbourne
Hi guys,

To ensure I don't have to do this more than once, can people please provide me with some handy hints, do's and don'ts, etc for fixing a leak in a 200+ litre fish tank?

Thanks in advance,
Nic
 
Where is the leak?

When you know where it is can you see what is causing the actual leak?

You will need to cut out all of the silicon in that area and extend that to either side of the fault. Once done then clean the whole area with metho and remove any loose bits. It needs to be pretty clean to ensure a good seal.

I usually do a double seal which involves a line of silicon along the joint and then another bead over that which is smoothed off with a wet fingertip. Another variation of this is to do the above but then place a strip of glass over the area as a patch. Depends on the cause of the leak.

In marine aquaria where the cause of the leak is boring worms the glass patch gives added protection against it happening again.

If it's a crack then you need to address why it cracked and then a patch is usually needed to strengthen that area.

hope it helps
 
As mentioned above remove old silicone clean re-seal with aquarium safe silicone for best results for getting a nice clean bead get a spray bottle with water and dish washing liquid spray the silicone and try not to get to much of a build up of silicone on your finger when wiping it then let I dry for about 7 days
 
First of all, thanks to those who replied. I'm a particular fan of the dishwashing detergent tip.

I finally got around to identfying and fixing the leak ... or so I thought. As it turns out, the trimming camouflaged where the leak actually was.

Which leads me to my next problem. The actual leak is at the bottom of the back wall, which is an issue because the entire back wall has a moulded backing permanently attached to it. So the leak is only accessible from the outside. Is fixing it from one side enough? Any other suggestions?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top