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Question: Bubbles At Tank Seals

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jscherman2

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Hi All,

New to the forum! So I think I may have an issue. I used to have a few fish tanks but I have been out of the "game" for a few years now. I've been looking to get back into recently since I have more space. For my birthday, my wife bought me a used 29 gallon bow front aquarium. Now, I'm all for buying used most of the time but fish tanks I'm weary of just because you don't know really what they've been thru, especially without actually being able to see them in action. My wife has never had a tank before. So she presented me with the tank and I was excited to get back into a hobby I haven't been into for a while now.

Right away, I could tell that the tank has a bunch of extra sealant all around the bottom. Looks to be a not so great job at first sight. Nonetheless, I went ahead and washed it out, put water in it and let it sit. I thought as long as it's structurally sound, then my gravel would cover the sealant. So the next day, there are a TON of bubbles all around where the sealant is at the bottom, as well as the seals going up in the corners. No leaks that I see yet.

Having multiple tanks before, I have never saw this before, so obviously I'm super concerned about the structural integrity of this tank. Do the bubbles mean that air is getting in thru the seals? Should I be concerned here?

TL: DR - Used tank, lots of extra sealant around the bottom, filled with water, LOTS of bubbles forming. Worried about soundness of the tank.

I have pics, they're just too large to upload currently.

Thank you in advance!
Jay
 
If the bubbles are inside are many, this is probably just trapped air when you added water. Try swiping all the bubbles away and observe later to see if there are more without distirbing water. Most likely it is this because the sealant is probably rough and wasnt smoothed out when applied

If the bubbles are outside, it is a leak

If you do have a leak, it is quite simple to repair with aquarium silicone. Some diy shops even sell ones labelled safe for aquarium use
 
Tap water can be saturated with dissolved CO2. This is what causes the bubbles on glass, etc when a new tank is set up. I often see this after a water change too. It could be minute leaks in the sealant of course, but it also may not be anything but normal.

Use a small brush or sponge to remove the bubbles gently (so as not to cause more) and see if they come back. If not, the CO2 is likely the issue. But if bubbles re-appear from within the sealant, that would be more concern. Keep the tank filled for several days on a solid surface; if there are leaks somewhere, water will seep out but it could take a few days.
 
Hi Ive had similar problem years ago in all honesty if your able to drain the tank and remove all silicone that doesn't look as though it should be there and re do it they have done it for a reason so in your case I'd re do the silicone so you know that its done right as a bad seal can go at anytime so it may cost you a lot more than a tube of silicon.
 

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