How Long???

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FishGuest5123

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How long can we expect a glass tank that is constantly filled and cleaned to last? How about one that is used, drained and stored and then used again?
 
How long can we expect a glass tank that is constantly filled and cleaned to last? How about one that is used, drained and stored and then used again?
Do you mean last like material? Or last as in a cycle? Or the scape of the tank?
 
It depends on what you use to clean it. If you fill it with bleach and leave it to soak for a week, the silicon will break down in a matter of months and the tank will fall apart. If you wash the tank with soapy water or just plain water, it should last 20+ years assuming the silicon is good quality. Cheap poor quality silicon can break down after a year but most good brands of silicon will last at least 20+ years as long as they aren't exposed to bleach or other highly alkaline substances.
 
It depends on what you use to clean it. If you fill it with bleach and leave it to soak for a week, the silicon will break down in a matter of months and the tank will fall apart. If you wash the tank with soapy water or just plain water, it should last 20+ years assuming the silicon is good quality. Cheap poor quality silicon can break down after a year but most good brands of silicon will last at least 20+ years as long as they aren't exposed to bleach or other highly alkaline substances.
Yeah, what he said! ;)
 
What if you washed one with bleach and let it sit for 30 minutes?
 
Yeah, I did that to a 20 long and now worried. It’s been full again for several months.
 
No, I just don’t Want to come home to dead fish on the floor and a flooded floor. :(
 
What if you washed one with bleach and let it sit for 30 minutes?
If the silicon is a good brand and you rinsed it out well after, it should be fine. I bleached most of my tanks a few times and they were still holding water 10 years later.
 
I think it would take more of a long term exposure to chlorine bleach in concentration before it would begin to degrade the silicone - not what one might do to sterilize a tank.
Having 'said' that, used tanks that have been in dry storage for an unspecified amount of time may be do/overdue to be resealed. Even so, I have a couple of used tanks that I didn't even test - just cleaned and setup and they seem fine for several months now. (bear in mind that these are tanks in my unfinished basement, so if they leak, it's a pain, but not as much of a pain as if they were in living space (with floors, carpet, and a wife that barely tolerates the hobby! <g>)
 

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