those that have had an aquarium start leaking...

[Magnum Man]

just gathering experience... I think I've only ever had one start leaking, and that was so long ago, I don't remember the specifics, and I have a lot of old aquariums, including one thick glass 55 gallon from the 60's or 70's that went through a fire, and had never needed repair... but I think my leaker started leaking pretty rapidly right away... it didn't burst, and dump immediately on the floor, and if I remember right, it only went half way down, so a side seam leak... I think any time I noticed just moisture, those came from a filter or air line dripping... any tank failures for you guys??? if so, do you remember the circumstances around it leaking???

this has caused me to open the "way back files" in my mind... ( again, if I remember right ) it was a year or two old 29 gallon tall, this was likely in the 80's... my living arrangements were not as permanent back then, I don't think the tank leaked actually during a move, but it may have been moved a few times, likely drained down to 5-6 inches of water, while moved, so it could have been exposed to those kinds of stresses

 

[Magnum Man]

I started this thread, as I have a damp shelf that a tank is sitting on, I've had drips there before from a power head on an under gravel filter and a hang on back filter not playing well together, and that may be the case again... fingers crossed...

which is why I use structural lumber, and not those glued together saw dust shelves

I turned the power head a touch, and adjusted the spacer between the filter and the back of the tank, to add some more "lean" to the hob, and see if that dries things up...

 

[GaryE]

I checklist the problem, as most leaks aren't the tank. Is there anything that can wick? I one lost 2 inches of water to a thread of java moss that had been snagged over the top edge unseen during a water change. Any splash of mists (common with venturi system power heads)? Any splash in refilling?

I had a couple of tanks that leaked in the top inch, because the manufacturers didn't finish the silicone. They were easy fixes. I also had some manufacturers defect tanks from a small company (what a deal....) that suddenly let loose along the bottom back, in a flood, 3 weeks apart from each other after about a year. I was able to see the siliconing was incomplete - they had done the inside but there was no proper line along the lower edge. When I make my own tanks, I never leave that uncovered.

One well made old 77 gallon burst, after 20 years when I should have known better. I had it in a garage right beside a floor drain, and was able to save the fish. That's in 60 years of having tanks.

Before people panic, I've owned probably 100 to 150 tanks over the years, and I don't turn over. As with cars, I run them til they're toast. 20 year old cars and 20 year old tanks. At 20 with tanks, I either retire them or resilicone them. My failure rate is really low (and the skimpy silicone manufacturer went out of business).

 

[gwand]

I woke up last week to a 2 gallon leak from a 20 gallon long. After much scrutiny the culprit was a piece of floss I forgot to replace that had become totally clogged causing water to escape the filter box.

 

[Innesfan]

I agree. Wicking and filter boxes are the usual suspects and not the tanks themselves.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have had a few tanks develop real leaks. The first one was my very first tank, a 45 gal. AllGlass bought new. The leak was in the front right seam fairly high up. So the amount of water on the floor was not huge.

The next one was the in-wall 75. This developed a very slow leak from the area near the bottom front right side seam. This tank was an AllGlass bought used and was fine for about a decade before the leak.

I had a brand new 20L leak as soon as I filled it. But, I paid so little for it that the loss was minimal. I believe this tank was purchased new from glasscages.com.

The final leaker was my 150 gal AllGlass old style with very thick glass and a raised logo decal which I bought used. It developed a very slow lead from the rear bottom almost in the middle. I had it for at least a decade. I think this tank had to be at least half a century old when oit leaked.

I do not repair leaking tanks, throw them out and replace them. The 150 was replaced with an empty 125 I already had. I bought both tanks used at the same time along with a 40LL, a 33L and a 20L.

Finally, very early on the the Eheim Pro II canister line came out there was a defective piece on it that they had to replace. The defective piece leaked and it let out about 15 gal.s of water onto the hardwood floor. Fortunately there was an old carpet on the floor and it absorbed a lot of the water. The carpet was cut up and thrown away. The floor was dried out and not seriously harmed. This was a new 50 gal. AllGlass which I still have today. Eheim replaced the defective part at no cost. This fixed the problem and I have this filter running fine today some 23 years later.

I have several tanks today that I got used many years ago and which have always held water without leaking. It really is a coin toss as to whether a tank holds up well vs. ones that do not do so and eventually develop a leak.

 

[Back in the fold]

I’ve been lucky over the years . Only two have leaked . One a really old twenty high with a stainless steel frame ( Pemco ) that was sealed new with that old style black tar and the other a brand new All Glass 2 1/2 that was just poor workmanship . I fixed the twenty easily and I still have to do the 2 1/2 .

 

[Magnum Man]

well... I didn't think this latest wetness was caused by a tank actually leaking... figured it out though... a cord for the heater control which is mounted above the tank, ran in front of the hang on back filters output, to the tanks top edge, and water was following it from the filter to the top edge of the tank, and weeping over the edge... I just had to move the cord over an inch... easy fix, harder to identify... I guess technically that counts as water change water, though there are much more practical ways of doing that, that don't involve soaking down the shelf the tank sits on...

but tanks actually leaking seem rare... I have a friend, that succumbed to his wife's paranoia that the 70 gallon in their living room was going to start leaking, and their basement is finished, and she didn't want to move it down there either... so a lost hobbiest, for fear of a leaking rank

 

[Aquaria Pro Aquatics]

well... I didn't think this latest wetness was caused by a tank actually leaking... figured it out though... a cord for the heater control which is mounted above the tank, ran in front of the hang on back filters output, to the tanks top edge, and water was following it from the filter to the top edge of the tank, and weeping over the edge... I just had to move the cord over an inch... easy fix, harder to identify... I guess technically that counts as water change water, though there are much more practical ways of doing that, that don't involve soaking down the shelf the tank sits on...

but tanks actually leaking seem rare... I have a friend, that succumbed to his wife's paranoia that the 70 gallon in their living room was going to start leaking, and their basement is finished, and she didn't want to move it down there either... so a lost hobbiest, for fear of a leaking rank

So glad it wasnt your tank.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have a friend, that succumbed to his wife's paranoia that the 70 gallon in their living room was going to start leaking, and their basement is finished, and she didn't want to move it down there either... so a lost hobbiest, for fear of a leaking rank

Drag .

 

[anewbie]

I've had a 40B bottom split (they say it should only happen if the support is not even but it was) and i've had 2 29s just sort of fall apart - one after 2 years - just started leaking from the bottom seam and another that just sort of fell apoart after 5 years - silicon completely lost adhesiveness (all three were aqueon). Never had one leak due to a thread of java moss or even a hose from the top.

I've heard petco new imagination brand is worse than aqueon which imho was pretty bad.

 

[Back in the fold]

Just curious if anybody else has seen this . I recently drained two of my twenty highs and slipped plywood under them on their metal stands to insulate the bottoms from cold seeping upwards and I noticed a bow along the bottom . The ends sit flat but the middle ten inches or so is bowed upward about 1/32 inch . No leak but it just seems funny . The bottom glass is above anyway , it’s the plastic frame .

 

[Fishmanic]

I had a 10 gal develop a small leak . I could get a new 10 gal for only $10 so it wasn’t worth resealing.

 

[Fishmanic]

When my 30 yr old 35 gallon tall hex tank developed a large leak, I decided that due to the depth of the tank and the fact that the glass had lots of calcium staining, it would be too much of pain in the butt to seal it. This tank was also very difficult to do maintenance on it. I decided it was time to toss it.

I moved the skirt tetras and the BN Pleco into my 29 gallon tank as that tank was lightly stocked with another BN pleco and a few tiger barbs. A few months later, the two BN Plecos spawned and I had over 60 pleco fry. I brought most of the fry to my LFS and got some credit toward other fish. It was a royal pain catching those Plecos.

 

[fishorama]

I've had only 1 tank develop a leak over 40+ years. A 55g suddenly started dripping from a low? spot. Husband wasn't home, so I called a friend & said "Emergency! Bring buckets!" & she did. We rescued all fish. That was my 1st resealing attempt & it worked well.

I have since resealed a couple tanks. Not really hard, like many things it's all about prep. Skip a step & it's not going to work.

I got a $5 40g homemade tank with really wide goopy seals. I could tell that was not a good idea. You have to remove all the old silicone not just plaster more all over. So, I resealed it. It was a DIY tank with thick glass but it sealed just as easily. My 1st & only rimless tank, never again! I may have resealed another 55g +/or a 29g.

Most of my few "leaker" tanks were actually from filters. HOBs not angled toward the tank & water spilling over the filter back. Ick! Hard to see on many tanks...& of course they were on carpet. A major PITA but no resealing involved.