evilknieval69 Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Found a big bulge in the seam in my 250L tank this evening, and have just finished moving all the fish out and emptying the whole tank and taking out sand and stones.... What a mission.... A couple weeks ago i snapped the centre brace on it when it was full and i quickly put an F Clamp accross it and siliconed it all up again and it was sweet, but today i just randomly felt the front seam accross the bottom of the tank (silicone bead connecting front to bottom) and noticed that it was bulging out about 5mm in the middle.... Tank is 10mm glass BTW. It was flush at each end. The whole silicone bead had pushed right out, very freaky, i got to work straight away and had water syphoning out the window within a minute :lol: Anyway, im not exactly sure what im gunna do. I want to put a strip along the front (like a euro brace strip accross the bottom) but i probably need to take the whole front off and re-do the seams to get it all flush again..... Would that be alright? I will try to get some pics of it..... Heres a pic i drew in paint... i know, im talented... The big black strip is the front pane, and the whole pic is looking up from the bottom of the tank.... Oh and sorry for the big ramble, im not very happy atm Ideas please??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 How old is the tank? I would do a rebuild as if the silicone is starting to show signs of tearing through the bottom, it may well mean that its reached the end of its life. A lot of silicones start going down hill after about 10 years. Thats why roof joins in glass will need redoing after a few years. UV light sometimes makes a diference as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 one serious bend Evil will probably require a refit of front pain, misspelt purposely how long did you leave clamp on when you repaired brace, as it takes a while for silicon to fully cure, remember silicon is a sealant not a glue. how old is tank? from description seems like bottom silicon on front pane has been forced out by pressure of water when i have broken top brace before i have half emptied tank and replaced top brace completely hope this helps cheers mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Sorry Rogan, have to go along with Barrie on this one. But putting that brace along the inside of the bottom on the long sides when you rebuild is something that won't be wasted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 silicone takes a minimum of 1 day per mm of join. 6 mm glass takes at least 6 days to cure I always leave mine for 14 days as well so the fumes dispurse and everything is set well and truley. When assembling "frameless showers" often if we have to move some alum. the silicone is still tacky on the inside even after 14 days. In saying that, I have filled small tanks after 24 hours to water test years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted July 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 Thanks guys. The clamp is actually still on the top of the tank :lol: I just left it there and was going to for a little while to realy make sure it was cured properly. I had a look at the back pane last night once i got it empty and noticed that it is bulging too, so it looks like a complete re-build is in order... Dang! I will definately brace not only the front but the entire bottom if i do re-build, just to be B%&*#y sure Dunno how old the tank is cos i bought it second hand, and ive had it for a few years now i think..... Thanks for the help guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 31, 2007 Report Share Posted July 31, 2007 I wouldn't think that bulging along the bottom would have much to do with the bracing at the top being gone. Especially if you've got a clamp there tightened enough to keep it from bulging at the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 As annoyed as you are about having to rebuild.. I bet you're complretely chuffed that you caught it in time!! Good spot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 But i reckon it would have happened when the brace broke. the tank was full at the time so it would have had heaps of bend in it when it went, and it was sitting like that for a minute or so whilst i got the clamp from the garage and pulled it back together again so im guessing it must have started it then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paekakboyz Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 I've got a similar problem which occured when the lengthwise back brace got cracked on a 3ft tank... seems the problem was made worse by the height of the tank (62cm). Dad had it set up for several years like that and I had moved and reset it up before I noticed the bend!! its pretty freaky when you can see the glass curve! I had a few anxious nights thats for sure. I'm getting a new 4ft tank tonight so the 3ft is going to be resealed and rebraced shortly. phew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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