What was I thinking?!

it was a rhetorical question... :-/

 

Well I put all my equipment there and i still have a few leaks so anyone wanna help me make a plan? First I need a new tank... then I guess fill it up? But first lemme see if i can fix this; doubt it though...

 

lol. Sorry about that....

Basically get a new tank, put fish/coral & water in buckets, switch out the tanks & refill. It may take a day or two once you get the new tank.

 

o well no problem but where am I gonna get a tank? If I get a regular tank at lie petco it's like 29 gallons for $29 which is good but what about all the equipment? that'll cost even more and I'm trying not to spend a lot of money. The tank cost me like $250 WITHOUT the stand! :-[

 

how does your tank sit on the stand? If it is not set right in the middle with all edges supported equally you will pop up new leaks. I found that out with my tank...the dummy that installed it did not place it on the stand evenly so one edge was bearing more weight and forced the seams to blow.

What you need to do....and it is not going to be an easy move... is to drain the tank completely.If you have a big rubbermade container you can use this temporarily....otherwise it will eventualy leach out and even crack. I did use a large rubbermade to keep my rock in with a pump to keep the water circulating. But you need to get the tank completely dry...this means you will have to put the sand in a bucket or something and keep it wet. If this can be done in a couple days you might be ok....however if possible I would suggest new sand (I know not cheap....) but you will more then likely go through a major cycle when you put it back in.

Once the tank is down and completely dry, then you need to scrape all the old silicone out of the tank......it sucks big time to do this! use a straight edge razor and take your time.

How to Reseal Fishtank Glass | eHow.com

this site is pretty good at the directions. When you go to reseal it be sure the edges are smooth and pretty. The bottom you cna not worry so much how it looks but it needs to be smooth.

you will need to let this dry for at least 48 hours....i did 72 hours and I think it could have used even another day. Then make sure you do a water test before you put the stuff back in. Use plain water and make sure it fills all the way up. You will need the increased pressure on the tank of it being completley filled in order to see if it is going to leak again and then let that sit for a day. Then no leaks drain it and replace all your stuff.

How I checked for a leak was I taped paper towels all around the tank....on both sides of the seams. I wish I took a picture of how I did it...but makes it very clear if there is leaks!

PIA to do all this but unless you drain it and go from there you will never have a good seal. And this might not even work...again if the seams blew out then you can not ever get a good seal to take!

 

oh to make the seams look better....i used a glove and slowly went up the seam removing the excess. You only need a thin amount of silicone but it needs to be pushed into the actual seam if possible. The first time I did it I did not think I had enough silicone so I went back over it. The seam looked like crap and was not even...so I had to go back and redo it.

DEFINATELY make sure it is well ventilated. I got very dizzy when I had my head inside the tank applying it!

 

It's not his seams that leaked...though your idea is a good one...perhaps he can replace the bottom glass???
I'm not sure if the tank has a bottom plastic rim, which may make it hard to do and/or not be advisable to take off... but it maybe a you could salvage the tank???

 

Run while you can otherwise kiss all your time and money goodbye.

 

I didnt mean that at all, I meant my comment to be hypothetical. By idol I meant something that is put before God, you don't have to necessarily worship it. I didn't mean to accuse you of having an idol, it was just a possible explanation for all the problems you are having, once again not in a derogatory sense at all

 

Oh you didn't accuse me; guess I just inetrpreted it wrong lol