leaking aquarium!

Aquarius Keeper

I woke up this morning to a rhythmic tapping sound. Upon investigating, I found it was saltwater dripping from my old 30g to the floor. About 20 minutes later it was becoming a steady stream - one corner of the aquarium was peeling open and water was trickling out.

I quickly removed the fish, live rock and equipment to a rubbermaid tub and drained the aquairum.

So now what??

Is this realistically something I can fix with a tube of aquarium silicon, or do I need to buy a new aquarium?? I was laid off a few months ago and really don't have a budget for this. Has anyone done a do-it-yourself aquarium repair? Any pointers?

Thanks!

Jonathan

Pasfur

Given the cost of a 30 gallon tank, i would suggest you buy a new aquarium. A 55 gallon would work out nicely.-)

onefish2fish

well, what caused this? a mantis? a bump into the tank? a rock collapse?

depending on how bad the damage is it would be repairable but seeing that its only a 30 gal a search on www.craigslist.com will prob. allow you to find a similiar sized tank pretty cheap if not free.

Aquarius Keeper

I dunno what caused it - no recent bumps or anything. I just woke up and found it getting ready to blow. I bought it used so it might just be really old...

Maybe looking for a good deal on a used aquarium is the best way to go. I guess they'll be comfortable in the rubbermaid for a week or two if they have to be. I don't think I can go any larger than 30g though until I move out of this tiny apartment - my landlord was already worried about the 30g.

My mantids are doing fine by the way. :)

If anybody has any advice on fixing a leak, let me know!

Thanks,

Jonathan

onefish2fish

i need to know how bad the damage is to even acess if it is fixable or worth fixing for that matter. seeing that its just a 30 gallon i would say its not worth the headache as you can prob. find another used one for alittle more then the $10 aquarium silicone.

Aquarius Keeper

Basically one of the front corners has a leak (i.e. it's not a break in the glass, it's that the silicone isn't holding the glass pieces together) so the front was starting to come loose and "push off" on one side - was getting worse quickly before I drained it.

The only reason I'm asking is because (hope this isn't too much info) I have been laid off for three months and spending even $20 on another aquarium stresses me out right now - also I have a 30g-high so if I found a standard 29g that would mean also buying a new top, new light bulb, etc...

And I DO have half a tube of aquarium silicone from an old misadventure, but I've never used it to build or repair an aquarium, and the biggest nightmare of all would be to botch the job and have the whole thing burst one night, flooding the apartment downstairs with water, which would probably get me evicted.

But you're probably right, I should just keep my eyes peeled for a deal on craiglist.

Jonathan