Salt Creep.......

[BEELZEBOB]

my lil tank is all oldschool and ghetto.

the top edge has your standard black plastic rim/bracket around the perimeter.

as time has passed, i believe the silicon seal between the glass and the black plastic has failed....

so i get salt creep around the bottom edge of the plastic rim.


I WAS WONDERING; could i just apply a bead of silicon around the bottom outside edge of the plastic?

could i also drop the water leven and lay a bead along the interior rim as well? or is gooey silicon and tank inhabitants a bad combo?

 

[BigAl07]

I think if it comes into contact with the water while it's curing it's VERY bad.. have heard of (not 1st hand experience mind you) of new sumps/fuges crashing a tank....

 

[Witfull]

when you do water change,and inside water level is lower,,,,add a bead,,,,WTF, couldnt hurt right?

 

[BEELZEBOB]

i dont know!!!!

im cool doin the outside rim, but the inside scares me.

 

[Witfull]

inside is your best bet!

 

[BEELZEBOB]

but do you think there is anything bad that could happen exposing the water and stuff to uncured silicone?

 

[WatchinFish]

just make sure the water is low enough for it to cure and use aquarium silicone. it only takes 24 hours to cure(maybe a lil longer, but not much). other then that i would to it on the inside. pluss it would look much nicer and would be more of a sure thing. after it cures just do a water change to get rid of any bild up of crap in your water from haveing your system turned off. also you might wanna put your heater in the tank its self so your temp doesnt drop during the cureing process. and if you have any powerheads, keep them running so water still flows. it should work out fine and wouldnt be to dificult

 

[lcstorc]

Good thing I like you Bob. This took forever to find.
http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/reef-chronicles/16203-woodys-120-escapade-165.html#post368600

Doni had a big problem when she made a new sump and the silicone had not cured properly.
I case the link doesn't get you right there it starts on pg 134 of her thread.

 

[BEELZEBOB]

ah man, thatnks so much lynn

 

[nikkipigtails]

I think if you lower the water level, you'll be fine. I had to do the same thing to my 180 about a month ago. I dropped the water level 4", siliconed around the inside, let it cure for 48 hours and everything's been fine.

 

[Frankie]

I see no problem with lowering the water Bob and running a bead around the inside rim. I agree with Dave that your better off then on the out side. If your not to confident you can do a clean job float a piece of acrylic on the waters surface to prevent it from dropping in the water.

 

[BEELZEBOB]

word.

hey the make black aquarim silicone right?

my issue here is that i think that the salt creep is messin w/ my SG.

because not only do i loose h20 to evap, but the capilary effect of the rim is taking out salt too.

so im worried that my fresh top off will like, LOWER the SG, not keep it stable

 

[ZAPCOnj]

i dont know!!!!

im cool doin the outside rim, but the inside scares me.

If you sealed the outside rim and the inside still leaks in to the void, then you will have old nasty salt and water residue trapped in between the rim and the inside of the tank. I would imagine that eventually you will find some odd things floating around in the water as it collects in there.

If you lower the water level and run the silicone bead in the tank. maybe let it cure for a day or two with the lower water level to make sure its good, then add water to bring the level back up. to snuff.

on top of that.. unless your Silicone and calking skills are up to snuff you may end up with a nasty smudgy gooey mess around the outer rim of your tank. At least if you do the inside most of the smudgy stuff will be ninja and not viewable to the outside unless you're looking in to the tank from the top.