# 150 gallon tank is Leaking...please help..picture inside.



## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

this is absolutely horrible. my first big wannabe planted tank and it's leaking. Please help. yesterday i fill the tank 15% in the backyard with out any leaking. now after adding flourite substrate in the house and fill the water up 50%, it start to leak at bottom left corner, and the front center. No sign of crack. i bought the "perfecto aquarium sealant" at petsmart to reseal it. but not sure if i'm doing it correct, so i need you all help before i start on it.
i'm not sure if i add the subtrate in the center too much that's why it leaking. the tank leaking at the bottom and a little at the back. also there's a crack on the plastic at the center of the tank. this picture took right after i clean the mess up. 

My question is :
Should i reseal the tank? how hard is it? is it safe later on for the tank this size? is "Perfecto Aquarium Sealant" silicone a good brand?
is it unsafe since there's a crack on the plastic panel?


here's the tank. sorry,i can't seem to rotate the picture since i dont have photoshop. 










this pic, it leak at the bottom and spill up on the crack of the plastic.









in this picture, the middle plastic panel crack and water leaking out. a lot of dripping on the front left and center. is it unsafe?









*Thank you for helping me out yall.*


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## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

You should take all pieces apart ,clean/remove silicone ,reseal.
a lot of work but that is the only way you can be 100% sure is done right.
It is not as hard as you think,I did it with my 100 gal.tank .
Remember,its never wise to buy a second hand fish tank.
If you decide to separate and reseal your tank,I will help you get through it.


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## Rod Hay (Feb 11, 2006)

On a second hand tank: a 15% fill up for testing is *NEVER* good enough. I would always test by filling 100% full, and leaving the water a full 24 hrs to test for any leak....small or large. Heck, that's what I do even with a new 20gallon tank.

*How good is your home-owners insurance?????* Want to find out???? Unless you've got that baby in a basement with a floor drain close by, no carpeting anywhere on the same floor, and nothing valuable lower than 2ft to the ground...drain it and get rid of it. Patching a leak is never enough. If you like DIY stuff, and you're good at it (and careful) you can strip and reseal it. I'd still be concerned about the plastic brace being cracked.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

That sucks. Where you get it? off craig's list? Where you at in TN?

If you decide you don't want to fix it, I'll take it off your hands for cheap.  

:bounce:


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## tpl*co (Nov 4, 2006)

Is it brand new? If you bought it at the store it is defective and you should get your money back or a replacement!

Tina


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

Thanks for everyone advices. hey distrbd, is it safe since the plastic brace crack and water leak out of it? when you mean take all pieces apart, do you mean the plastic brace too? 





distrbd said:


> You should take all pieces apart ,clean/remove silicone ,reseal.
> a lot of work but that is the only way you can be 100% sure is done right.
> It is not as hard as you think,I did it with my 100 gal.tank .
> Remember,its never wise to buy a second hand fish tank.
> If you decide to separate and reseal your tank,I will help you get through it.


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

hey mcclellan, i lived in memphis, TN. so its 6 hrs drive from knoxville. haha you still want it? 



macclellan said:


> That sucks. Where you get it? off craig's list? Where you at in TN?
> 
> If you decide you don't want to fix it, I'll take it off your hands for cheap.
> 
> :bounce:


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## TigerLilly (Oct 11, 2004)

Well, I can see why. You set it up sideways!! lol!!!


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## Hypancistrus (Oct 28, 2004)

Switch from glass to acrylic tanks. Acrylic tanks are pre molded and have no seams. No seams = no leaks.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

IMO the plastic brace isn't what keeps the water in the tank. It's the silicone between the glass panels. The brace just hides the ugly glueing job, and adds a little bit more structural stability. So if it is leaking where the brace cracked, just siliconing that back together wouldn't really solve the problem.

If you would do what distrbd suggests, you'd have to remove the brace (which will destroy it I believe...).

Good luck... :frown:


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

What a disappointment! See if you can get inspired in the vivarium forum. Orchids and tree frogs? It's a nice tall tank for that, and you'd have to be creative with your water, but you can still have a lot of fun with a semi-aquatic planted tank.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

*baowow*, If you do what *Mori* suggests (great idea!!!!)
you could set up your water portion on the right-side of the tank, where there is no leak!

All you would have to do is, cut a piece of plexi-glass and silicone it to section off the tank.

The left-side with the leak, you could patch up as best you can and then fill it up with soil and plants and will ultimately be your land area :angel: :angel: 

If you re-seal it, you MUST do it _correctly_ or else your efforts will end in even more disappointment.


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

Thank you Yoko. yeah it's a nice tank. i dont know if i should reseal it or not. it seem like everyone afraid of resealing it. i might as well buy a 120 gallon tank to replace this. maybe i get more light on the bottom since this is too tall anyway. 
This is my last time buying a used tank.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

*baowow*, I feel bad. Don't toss it, keep it in storage. Maybe after building the new tank and you get bored, you may want to build a Paludarium :angel: 

Did you know it was cracked before you bought it?

I feel really bad :0( 

RE: Reseal.
I think it would depend on how confident you are in your skills (i.e. if you've had prior experience, etc). It's just that there is a lot at stake here. It's not a 10g, you know? I've experience a mini-flood in my bedroom, due to shelf failure. It was a horrible experience.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

It would also depend on if it were going in a basement or not...my last basement had drains in the floor going directly to the sewer. Very old school. On the bright side, you're not out THAT much money--the stand is a big chunk of the price and you still have that!

(And the other bright side, it really would have been hard to work on that thing!)


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## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

Alright I'm back,sorry for replying late ,I was at work.
You must separate all 4 sides(panes) , remove the silicone from the seams, this is the part that takes so long.if you pay close attention to the way aquariums are sealed its 2 small pieces (right and left sides)which are glued or sandwiched between the 2 big pieces(front and back sides),what holds the tank together is the silicone that we put on the edges of the small side pieces to glue them to the front and back pieces,and of course the bottom piece keeps it all square,so if the braces are cracked don't worry too much ,your big problem is to carefully separate the front /back pieces from right ,and left sides.I used a sharp knife ,and piano wire ,if you take your time and do this step carefully ,you have won half the battle.
it took me a couple of hours a day after work for 2 weeks to do this on my 100 gal.if you decide to commit yourself to do this project ,let me know .
do you have basement or a place where you could do this for a few days or longer?


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

distrbd said:


> Alright I'm back,sorry for replying late ,I was at work.
> You must separate all 4 sides(panes) , remove the silicone from the seams, this is the part that takes so long.if you pay close attention to the way aquariums are sealed its 2 small pieces (right and left sides)which are glued or sandwiched between the 2 big pieces(front and back sides),what holds the tank together is the silicone that we put on the edges of the small side pieces to glue them to the front and back pieces,and of course the bottom piece keeps it all square,so if the braces are cracked don't worry too much ,your big problem is to carefully separate the front /back pieces from right ,and left sides.I used a sharp knife ,and piano wire ,if you take your time and do this step carefully ,you have won half the battle.
> it took me a couple of hours a day after work for 2 weeks to do this on my 100 gal.if you decide to commit yourself to do this project ,let me know .
> do you have basement or a place where you could do this for a few days or longer?


hey distrbd, thanks for taking time to reply. anyway i dont have a basement or a place where i could do this, pretty small house. seem like i have no choice but to give the tank away. actually i bought the tank, stand, fluval 404 canister, and some other random stuff for $200. so i guess it's ok. i probably buy the 120g tank to replace it. I'm going to buy it at glasscages.com which is 2 and 1/2 hour s away from my city. 
Thanks everyone for helping me out.


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## jfoster38122 (Apr 23, 2007)

hey guys i'm in memphis....lookin for other folks in the area to help me get started and let me see their tanks to get ideas. i'm going for a planted discus tank

jerry


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## MemphisBob (May 2, 2007)

Hey Jerry and bao, I not only live in Memphis but in the same zip as Jerry. LMK if you need anything. Maybe we'll meet up at Bob's tropicals.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

baowow said:


> I'm going to buy it at glasscages.com which is 2 and 1/2 hour s away from my city.


$200, you got a sweet deal, even without the tank!

If your going to Nashville to pick up the new tank, you can just swing by Knoxville and drop the old beast off first.  Free beer and plants for your trouble! 

Seriously though, I was planning on going to glass cages sometime soon just to 'look around' and talk about rimless tanks (for a > or = 90g SA tank). If you are taking a big truck over to Nashville, maybe I could meet you?

The 'aquarium scene' here in Knoxville pretty much sucks. Seems Memphis and Nashville have a lot more going on.

~joel


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

macclellan said:


> $200, you got a sweet deal, even without the tank!
> 
> If your going to Nashville to pick up the new tank, you can just swing by Knoxville and drop the old beast off first.  Free beer and plants for your trouble!
> 
> ...


haha yeah, actually i was in knoxville last weekend. not much there. hey macclellan, have you buy any tank from glasscages? i dont know how good there quality. also do you need an appointment to go check it out? or they have a store for you to come in at anytime? 



jfoster38122 said:


> hey guys i'm in memphis....lookin for other folks in the area to help me get started and let me see their tanks to get ideas. i'm going for a planted discus tank
> jerry


 hey Jerry, i'm from memphis too. not many in memphis that i know of really into plant tank. but i'm in the same boat with you. i would love to see some in memphis with a nice tank so i can envy. 



MemphisBob said:


> Hey Jerry and bao, I not only live in Memphis but in the same zip as Jerry. LMK if you need anything. Maybe we'll meet up at Bob's tropicals.


hey MemphisBob, I went to Bob's tropical the other day. boy are they expensive. most of there fish pretty good quality, however pricey.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

baowow said:


> haha yeah, actually i was in knoxville last weekend. not much there. hey macclellan, have you buy any tank from glasscages? i dont know how good there quality. also do you need an appointment to go check it out? or they have a store for you to come in at anytime?


Lots of folks on www.cichlid-forum.com get their tanks from Glass Cages and have good things to say about them.

Yes, you do need to make an appointment.


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## jfoster38122 (Apr 23, 2007)

Hey Bob and Baowow, let's hook up and trade notes. I just started in the FW planted tank so I am sure I will have the most questions LOL. I work 7 days a week, but most weekday nights are cool. Send me a PM and we can trade numbers. 

Jerry


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## sherry (Mar 4, 2004)

I had a terrible experience with Glass Cages. They shpped me an acrylic tank cracked all over. They were very rude and refused to replace teh tank because a friend got on the phone and asked them to so expeditiously. We hadn't taken the tank out of the box until the fish and plants arrived because I live in a small place and was upgrading from a 12 to the 30 gallon.. and figured I'd do it all at once and avoid a cycle by existing filter and mulm. I kept the tank in the box to protect it.. ugh.

so with all the stock in hand, the discovery was a disaster made worse by their total lack of regard. In the end American Express bought me a new more expensive tank on their buyers assurance since Glass Cages was so egregious in their poor customer service. I bought an acrylic tank on line from angelo at www.saline.solutions.net and it is gorgeous , was beautifully packed and arrived perfectly. 

I highly recommend them.


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

jfoster38122 said:


> Hey Bob and Baowow, let's hook up and trade notes. I just started in the FW planted tank so I am sure I will have the most questions LOL. I work 7 days a week, but most weekday nights are cool. Send me a PM and we can trade numbers.
> 
> Jerry


yeah definitely will. MemphisBob already send me a PM. call you all soon once i get back from Belize.


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## Shadow (Sep 19, 2006)

Iv actually bought 2 used tanks off of craiglist. One was a 75g that the lady used for her iguana for a year. She bought it brand new and wev had no leaks yet.
The second is a 125g tank that came with a 20g, 10g, stand/light, tons of filters, various equipment and gravel's. This that cost $350. It was $225 for the tank and things and $125 for the uhal as we did not have a big enough car. This was used at the University of Minnesota to study fish.

So not all second hand tanks are bad


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## RandyB (Mar 15, 2007)

What if you cut a piece of plexi-glass and tightly siiconed it over the area with the crack. Like a bandage. I don't know if this would work at all, just a thought.


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## BlueRam (Sep 21, 2004)

Sorry if I missed something, but is it possible for baowow to simply remove the exposed parts of the effected seam and reseal in place?

Is there a crack or is the danger that once damaged, the whole seam can "rip"?

I have only repaired two much smaller glass tanks.


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## kath (Nov 12, 2006)

*reasealing a tank yes it can be done and its not hard*

baowow, no reason to get rid of the tank

a little time and patience and some very sore fingers and you will be good to go
no reason to take off the plastic trim
the trim on tanks is exactly that trim no structural support at all.....unless the tank is euro braced or has a center plastic brace across the top of the tank....dont even worry about that crack in the plastic trim at the bottom of the tank....every single tank i own are used, exception of my first tank that is now over 20 yrs old and has been resealed once....why buy a new tank when i can spend $10 a reseal it myself???? 
ive resealed 2 160gs, 5 75gs, and who knows how many smaller tanks
all are holding fine and have no leaks ....and have another 180g tank sitting on the back porch waiting to be resealed...

there is no reason to take the panes of glass apart, if you do they are almost impossible to get back in the correct position... otherwise BIG waste of time...


heres how to reseal the tank...

get a couple tubes of all glass aquarium silicone, esp since its a large tank $6-7 each plus shipping big als has it
do not use the Ge brand that some people recommend thats the only time i have had bad luck resealing tanks.

buy a box of razor blades one of those 100ct boxes that hardware stores carry...

take the tank down and take it outside, you do not want to do this in the house.. take the tank and sit it somewhere thats level as can be

scrape any hard water deposits off the glass and rinse the tank several times...
dry the tank completely,, or let it sit overnight..

nows the fun part...and the sore fingers part 
once you start this you can not move the tank, as it can shift the glass panes around

now there is a trick to doing this, make sure to keep the razor blade at a 45 degree angle.. and also use a new razor blade as soon as it feels like the old one is not as sharp..
now what you want to do is remove all of the silicone inside the tank, being very careful not to cut in between the glass panes, thats why i say use a angel, the hardest parts will be the inside bottom corners but with a little work you will get the silicone out of the corners...

now once you remove all of the silicone that you can see, feel with your fingers anything you missed you will feel it....make sure to remove every trace of the silicone on the glass where the old seal was.....

now get ur trusty dirt sucker, out of the closet and carefully suck up all of the silicone out of the tank, run ur fingers around the corners as you do this to make sure you get all of it

now take rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball and clean the inside of the tank where the original seams were, then run ur fingers around the tank to make sure you didnt miss any....do this several times....
once last cleaning and then let it dry 30 mins or so...

now your ready to reseal the tank.. its just like caulking a tub, floor, window ect it takes practice! for dont be surprised if its not perfect looking like a new tank

get a shot glass ect something you can pour some rubbing alcohol in...

now start at the bottom back, run a single bead of caulk all the way around the bottom of the tank....a pretty good sized bead also
once you have the bead around the bottom of the tank run, dip ur finger in the rubbing alcohol the smooth the seam out making sure that you have no air bubbles trapped between the caulk and the glass.....with that large of a tank, i would do at least a 3/4 wide seam on the bottom of the tank...its not gonna be seen anyways.....

the start with the side seams. do the same thing run single bead of caulk starting at the bottom to the top.. making sure that the bottom of the side seam contacts the bottom seam
make sure and squish the caulk down in the corners good... again remove any air bubbles and repeat for the other 3 sides....
once you are finished let the caulk cure for 48 hrs min!

if you want that perfect caulk look, take masking tape on the sides less than 1/2 inch from the corners before you start caulking the tank...when the caulk cures completely then just remove the tape and you will have straight seams....

then take the tank and move it and lay down several layers of newspaper under the tank and fill the tank, being sure not got get the newspaper wet

let the tank sit for several days, each day check the newspaper to make sure that it is not wet anywhere, i normally let my tanks sit a week outside testing for leaks before i bring them in the house, just as a precaution, if it dont leak within a week theres 90% chance you wont have a leak again...until that silicone wears out...

one other hint, dont do this when its humid outside and look ahead at the weather and make sure its not going to rain, the humidity causes the caulk to take longer to cure and set

normally on a large tank ill make it a weekend project
remove the silicone fri and sat and then reseal the tank on sunday....

if i can do it so can you and im female LOL

now someone wanna come and help me reseal this 180g???


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## kkentert (Jan 21, 2007)

Hypancistrus said:


> Switch from glass to acrylic tanks. Acrylic tanks are pre molded and have no seams. No seams = no leaks.


But acrylic scratches SOOO easy-doesn't it? Don't they look terrible after a couple years? I've always been too scared of that to buy one.
You can also get molded glass tanks that are BEAUTIFUL....


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## sherry (Mar 4, 2004)

my acrylic is scratch free, but I use olive nerite snails to clean my glass and never scrape it.


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## riva (Apr 12, 2007)

I'd sell it to somebody who keeps reptiles or rodents and get another one.


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

kath said:


> baowow, no reason to get rid of the tank
> 
> a little time and patience and some very sore fingers and you will be good to go
> no reason to take off the plastic trim
> ...


Thank you for the wonderful detail, Kath. I just got back from Belize. because of you, I'm now thinking of resealing the tank. but my tank do have the center plastic brace across the top and the bottom. hopefully it will all work out.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Great detail, kath! Kinda sad how you imply females are less capable, though.


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

Thanks to everyone, i finally finished resealing my tank. it's actually very interesting, because i get to learn and experience at the same time. although i had a difficult time get use to the smelly silicone. I'm not really 100% sure that i'm doing it right, so i used a total of 5 bottles of GE silicone I. I know i done a poor job, but it's my first time resealing tank. as you can see the seams are >1/2" thick on each sides and 2" on the bottom. i figure once i place the substrate no one will be able to see the silicone down the bottom. so i'm making sure i'm not going to reseal it again. lesson i've learned is that don't used your fingers to smooth the silicone, rather use a piece of cardboard or hardpaper ,about 2 inches , so you can bend and smooth it out. this create a smoother surface. after finished resealing, i notice the surface i used with my fingers has rough edge, while the one i used with a piece of paper has smoother surface. If anyone resealing their tank, i recommend finding a friend to do this with. Because using a tiny razor blade is not that fun, when the tank is that size. 

while the tank set a side, i get to reinforce the stand, since it seem so weak. I'm pretty sure that's why the plastic brace cracked. Do you think the stand is strong enough for the tank that size? The stand actually come with the tank, but it seem so weak. also, is it OK to continue using the tank, even though the plastic brace cracked? 

I will let the tank dry for 4 days. I plan on filling up the tank outside for 3 days, just to make sure it wont leak again. DO you think i should let the tank sit a little longer to dry since i used a lot of silicone?

Anyway, thanks for everyone helped. I will post and let you all know the result next week.
*
PLEASE LET ME KNOW ANY OTHER TIPS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND.
*


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

I've seen new tanks with worse seals than that! Good job, I think! Can't hurt to add the bracing to the stand. Can you stand on it without it feeling wiggly? That looks like the AllGlass brand stand, and they've been making them like that forever so they must be OK.


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

SUCCESS!!finally, i fill up the tank today. NO LEAK!.....i plan on leaving it for 24hours before i bring in the house.


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## MemphisBob (May 2, 2007)

Good deal, Bao. We need to get together so you can see the stuff I'm getting ready for my 125 gallon. What fishes you gonna keep in there?


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

Hey MemphisBob, I probably keep school fishs such as 50 neon tetra, 30 black tetra, and lots of bosemani, blue rainbows. 


*
NEED HELP!! please*
can anyone let me know if its ok to use the tank, since the bottom brace cracked on the center and on the corner. or should i need to replace the brace. as far as i know, the brace keep tank together and lift the bottom glass up.


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## Mangala (Jul 23, 2006)

That rim on the tank is mostly just decoration. Add a dab of silicon to the crack if it makes you nervous, but you should be fine. (or, if it REALLY makes you nervous, you can add a dab of gorilla glue, which is just about the most awesome glue ever - though I don't know if I trust it <i>inside</i> the tank, outside on the plastic would be just fine)


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## baowow (Oct 15, 2004)

Mangala said:


> That rim on the tank is mostly just decoration. Add a dab of silicon to the crack if it makes you nervous, but you should be fine. (or, if it REALLY makes you nervous, you can add a dab of gorilla glue, which is just about the most awesome glue ever - though I don't know if I trust it <i>inside</i> the tank, outside on the plastic would be just fine)


thanks mangala, yea i was a little nervous at first. can you find gorilla glue at HD or Lowes?


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## MemphisBob (May 2, 2007)

Hubbard's Hardware at Summer and Waring carries Gorilla glue.
I would run a loop of pipe strapping around the bottom to make sure the bottom won't spread. That tank design puts a LOT of weight against the bottom brace and I would want reinforcement.


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