# Newbie Question - To Reseal tank or not - Fluval Flora



## Spit1A (Apr 7, 2014)

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these forums and this hobby. I'm really excited to start my own tank. I recently purchased a new Fluval Flora tank that was on sale.

I'm a little paranoid about tank leaks as I live in an apartment and want to minimize the chances of water damage.

I've had water in the tank for 1.5 days with no leaks (The foam background did decide to jump out of the tank within the first few hours though...)

Upon closer inspection, I've noticed a very thin area of silicone at one of the bottom corners of the tank. I've included some pictures of both sides of the corner to help show what I mean.

















The red lines indicate where silicone is missing. It's almost like a spherical chunk of silicone was removed from the corner. It's along the back wall of the tank and will be semi protected by the foam background once I put that back in the tank. 
Should I just leave things as is since it's not leaking? Or is this likely to leak as the tank gets older?

I'd like to just clean the glass and existing silicone around that area and put a big blob of new silicone in the corner, but from what I've read, that probably isn't the best idea.

I'm not looking forward to the prospect of removing all the silicone and resealing everything myself...Especially with the rounded front corners of the tank.

So I guess I'm asking what other people think I should do about this, if anything.

Thanks!


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

if in dout SILICONE  I've left tanks that i was weary about and lost the gamble. don't silicone over silicone


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Why not just take the tank back to the store and claim its defective?


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## Spit1A (Apr 7, 2014)

Thanks for the replies guys.

Steve, I got the kit at a going out of business sale for a really good price but they said all sales were final...

Hmmm...well this is fun. First aquarium and I might have to reseal it


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## Spit1A (Apr 7, 2014)

The front and sides of the tank are made from one piece of glass, so the front corners are curved. Does anyone have any tips on how to best remove the silicone from these corners without scoring or scratching the glass? I guess I'll just have to be extra careful...

Also, is black silicone compatible with clear silicone? Will black silicone react negatively to the original clear silicone that is right between the glass panes? (I will remove the existing silicone seals on the inside of the tank but will leave the silicone right between the panes of glass in place.)

Sorry for so many questions!

Thanks!


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Typically when people reseal, they have to remove all silicone as one thing new silicone won't adhere (well) to is old silicone. That being said, the spot that you are concerned about is very small. If it was me, I'd just clean that area the best I could and put a big dab of silicone over it ensuring that the silicone is adhering to glass all around that spot and not just over top of the old silicone. That should keep the spot from getting worse.


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