• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Leak repair - please help!

K

kishan313

Member
Joined
4 Jun 2020
Messages
134
Location
London
Hi guys hope you are well I have a custom aquarium which had a heater plumbed through the glass. Unfortunately the heater has broken and seems to have burnt out.

Anyway I noticed that the hole where the heater was plumbed through the glass has also sprung a leak.

Is there anything I can do to fix it successfully (since it’s not the seam of the silicone which is leaking just the plumbed hole).

Or will this now be a fancy terrarium?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kishan313 said:
Hi guys hope you are well I have a custom aquarium which had a heater plumbed through the glass. Unfortunately the heater has broken and seems to have burnt out.

Anyway I noticed that the hole where the heater was plumbed through the glass has also sprung a leak.

Is there anything I can do to fix it successfully (since it’s not the seam of the silicone which is leaking just the plumbed hole).

Or will this now be a fancy terrarium?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


aa00950a409e79d527a970ea88017f80.jpg

4aa948343dc9c1eabf2cb26575bb20c4.jpg

c18609f646723c15866277649236533b.jpg

6e07852988b69ee5cd3a69c7580754e9.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kishan313 said:
(since it’s not the seam of the silicone which is leaking just the plumbed hole).
Click to expand...

Totally not clear to me what the situation is here.... so I am all guessing: I suppose it depends on how far in the leaking hole is... if it's not in contact with the heater, perhaps you could put in a piece of PVC pipe and seal it with silicone?

Cheers,
Michael
 
Just to clarify, the tank has been drilled to accept a heater cable through it, and there is a leak between sealant and cable, habe I got that right?
 
hypnogogia said:
Just to clarify, the tank has been drilled to accept a heater cable through it, and there is a leak between sealant and cable, habe I got that right?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the lack of clarity yes that’s the situation. I’ve taken the wire out by cutting it and removing it, only leaving a drilled hole.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
hypnogogia said:
If it’s below the gravel line, I’d be tempted to glue a piece of glass over the drilled hole from the inside with some tank silicone.
Click to expand...

Yep well below gravel line and when planted you can barely see that area at all. Thanks for this suggestion I think I’ll remove the silicone around the hole with a razor and then reseal with a small bit of glass


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kishan313 said:
Yep well below gravel line and when planted you can barely see that area at all. Thanks for this suggestion I think I’ll remove the silicone around the hole with a razor and then reseal with a small bit of glass


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

That's indeed the best permanent solution... Another option depends if there is room for an ip68 cable gland and a nut.
Waterdichte-Wartel-10-Stuks-Kabel-Entry-IP68-PG7-PG9-PG11-PG13-5-PG16-Wit-Zwart-Nylon.jpg_.webp

Then if there yet is no plan to put a cable through again you can replace the swivel with a closed screw cap with some Teflon tape instead.
If you ever plan to put such a heater back you're good to go. The gland has rubber seals... :)

A small piece of solid nylon threaded rod 2 nuts and 2 rubber seals do the same thing.
standard-one-meter-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for your replies, I’ll use the silicone and glass option to be on the safe side.

Would the glass need to be the same thickness as what the glass is now, I’m wondering if something like a small glass mosaic size tile or microscope slide (sorry if this is a daft question)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
You could use a piece of acrylic, usually, silicon doesn't bond very well with smooth polished acrylic, but since it's nothing aesthetic if you give acrylic a good rub with some coarse sandpaper it bonds well enough. Acrilyc is relatively cheap available in small sizes and can be cut with a box cutter.

Make sure all is very clean and degreased with alcohol... Silicone and grease and dirt are the worst enemies. :)
 
So is it safe if I use sandpaper for extra grip?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I would not try to stick anything on the inside as there will already be a silicone seal running along the two panes.
Fresh silicone does not stick well to old silicone so to be effective you would need to remove the existing silicon seal but then where do you stop?
So I would attack it from the outside, the hole is not a structural issue just a leak potential.
I would fill the hole with silicone (you can buy small tubes of fish safe silicone in any aquarium store) and silicone a small piece of glass on the outside over the hole.
An old film slide might work but a piece of 2mm glass would be much better, you need to clean the surface extremely well and it will then stick until the earth explodes.
 
Thanks I’ve got silicone which is aquarium safe so I will try that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top