Fixing a Possible Tank Leak

[DesignsOnYou]

Ok, here's the deal. A few days ago I put a couple of pieces of driftwood into my already very full (water level higher than normal) tank. A couple hours later I noticed a small amount of water (easily soaked up by about 1/4 of a paper towel) running down the corner. I thought that maybe I had just gotten the water level so high that some ran over the top, perhaps in a gap between the very top of the glass and the silicone attaching the trim piece. However, the next morning there was another very small amount of water collected in the same place, between the top trim and the glass. I again wiped it up, but this happened 2 or 3 times throughout the day. I was leaving town the next day, and afraid of some catastrophic failure while I was gone, I moved all the fish to a rubbermaid container (thus the thread titled, My fish broke their house).
Now, I can't see anything visibly wrong in that corner, and the amount of water coming out is very small, and at a very slow rate. I really don't want to strip and reseal the entire tank, especially since I'll have to shower somewhere else until I can rehouse the fish, haha. So, does anyone have any input on what else I could do. I've thought about:
1. Just putting some extra silicone in that corner, up under the trim piece, to hopefully seal any small leaks that might be there. I know silicone doesn't stick well to cured silicone, but since it is so high up in the corner, and so small, and not at a stress point, I thought maybe that might work.
2. Filling the corner with epoxy such as is used to attach rocks to each other for reef tanks.
Again, I could reseal the whole tank, but don't really want to for something that I'm not even positive is a leak. The other issue with that is that normally when resealing a tank you leave the bottom and top trim pieces on, right? Well if the problem is up there that won't fix it anyway. Help?

 

[Chris_A]

It's possible you're just getting a little capillary action going up and under the trim. This could also be why it doesn't seem as bad as before. What happens is the water evaps and leaves behind the minerals (kinda like those "grow your own crystal" kits) partially sealing the leak. A lot of the tanks I've taken apart leave something to be desired with the seal in the trim so it's quite possible.

Since you have the fish out anyway, can't hurt to run a bead around the inside bottom edge of the trim (as you said). Even a small bead around the outside edge might not be a bad thing. A razor blade cleans up any smears quite nicely once the silicone dries. From the sounds of it though I doubt you need to reseal the whole tank, just give it a little extra in the corners where it would overlap the cured stuff and make sure to smooth it out nicely, a damp finger helps with that . Also make sure to give it at least a day or two to cure before leak testing.

The other option is to yank the trim off and reseal the whole thing in the channel... there is a risk of breaking the glass though. On a 55 it *shouldn't* but I won't say there's no risk.

Chris

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Thanks Chris, that makes me feel better. Capillary action, huh? I understand the term, but where would the water be coming from exactly, and what would be sucking it up (not arguing or disagreeing in the least, just trying to understand)?
Yeah, I pulled the top trim off my 46 gallon bowfront in order to replace it because the center support had snapped. I had to demolish the trim to get it off, so I really don't want to go that route. I'm with you on the bead of silicone. It can't hurt. Still open to other opinions/thoughts.

 

[Lotus]

I have a couple of tanks that leak under the top trim, if I fill them too full. The water can sometimes go down the corner, get caught on the bottom trim or under the tank, and seemingly leak out for a couple of days. My solution is not to fill them too full I always have to check when my fiance fills them, because he never listens to me when I tell him not to fill them to the rim.

 

[DesignsOnYou]

Ok. Thank you both for putting my mind at rest. I usually don't have them nearly as full, I like to leave the biowheel where it actually falls for a bit before hitting the surface, because I figure it doesn't bother me and that way I don't have to worry about the fish getting oxygen deprived if the tank gets too warm or whatever. I was just lazy and didn't take any water out before putting the driftwood in because I knew I was about to do a water change anyway. Since that's the only time I've noticed it I'm hoping that's what it is, and not that I filled it so full that I caused some sort of pressure or stress leak, which seems unlikely. I just wasn't sure because it kept coming back.

 

[Orion]

It's possible you're just getting a little capillary action going up and under the trim.

That's the first thing that popped into my head when I read your first post. If it were me, I'd just run a small bead of silicone around the trim and see if that doesn't solve it.