harleymike
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2012
- Location
- Courtright, Ontario
How long should a tanks sealant last.
Tank life expectancy
- Thread starter harleymike
- Start date
AdInfinitum
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2012
- Location
- Thorndale, Ontario
Seeing as no-one else has kicked in on this....
In theory without exposure to strong unfiltered UV or extremes in temperature, pure silicone sealant doesn't degrade. For tanks it also requires proper set up (level) and treatment (no hanging on the sides ;D) so no seams gradually develop micro tears that will eventually enlarge.
I have a 90gal FW tank that I bought new about 22 years ago and the seams still look new. I had a 125gal SW tank that was more than 8 years old when I got it. I used it for 15 years until I got my 200gal out of storage again. The guy I sold it to still has it running FW no issues.
I have done cosmetic reseal jobs on a couple of black silicone tanks (leave the glass together with the core seams and re-do the exterior visible silicone) but only for appearance. Tanks that I have known seams to fail (not due to poor set up) have been less than 3 years old, mostly less than 6 months old and I put that down to poor original seaming that may take some time to show.
The seam failures in older tanks seem to happen when they are taken out of service for a long period and then filled up again.
In theory without exposure to strong unfiltered UV or extremes in temperature, pure silicone sealant doesn't degrade. For tanks it also requires proper set up (level) and treatment (no hanging on the sides ;D) so no seams gradually develop micro tears that will eventually enlarge.
I have a 90gal FW tank that I bought new about 22 years ago and the seams still look new. I had a 125gal SW tank that was more than 8 years old when I got it. I used it for 15 years until I got my 200gal out of storage again. The guy I sold it to still has it running FW no issues.
I have done cosmetic reseal jobs on a couple of black silicone tanks (leave the glass together with the core seams and re-do the exterior visible silicone) but only for appearance. Tanks that I have known seams to fail (not due to poor set up) have been less than 3 years old, mostly less than 6 months old and I put that down to poor original seaming that may take some time to show.
The seam failures in older tanks seem to happen when they are taken out of service for a long period and then filled up again.
harleymike
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2012
- Location
- Courtright, Ontario
Thanks for the great info. That's what I was looking for.
Mike
Mike