Should I be concerned over this silicone seam?

[Jasongtr]

Just leak testing the new tank and I’ve noticed these air bubbles in the silicone seam, these are near the bottom and there’s one two on the other side that’s about 2” long each but quite thin and very hard to photograph to get the idea of what they look like

 

[ChiCity]

yea, that’s going to be an issue
that leads to seam failure, eventually…

 

[Jasongtr]

yea, that’s going to be an issue
that leads to seam failure, eventually…

Ok thanks, not great but better than a burst tank

 

[Gumbies R Us]

How long have you had the tank?

 

[Jasongtr]

How long have you had the tank?

Two weeks, literally just put it on the stand the other day and this was a leak test

 

[Tamberav]

Is it a petco tank?

Looks normal to me for some mass produced tanks. Cosmetic for those little air bubbles.

 

[Jasongtr]

Is it a petco tank?

Looks normal to me for lower quality mass produced tanks. Cosmetic for those little ones.

No, I’m in the UK it’s a 70g custom built rimless, I’ll be honest the quality of the silicone is not great and had I unwrapped it in the shop I bought it through it wouldn’t of come home, but the ‘dress seams’ in the corners are the least of this tanks issue it seems

 

[Tamberav]

No, I’m in the UK it’s a 70g custom built rimless, I’ll be honest the quality of the silicone is not great and had I unwrapped it in the shop I bought it through it wouldn’t of come home, but the ‘dress seams’ in the corners are the least of this tanks issue it seems

If it is custom, I would contact them as you paid for the job to be done well.

Even if it is cosmetic, it should not be there. We get custom tanks for perfection. If we wanted bubbles in a seam, we would just take our chances and buy a cheapo. Not even all of those have bubbles.

 

[SaltEpidemic]

I'd have it replaced, custom tanks cost to much to have less then perfection in their seals, imo

 

[DCR]

Those few and small air bubbles are unlikely to lead to a failure unless there are other issues such as the silicone being very weak or the glass is excessively thin. The percentage of surface area that is not bonded is very small and should not excessively stress the silicone unless the design is really aggressive. I have run tanks for years with much more air bubbles than yours. Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a very high end tank, you are likely to get bubbles like that on a mass produced tank.

What are the dimensions of the tank and the thickness of the glass?

 

[Jasongtr]

If it is custom, I would contact them as you paid for the job to be done well.

Even if it is cosmetic, it should not be there. We get custom tanks for perfection. If we wanted bubbles in a seam, we would just take our chances and buy a cheapo. Not even all of those have bubbles.

The shop is contacting the manufacturer but I’ve already told them I want refunding and won’t trust them for another one

 

[Tamberav]

Those few and small air bubbles are unlikely to lead to a failure unless there are other issues such as the silicone being very weak or the glass is excessively thin. The percentage of surface area that is not bonded is very small and should not excessively stress the silicone unless the design is really aggressive. I have run tanks for years with much more air bubbles than yours. Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a very high end tank, you are likely to get bubbles like that on a mass produced tank.

What are the dimensions of the tank and the thickness of the glass?

Ya I thought it looked mass produced too but I guess it is a custom tank. Oof.

 

[Jasongtr]

Those few and small air bubbles are unlikely to lead to a failure unless there are other issues such as the silicone being very weak or the glass is excessively thin. The percentage of surface area that is not bonded is very small and should not excessively stress the silicone unless the design is really aggressive. I have run tanks for years with much more air bubbles than yours. Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a very high end tank, you are likely to get bubbles like that on a mass produced tank.

What are the dimensions of the tank and the thickness of the glass?

40” x 20” x 20” and 10mm glass, nota big tank but the point is this forum is riddled with bubbled seam threads and everyone says it’s not good, the fact this is a brand new tank that’s not even been filled I fail to see a reason to take any risk with it, my fish are perfectly happy in their current smaller tank for now

 

[DCR]

I would not expect it to fail if it is properly supported with those dimensions and glass thickness. There are lots of comments about air bubbles in the seams as it is very common in mass produced tanks, but there is no evidence that it is the cause of failures. The stand is much more critical. Each of us have to be comfortable with our set-ups and if you are uncomfortable with it then you should replace it. I would just say that unless you are willing to spend over a thousand dollars on a custom tank you are likely to get the same thing on another mass-produced tank.

 

[Jasongtr]

I would not expect it to fail if it is properly supported with those dimensions and glass thickness. There are lots of comments about air bubbles in the seams as it is very common in mass produced tanks, but there is no evidence that it is the cause of failures. The stand is much more critical. Each of us have to be comfortable with our set-ups and if you are uncomfortable with it then you should replace it. I would just say that unless you are willing to spend over a thousand dollars on a custom tank you are likely to get the same thing on another mass-produced tank.

This is a custom tank - no idea why you think it’s a mass produced one

 

[JZ199]

I'm glad you contacted them, like others have said... Even if it won't cause a failure, a custom tank should have ZERO issues. Sorry for your luck!

 

[Jasongtr]

I'm glad you contacted them, like others have said... Even if it won't cause a failure, a custom tank should have ZERO issues. Sorry for your luck!

Indeed, it’s just a bit gutting as it was so close to being filled properly,

 

[CasperOe]

This is a custom tank - no idea why you think it’s a mass produced one

Who made it for you? That's not what you want when you go custom! We have had a number of tanks made over here with nothing to complain about, sadly someone is always unlucky!

Hope you have it sorted out!

 

[Jasongtr]

Who made it for you? That's not what you want when you go custom! We have had a number of tanks made over here with nothing to complain about, sadly someone is always unlucky!

Hope you have it sorted out!

The LFS is going back to the manufacturer so probably best I don’t drop the name, feel free to advise who you use in case I want to go through getting one made again, might not bother at this rate though

 

[CasperOe]

The LFS is going back to the manufacturer so probably best I don’t drop the name, feel free to advise who you use in case I want to go through getting one made again, might not bother at this rate though

Nah, better not! Chances are they're on R2R as well Well, since I am based in Scotland, we have used a local chap up here in 'Bonnybridge'. He is mostly building for commercial aquariums, but he have made exactly what we needed for both frag tanks and quarantine setups!

https://bonnybridge.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/custom-design-aquariums-uk-27134241.html