silicone myth???

[BA]

i heard this somewhere and was just wondering if it was true, some1 said that if a tank has been filled and then drained, sat for a long time w/o water, the silicone will start to crack, and cause leaks is this true??????

[::pete::]

It would probably depend upon the conditions where it was stored, but I would agree. Kind of like dry rot on tires and gaskets if something sits too long.

[Ram_Puppy]

BA, My 30 hex was drained, sat in a shed out in the hill country for almost a year, seemed fine for a while, but when I started scraping it for algae, the inner sillicone seal started rubbing off, I would tend to believe this as the tank is oceanic. It is only about 5 years old, I feel it is premature to have problems of this nature.

[Ram_Puppy]

oh, I have a new one on order, which I am going to have drilled before setting it up. I am going to break this one down and set it up as a fuge, but it's going to get a very ameture job of being re-sealed first.

[::pete::]

Also, every time you fill/drain a tank the silicone supposedly is stressed by stretching and compressing.

Im sure it does, but this is what silicone is used for. "Remains flexible".

[Instar]

Silicone has a very long life expectancy. I wouldn't worry about rumors. The thin film around the edges may peel off, but that is not the seal for the tank, just the over run. I have a couple small tanks that have been stored under the worst of conditions possible and they are holding water nicely. They are very old, as in over 10 years, never leak, never resealed and I have never worried about it. But don't let this be a deterant to this fine reason to buy a new and larger tank. Of course you should upgrade. :)