I agree with trying to reseal the windows and corners next. You should have more than enough pond armor on to cover any pinholes so that leads me to believe that your issue is somewhere else. Is there a way you could try to cover the exterior with paper to make it a little easier to trace a leak back to it's source?
My new 2600 gallon plywood tank project
- Thread starter VLDesign
- Start date
I agree with addressing the windows but if that does not fix the leak issue I would think the next course of action would be to put a very thick final coat of Pond Armor over the entire interior of the tank....silicone in the corners would make that difficult.
This final blue coat was supposed to be the final thick coat that fixed everything.. 
It has to be in the windows. It just has to be. (Sounding desperate I know)
New silicone is in place. Let that sit for a day or two and go from there.
The intakes to the pumps are in place so that is some good news.
It has to be in the windows. It just has to be. (Sounding desperate I know)
New silicone is in place. Let that sit for a day or two and go from there.
The intakes to the pumps are in place so that is some good news.
Yeah I would still use epoxy. I have yet to find a better option.
So far my lessons learned list includes:
Bought glass from Glasscages.com (half the price of glass in my area) - Had I know that before I started I wouldn't have gone acrylic.
Used higher grade plywood with a smooth side to help with the pond armor part.
Dow 795 doesn't stick any better to acrylic than regular GE I silicone. (Using glass would have eliminated the 3 week delay in cure time as well)
Done what I did on the 1500 gallon tank. Apply the pond armor with a bondo scraper in the first place and be done with it.
So far my lessons learned list includes:
Bought glass from Glasscages.com (half the price of glass in my area) - Had I know that before I started I wouldn't have gone acrylic.
Used higher grade plywood with a smooth side to help with the pond armor part.
Dow 795 doesn't stick any better to acrylic than regular GE I silicone. (Using glass would have eliminated the 3 week delay in cure time as well)
Done what I did on the 1500 gallon tank. Apply the pond armor with a bondo scraper in the first place and be done with it.
So if this next leak test proves I have a problem with the inside Vertical silicone seal what should I do?
1) Leave the newly fixed silicone in place and move on?
2) Remove the newly fixed silicone and use a 2" strip of acrylic and IPS Weldon 16 to chemically seal the windows together?
3) Remove all 3 windows, fix the leak in the pond armor under the windows and re-install the windows?
Option 1 works, but if the silicone comes loose again it could leak in the future which isn't good.
Option 2 is safer than 1 but still could fail and leak, just not as easily as silicone.
Option 3 is the right thing to do but very drastic, and dangerous to the acrylic from being moved and handled without the protective paper in place.
1) Leave the newly fixed silicone in place and move on?
2) Remove the newly fixed silicone and use a 2" strip of acrylic and IPS Weldon 16 to chemically seal the windows together?
3) Remove all 3 windows, fix the leak in the pond armor under the windows and re-install the windows?
Option 1 works, but if the silicone comes loose again it could leak in the future which isn't good.
Option 2 is safer than 1 but still could fail and leak, just not as easily as silicone.
Option 3 is the right thing to do but very drastic, and dangerous to the acrylic from being moved and handled without the protective paper in place.
I know it's way more work but I think at one point you mentioned having a finsihed basement too.. If that's the case then option 3 is the only real option IMO. To me something like this has to be done right and that means fix the actual cause not try and bandage it. If I lived closer I'd offer to help you out...
2700 Gallons is a lot of water in a newly finished basement. Hell it's a lot of water if it's not finished but you have valuables down there!!
2700 Gallons is a lot of water in a newly finished basement. Hell it's a lot of water if it's not finished but you have valuables down there!!
What does this mean? Would you mix the epoxy paint thicker so it's the consistency of peanut butter? Then spread it on? Is this a simple mixing function of the epoxy paint and you just used a thinner mix to apply it with a paint brush or roller?
Sorry about the dumb questions..........
