Non Toxic Reservoir Repair?

masterofpuppets

masterofpuppets

Member
Hi all,

I was doing some cleanup in my flower room the other day and in trying to prop up my tank (terrible idea in retrospect...) Long story short, I punched a hole about the size of a pencil into the bottom of my aeroflo 60 res. Needless to say it was a chaotic scene! After debating all kinds of silly shit, I finally glued strips of rubber (bike tubes) to the inside of the tank using pvc cement, dried it for an hour and then refilled. Amazingly this has held for a week. Now, I know that cured pvc cement is not supposed to leach toxic stuff when wet, and I'm guessing the same for the rubber... but after time and with exposure to nutes... just dunno.

I went to the depot and looked around for a permanent fix, but of course all the serious sealants are toxic as hell. Since it's held, I'm tempted to wait until the cycle's done. Ain't broke don't fix it has been best in my growing exp. I picked up a screw and nut that has thick rubber grommet type washers on either side, and was thinking that combined with some waterproof silicone caulk might be a cleaner fix at some point...

Anybody have any experience fixing these tubs? Should I get that tire out of there ASAP? Gotta find a non toxic, permanent fix that will hold the pressure... I'd hate to have to buy a new res - things are probly $300 and i dunno if u can order w/o the lid!

Appreciate it!

PS: the hole is right in one of the inset grooves on the bottom - not flat:cry:
 
Dicky

Dicky

Active Member
depending on the material its made from sealant used for aquariums might work, or maybe a plug kit for sealing car tires..maybe, no idea on if its toxic, but i think any vulcanized rubber may pose a prob, maybe a small piece of liner used for outdoor ponds glued down with aquarium cement, just brainstorming here hope it helps..peeeaaace
 
lowerarchy

lowerarchy

Active Member
RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) silicone is the stuff they use for aquariums. Inert enough to keep tropicl fish alive, inert enough to keep the hardy cannabis plant alive, I'd hope. I wouldn't use the screw - better not to have any metals in the sauce.
 
BeaverHuntr

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
Notthing will really work to fix it.. You might be able to stop the leak temporarily but it will leak again.. If you know how to weld plastic or know anyone who does then thats your best bet find out what type of plastic it is.
 
zem

zem

Well-Known Member
you can fix it, there are sealants that completely weld the plastic together, silicone will leak in some time especially under water pressure. the pvc cement should hold on better, never tried it thought
 
masterofpuppets

masterofpuppets

Member
good point about the metal, i hadn't even thought that through with rust and all. Problem with using just the silicone (aquarium) is that I'm afraid your probably right that it will leak since its bigger than a crack...

Beavr, plastic welding?? No idea... I'll check it out but if it involves special tools I'm probably out on that. They say its a coextruded plastic, but that doesn't tell me much.

I did do a little research and the bike tube is fine - its actually the same rubber material they use for fish safe pond liner. and the cured pvc cement is also non toxic / leaching. So as long as it holds, i'm gonna go with it.

If it pops again I may try to fill with aquarium silicone, dry, and then glue another rubber patch on top with pvc cement (or aquarium cement??)... but I also found the Panda Reservoir only online for 108 delivered so it might be a moot point:mrgreen::mrgreen:

Thanks for the input! If anyone thinks I'm gonna kill myself speak up!
 
Dicky

Dicky

Active Member
lol all i can say is ya gotta know when to hold em an when to fold em lol but seriously if it were me and it made me worry..fuck it replace it, thats why we work our asses off isnt it lol. peeeaaace
 
masterofpuppets

masterofpuppets

Member
zem said:
you can fix it, there are sealants that completely weld the plastic together, silicone will leak in some time especially under water pressure. the pvc cement should hold on better, never tried it thought
Click to expand...
I was thinking there would be something out there like that - like a JB weld for plastic... I haven't found anything though. Anybody know what it is? All of the techniques i found involved burly tools except solvent welding which might involve decomposing plastic in a solvent and then letting it harden in the hole. That's getting close to the idea of using pvc cement though which is still holding tuff...
 
masterofpuppets

masterofpuppets

Member
ya, no doubt! but it's not just me bein cheap... I got 30 days left in bloom, and I'd rather not take the fucker down mid cycle unless absolutely necessary!
 
T

trunkneck

Member
masterofpuppets said:
Hi all,

I was doing some cleanup in my flower room the other day and in trying to prop up my tank (terrible idea in retrospect...) Long story short, I punched a hole about the size of a pencil into the bottom of my aeroflo 60 res. Needless to say it was a chaotic scene! After debating all kinds of silly shit, I finally glued strips of rubber (bike tubes) to the inside of the tank using pvc cement, dried it for an hour and then refilled. Amazingly this has held for a week. Now, I know that cured pvc cement is not supposed to leach toxic stuff when wet, and I'm guessing the same for the rubber... but after time and with exposure to nutes... just dunno.

I went to the depot and looked around for a permanent fix, but of course all the serious sealants are toxic as hell. Since it's held, I'm tempted to wait until the cycle's done. Ain't broke don't fix it has been best in my growing exp. I picked up a screw and nut that has thick rubber grommet type washers on either side, and was thinking that combined with some waterproof silicone caulk might be a cleaner fix at some point...

Anybody have any experience fixing these tubs? Should I get that tire out of there ASAP? Gotta find a non toxic, permanent fix that will hold the pressure... I'd hate to have to buy a new res - things are probly $300 and i dunno if u can order w/o the lid!

Appreciate it!

PS: the hole is right in one of the inset grooves on the bottom - not flat:cry:
Click to expand...
Use a plastic welder..... You can weld virtually any plastic with it.
http://www.harborfreight.com/plastic-welding-kit-with-adjustable-temperature-96464.html
 
  • Like
Reactions: zem
BeaverHuntr

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
T

trunkneck

Member
BeaverHuntr said:
Yes but he has to know what kind of plastic it is ( some plastics dont stick to eachother) he will need the welding rod. He cant just heat tack it because he will still get leaks .. He needs some 5mm welding rod. But if he goes the welding way he will basically salvage his reservoir.
Click to expand...
That's correct, however, the welder comes with many different rods to start out with. You match the type of plastic to the specific rod needed. I used them allot at my last place of employment, and they work very well!
 
BeaverHuntr

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
trunkneck said:
That's correct, however, the welder comes with many different rods to start out with. You match the type of plastic to the specific rod needed. I used them allot at my last place of employment, and they work very well!
Click to expand...
yeah I dont use the harbor frieght welders so I didnt know they came packaged like that I always buy and own the hot air welders by Leister. I work in the geomembrane field.
 
T

trunkneck

Member
BeaverHuntr said:
yeah I dont use the harbor frieght welders so I didnt know they came packaged like that I always buy and own the hot air welders by Leister. I work in the geomembrane field.
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong, you were right to point out that he would need rod, and, they don't give you allot of them, just enough for a patch of each plastic etc. But it's enough to do what he needs to do. What's more he may not even have to do a "Full" repair/weld just for the small amount of time he needs to get through, just do a less deep surface weld on the outside to contain the water until he can drain it to do a proper fix. Hell, I've even found that the welds are stronger than the material itself.
 
bird mcbride

bird mcbride

Well-Known Member
In our commercial ops all the resivoirs are lined with thick plastic. The liner will stop any leak in the case of a fracture. The tables are lined that way as well. There is nothing worse than a leak half way through a grow. In my personal op I have a stainless steel res.
 
BeaverHuntr

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
trunkneck said:
Don't get me wrong, you were right to point out that he would need rod, and, they don't give you allot of them, just enough for a patch of each plastic etc. But it's enough to do what he needs to do. What's more he may not even have to do a "Full" repair/weld just for the small amount of time he needs to get through, just do a less deep surface weld on the outside to contain the water until he can drain it to do a proper fix. Hell, I've even found that the welds are stronger than the material itself.
Click to expand...
No worries dude its just cool to find people who know how to weld plastic and know what they are talking about ...+rep to you.
 
masterofpuppets

masterofpuppets

Member
Just in case someone ever runs across this problem again, here was my outcome. I let it go a few more weeks until the end of harvest. No apparent adverse effects on the plant other than the interruption during the fix so I don't believe anything toxic leached into the water. Overall I guess I did the best I could in a shitty situation.

I found those plastic welding kits I think for like 60 bucks. They look sweet and I may get one anyway eventually :) but since i found the new tub for 120 i just ordered it. (BTW, big up to East West Hydro! Rob is the Man!).

Thought about getting an overflow tray to manage the leak, but since my motor sits on the ground it wasn't an option without a serious plumbing operation. This could be an option for a different set up and you could even pump the overflow out.

So my broken one started a slow leak again, but it was so close to harvest I would have destroyed my plants trying to swap so I just soaked it up and kept the water level low in the res. This actually saved my ass! if you keep it just above the pump input, a small leak will virtually stop due to the low pressure!!

Lesson: 1) keep an extra reservoir handy 2) consider overflow trays on everything unless you have concrete and floor drains 3) in a pinch remember to keep the water level super low and watch those PPM's closely!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top