Has anyone had success in patching a crack in a 100 gallon Rubbermaid trough? I have tried Epoxy, Plumbers Putty etc and nothing is working . Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you
I have used aquarium sealant, it is intended for gluing glass panels togetherâŠit is nontoxic âŠcommonly available at hardware or big box home improvement stores
![](MO and experience nothing beats Quad sealant. Tried aquarium didnât stand the test of time.
I used Quad window/doors/ siding sealant on the a new door installation tread for my basement. A 1+ inch puddle always gathers on the outside after a rain storm. Has never leaked through in 8 years. Fixed a rubbermaid tub with it. Still good years later.
This is their gutter sealant which may work even better. Havenât tried it.
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Go the Distance posted a repair recipe for Rubbermaid tubs a while ago. I believe she used JB weld epoxy. I did follow her instructions and fixed our tank when it cracked. No leaks since!!
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Soldering gun. Run it up and down the crack, on both sides. Melts the plastic, seals the crack.
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Love JB Weld. Tried it and it does not stand the test of time. Really not suited for this application. The plastic expands and contracts. JB Weld does not.
Tried this too, lol. It only melts the plastic together it does not âsealâ it. Expansion, contraction, esp if one has freeze thaw conditions will cause it to leak. It will and does develop a leak, small at first progressively getting worse. Plastic does not âweldâ together by heating up, melting together. Something to do with the âpropertiesâ of plastics.
A hot glue gun will work for a while if one is in a pinch but that too will leak over time. Not much time either depending on conditions, use, etc.
Just pointing out some T-shirts that I have bought and thrown out, lol.
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only had one develop a small pin hole leak⊠took a wood screw and ran it in as a "temporary fix " about six years ago⊠still there
MB winter tends to undo any form of repairs on plastics - turned mine into a jump filler and bought a new one
We turned our 20 year old plus leaky one into a cat hidey - Husband Person cut a section out of the side and attached a wooden âfloorâ. Stuffed it full of hay and set it upside down in a sheltered location. Kitties love it.
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if the crack is in the bottom you could pour concrete in, let that cure then seal the concrete with hydraulic cement which a water proof cement that is quick cure
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-hydraulic-cement-uses-and-how-to-apply-845076
I blew out TWO this winter with freezing. First time thatâs happened :eek:
Turned them into hay feeders. Leaking is useful there!
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Love hydraulic cement. Have used it extensively. It will not work in this application. I know because I have mixed it in small batches in plastic containers by hand. Which are easy to clean out after it hardens. Knock the container about a bit and it falls out. It does not adhere/stick to plastic.
I have gotten away with using silicone, in several layers. However, it doesnât last forever- I usually get through the winter pretty well, even with the heaters in. I am going to try gumtreeâs recommendation when I tear them apart the next time.
I do have one I use as a hay feeder, because I donât need it for anything else.
that is why I suggested the concrete first, the hydraulic cement will adhere to the masonry⊠but is the attempt even worth the effort?.. I guess if you have had several of the tanks have failed it might. We have five with only one ever having a pin hole leak which was ârepairedâ by inserting a screw for years⊠removed the screw and plugged with aquarium caulk ⊠no leaks since âŠit is rare for us to have extended freezing weather so our tanks really would not be representative of the problems that most are having
Will the above suggestions work for a trough which is gushing water? It just happened overnight.
Retire it---- remove the drain plug, add a layer of gravel/rocks & fill with compostâthey do make grand raised vegetable gardens 
DONâT use any kind of heat. It will only melt the fiberglass and make a big hole. Trust me!
Unfortunately, with Rubbermaid there are very very few products that work in the long run. JB Marine weld is one that works. Pretty much the ONLY thing that works successfully on bottom cracks â and I have over 15 Rubbermaid tanks of various sizes on my property because I also do rainwater capture and they are all still in service thanks to the Marine weld repair. The weld is also NON TOXIC.
For cracks on the bottom of the water trough:
Tools:
you need a drill, a small drill bit, some electric fence wire âŠor any not too thin not too thick wire⊠that is easily manipulated), and the two tubes of Marine JB Weld to make the repair.
Directions:
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Dry out the tank thoroughly. Sit the tank on its side with the cracked section on the top and easily reached from both inside and outside the tank.
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On either side of the crack, about 1/2 away from the crack itself, drill a few holes about 1" from each other, from one end of the crack to the other end. Do this on both sides, staggering the holes so they arenât directly across from each other.
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Take your wire, cut it about 4x the length of the crack, and starting at the top first holes outside the tank thread one end of the wire through one hole, and the other end of the wire through the other hole. The ends will come through the holes and now be inside the trough. Pull the wire ends up and make sure that both wires are equal length. Now you will proceed to âsewâ each length of wire into an opposing hole across the crack to make a wire âXâ, pulling each âstitchâ tight when that cross is made. You can press the wire down with your fingers if it sits too far above the surface of the tank bottom. Keep in mind that the wire will be going inside and outside the tank per each stitch, so (again) it is best to have the tank sitting on its side to make it easier for you to sew with your wire. Repeat for the next set of opposite holes, working back and forth across the crack in a criss-cross manner, as if you were cross-stitching right across the crack. This will give you not only a stitch on the interior of the tank, but also on the exterior. What you are doing is actually tying the crack together so that it canât open wider with water pressure when the tank is filled. Rubbermaid tanks are fiberglass and thus they have a certain amount of expansion when filled. The rise and fall of water pressure will just make a crack grow if it isnât being held together. This wire stitching is critically important because the Marine weld will ONLY work best when the crack is stabilized. Wire itself wonât stretch. This is what your finished work will look like:
XXXXXXXX
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Mix up your Marine weld, and with a popcicle stick start applying the weld liberally to your stitching and the crack until everything is hidden by the weld material. Do this both inside and outside the trough. Depending upon the length of your crack you may need more than one set of tubes. You want to cover the wire completely so that it wonât move and thus wonât allow the crack to expand. Make sure your drilled holes are also packed with weld and thus watertight.
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Allow the weld a full day to dry, repeat the treatment again if needed, dry again, and then when you are satisfied all holes and crack are covered by the weld you can fill the trough with water.
Please make sure you are not rough with your tank afterwards. Because these tanks are a special fiberglass and things are not able to stick to them unless they are stationary and not being moved about, any banging or crashing may loosen the weld and cause the crack to fracture open. A bit of weld in any spot that may be compromised will close it back up immediately.
I canât claim this method for myself because I did find it out on the internet years and years ago after Iâd wasted huge amounts of time and money trying to repair tanks (and ended up throwing out several). My thanks to whoever it was out there that suggested this and posted it for us to use.
For side cracks:
I use Forshnerâs Hoof Packing (believe it or not) - simply press a small ball (about the size of a giant marble) of the packing into the inside of the crack when the tank is full. (Meaning: youâll be working under the water. You can do this if the tank is dry, too, but the crack wonât be open as much as it will be when under pressure from the water, so I would recommend doing it when the tank is full). Smear the packing fully down the length of the crack, pressing firmly to push the packing into the crack. Once you see the crack is no longer leaking on the outside of the tank, you can stop working the interior, and now smear a good amount of the packing on the exterior of the tank at the crack. Make sure there is a liberal coating of the packing on both interior and exterior - about 1/8 inch. The hoof packing is waterproof, stays soft and workable no matter what temp the water is, and seals the crack beautifully AND completely. It is also NON TOXIC. If you ever notice the crack leaking again, just smear some of your excess packing over the crack again, pushing it into the crack. Surprisingly, this is what the sailors used to do on the wooden sailing ships out at sea to keep the ocean from leaking through the seams in the wood. They used tar which was softened, a jute (a fiber), and then painted/pushed the combo of the two into the seams. For a Rubbermaid, the packing is all you need, and is it completely workable under the water.
I have two 300 gallon tanks with a side crack, both ârepairedâ with the Forshnerâs and both of them are doing great. If I ever see a few drops of water seeping out (usually only when the tank is overflowing and thus at maximum side pressure), I just use a finger to push the packing back into the crack, andâŠdone! Please note - it will NOT work on the bottom cracks. There is too much pressure from the water
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I used Tiger Hair Bondo, it is fiberglass that is used to repair vehicles. I used flextape first on both sides (in and out) and let that sit. Then I used the bondo on the outside and let that set. Then applied another coat, let dried, repeat for several layers. I had a HUGE u shaped cracked from someone playing in my 300 gallon tank
I filled the bottom third of a leaky trough with styrofoam peanuts, then a layer of geocloth over that, then filled with good topsoil. Put it on the back patio and planted a ton of herbs. Itâs an awesome herb garden right near the kitchen. The styrofoam keeps it from being impossibly heavy and saves on expensive topsoilâŠ
