Any recommendations for getting tank siliconed??

N

n0rcal2wheeler

Nano Reefer
I was given an old tank that has a leak and was wondering if there is anyone in the bay area that is an expert in gluing a tank. I want to remove all old silicone and get new silicone applied by a pro and was wondering the cost and time it would take? Tank is 80 gallon long/tall dimensions. Any help or advice is much appreciated

Thanks
 
Seems you may have a nice DIY project in hands!
I would say a pro will charge you what a pro charges. Youtube has good tutorials about re-sealing a tank or put it all back together.
Black silicon is a wee pricey compared to clear, black is available from any Grainger; might take a day or two if not at the warehouse.
I have a tank too that needs to be put back together I just need a good work bench which I'm working on (slowly).
Keith Grandt/Grant? is the name around Sacto; top notch craftsmanship
 
xenit it it

xenit it it

removing old silicone is tricky too. I used Xenit and Mr.clean sponge and after the clean up there was absolutely no old silicone residue. I put together a 125 gallon, 72" x 18" x 24".

Buy brand new box cutter blades from home depot (yes, it has to be brand new), shave off old silicone as much as you can and then use xenit to remove old silicone residue. This method works great.

Get some heavy duty suction cups as well, it will come handy for lifting and placing glass sheets. I used black silicone tubes with caulking gun and the black silicone from marineland wasn't that expensive. It was cheap.
 
silicone selection

silicone selection

use the silicone that only has acetic acid. I mean the silicone has to be fish safe. Some silicone tubes from big box stores may release ammonia while curing or even after curing or other toxic chemicals which will make your tank a fish euthanizer. Once I remember doing that when I got into hobby 3 yrs ago. luckily it was gold fish at that time. Can't believe I started with gold fish. haha. so go with marineland silicone from amazon, the 10.3 oz tubes fit the caulking gun.
 
Lots of good advice and tips, thanks you two. I will start by cutting all old silicone out and decide if i want to bring it to a shop to have the glass cut so i can have smaller dimension custom sized tanks as I really do not have the space for an 80 gallon set up. Either way got a good amount of labor in just removing the old silicone to do in the meantime. I just need to verify what or if all pieces are tempered if i do decide to get it cut. I read about the trick of using sunlight and polarized sunglasses to see waves in the temper treated glass, is that a solid way to check??
 
I use polarized glasses and you can see a tempered piece of glass but a hammer is good too, you will know for sure!
I think some people use a thin steel wire to cut the silicon; maybe a guitar string...
 
Used my trusty banana box cutter and had it broken down in 15 min. Wasnt so bad, ill move all the glass into my shed and start removing every little bit of silicone
 
i use the blades not the cutter

i use the blades not the cutter

I always use the box cutter blades but not the box cutter itself. Blades cut through silicone super easy for me.
 
Im new to reef central and cant find out how to post a new thread so i figures try here. I have an established tank running fir almost 2 months. I have 2 clowns, 12 crabs, peppermint shrimp, evergreen starburst and a small xenia colony. The tabk is already drilled and im looking to add an overflow box which involves siliconing. Can i lower the water lever 2 inches below the overflow and silicone it, wait x amount of days and fill it back up without any repercussions??? Thanks in advance
 
Powder Blue107 said:
Im new to reef central and cant find out how to post a new thread so i figures try here. I have an established tank running fir almost 2 months. I have 2 clowns, 12 crabs, peppermint shrimp, evergreen starburst and a small xenia colony. The tabk is already drilled and im looking to add an overflow box which involves siliconing. Can i lower the water lever 2 inches below the overflow and silicone it, wait x amount of days and fill it back up without any repercussions??? Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Sure you can, just be advised silicone fumes are strong and you'd need plenty of ventilation.
I just wonder why you need to use silicone? The gasket/s should take care of the seal provided the area is clean.
 
marioensf said:
Sure you can, just be advised silicone fumes are strong and you'd need plenty of ventilation.

I just wonder why you need to use silicone? The gasket/s should take care of the seal provided the area is clean.
Click to expand...



I think it's a 3 sided with bottom overflow box.


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E6000 adhesive will work great on it, available in black. TAP Plastics has it and other hardware stores should have it.
 
Is E6000 aquarium safe? I have used it for other things but never considered it for aquariums.


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WLachnit said:
Is E6000 aquarium safe? I have used it for other things but never considered it for aquariums.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

E6000 has been used in aquariums for sometime, not as popular, preferred way to do things but does a great job, you can bond plexi to glass tanks to make sumps, Mike over on BAR can tell you it's OK to use it.
If I don't mistake, some hybrid tanks (acrylic-glass glass-PVC) are bonded with E6000
 
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