Joe Frustration

[MCary]

I aquired a gorgeous 2'Wx6'Lx30" high tank. I'm guessing about 225 gallon tank, stand and canopy. It was in the lobby of a hospital and they were going to haul it to the dump. I'm guessing it has 3/4" or 1 inch glass. They gave it to me free.

Now the rub. It has a small leak in one corner. The leak does show up until the tank is 3/4 full. Its a drip. I assume the pressure causes it and that it must be a pinhole leak. I ran some silicone in the corner and it still leaked. (yes I know, silicone doesn't stick to silicone yadda yadda, I just figured that by running some silicone it would stop the leak temporarily and I could see if thats actually where its leaking because the seam is covered by a plastic rim.) Anyway, now I have to climb into the think and cut away all the old silicone and re-bead it.

Does anyone have any tips for removing old silicone. Any good tools for cutting it out of the corners besides a carpet knife, does heating it help etc.

Mike

 

[coryherby]

i believe there are chemicals to take it off..but my suggestion would be to take it to a professional and have them do it. I have read a few horror stories about people doing this themselves. Tidal waves indoors = bad.

 

[MCary]

Yeah probably good advice, but I think I can slop silicone in a crack as well as someone with a degree from Acme construction school. If I flood the house I'll be back to eat crow.

 

[rustybucket145]

Set up a video camera when you are filling it back up!! America's Funniest Home Videos Here We Come!!!!


I'm just kidding, Good luck be sure to tell us how it goes. Oh you tank is about 225gal. I don't remember what you said at the begining of the post.

 

[MCary]

Well, I started to cut away the inside corner and I discovered that the caulk is much easier to cut away than i have experianced before. I was going to cut away 6-8 inches on the x,y, and z axis (for you CAD and Geometry people) and re-bead it. But I've cut away new silicone before and it was much tougher than this stuff. I think it would be prudent to remove the entire inside bead of silicone and reseal the entire thing. Project suddenly got bigger.

Yes, 225 gallons with custom canopy and stand for Free. Gloat Gloat.

 

[Im14abeer]

Wow, now that's a large "hospital tank!"

 

[angel125]

i hope all goes well for you.....thats pretty neat to have a tank that size for free......so please make sure you get it done right....you want to enjoy a free tank not a free surfing lesson.....j/k......like i said i sure wish all goes well......:rollface:

 

[MCary]

I removed the silicone from the inside last night. Came out real easy. Only took me an hour. I know now that replacing that old silicone was a wise choice. I got some good advice and assurance on the DIY thread. I need to post some pictures of this tank. The mental picture of what a free tank looks like does not fit this thing at all. But man that sucker is heavy. 3/4" thick glass.