New build disaster

[Lionfish666]

Well I finally finished building my tanks, stand and got all the plumbing together.

(front removed for photo)

Did the water test and it all works as planned, that is until the Krylon fusion started peeling off the back glass. I read it was ok underwater but either I didn't apply it correctly or the large amount of flow going has made it peel off the glass. I am quite upset.

Unfortunately I painted it before glueing so some of the paint is under the silicon, going to be impossible to remove it without teardown. I was thinking peel back as much as I can then silicon over what is left, then place a black acrylic piece in front of the glass? Or will the pressure on this crack the glass?


Any ideas how I can fix this? I just want a black backing so the pipes are hidden.

 

[nbelohlav]

did you paint the inside of the back piece of glass?

 

[username in use]

You should have painted the outside of the glass.

 

[uncleof6]

Well I finally finished building my tanks, stand and got all the plumbing together.

(front removed for photo)

Did the water test and it all works as planned, that is until the Krylon fusion started peeling off the back glass. I read it was ok underwater but either I didn't apply it correctly or the large amount of flow going has made it peel off the glass. I am quite upset.

Unfortunately I painted it before glueing so some of the paint is under the silicon, going to be impossible to remove it without teardown. I was thinking peel back as much as I can then silicon over what is left, then place a black acrylic piece in front of the glass? Or will the pressure on this crack the glass?


Any ideas how I can fix this? I just want a black backing so the pipes are hidden.

Lessons we learn, as we go on. I have said it time and again, that Krylon fusion is a paint made to stick tenaciously to plastic, on plastic it is great underwater, however it does not stick to glass any better than any other paint, especially once water hits it--unless you spend 300 bucks a gallon on specialty paint.

That said, the bad news is the tank has to come down, and apart. The paint between the silicone and glass, will cause the seams to fail. You cannot simply put more silicone over it. Before reassembling the tank, make sure that all the old silicone residue is thoroughly cleaned off, using a box or two of razor blades, acetone (MEK is better,) steel wool, and elbow grease. It is a rather labor intensive process.

Reapply a coating on the back outside of the tank--after assembly and curing for a couple weeks. I would not bother with the krylon stuff, rather use a flat black oil base paint. It will hold up better if it gets wet.

 

[customcolor]

Use 2.5 Limo black tint From walmart on the outside of the glass... Won't scrape off like paint... Some have even use black vinyl decals

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Tmoriarty]

Agreed with above. You can not paint the inside of the tank with any paint and expect it to stick to glass. The good news is that at least the pain will come off the glass with some elbow grease and a box of razors. If you siliconed over the pain then yes you need to redo your seal as well. Silicone is extremly adhesive on glass but not on paint or plastic/acrylic. It is important to have a solid clean glass surface for the silicone to bond to otherwise you are asking for a blown seam.

 

[naterealbig]

That said, the bad news is the tank has to come down, and apart. The paint between the silicone and glass, will cause the seams to fail. You cannot simply put more silicone over it.

I agree with Uncle, and following his directions will be paramount in the success of this tank (from a structural standpoint).

Out of curiosity, what are the dimensions of this tank? Glass thickness?

 

[hebygb]

agreed on all but I may be alone in my observation that the back wall (the one in question and painted black) is a false wall. In that case painting either side is not a course I would take. In the situation that this is a false wall I would laminate black plexi to the false wall on the display side. ... of course this would be after re building the tank as stated above. You will have to rebuild because you will damage the seal integrity of the bottom.

 

[customcolor]

agreed on all but I may be alone in my observation that the back wall (the one in question and painted black) is a false wall. In that case painting either side is not a course I would take. In the situation that this is a false wall I would laminate black plexi to the false wall on the display side. ... of course this would be after re building the tank as stated above. You will have to rebuild because you will damage the seal integrity of the bottom.

GREAT CATCH!!! wow..they had a curved overflow cut out of it.....i would have made that false wall out of acrylic and made it 1/16 small so there would be room to grow....plus could have made the paint stick

 

[Lionfish666]

Thanks for all the replies. I would upload more photos but photobucket seems to be down, will do later when I start journal.
yeah well spotted hebygb, in my hysteria I forgot to mention it was a false wall, and it doesn't really need to be watertight as it's mainly for aesthetics.
Tank is 53cm x 53cm x 36cm. Back section is 16cm with 2 partitions giving it strength and allowing for a remote DSB.
I put the tank together before adding the back baffle so the peeling paint won't effect the tank itself, but if I remove the baffle then I will have to re-silicone the whole tank as it will damage the silicone on the bottom. I really don't want to take it appart and re-silicone. Been months working on this thing now.
So far I have scrapped of the paint, drained, and undone the plumbing. I couldn't remove the paint stuck under the silicone, which I'm thinking I will silicone over again so it does't peel into the tank.
Is the black plexi laminate possible when it is stuck together? Or can I just hide the glass with a piece of black acrylic in front of it?

 

[hebygb]

I think this takes on a different shape now. Yes, you can use silicone to laminate a piece of black acrylic to the already in-place glass wall. As a rule silicone will not work on acrylic in a "structural" application, but I can guarantee that silicone will hold the black acrylic to the glass wall in an aesthetic application. Think of it as polygrip. I would advise that you seal it well to mitigate the trapping of detritus between the two layers though.

 

[Lionfish666]

Excellent, will do. Now to find someone who will post black silicone down under