Resiliconing my tank???

[TURKLET0N]

I scraped off the side silicone of my tank bc it was not any good. The bottom looks perfect. My quaestion is, would it be ok just to resilicone the sides? Sorry for the picture quality. I took this on my way out of the house this morning on my phone.

 

[nuttyd]

Not really. Silicon doesnt adhere to old silicone very well. Better to take it off and do sides and bottom all at once.

 

[tony727]

Are you talking about the silicone that's in the corner? If you are then it's fine, however if you damaged the inner seam where the glass meets then the bond won't be 100% unless it is cleaned and prepped for silicone adhesive to be reapplied.

I'm not an expert though, that's what I think.

 

[TheAquatect]

Are you talking about the silicone that's in the corner? If you are then it's fine, however if you damaged the inner seam where the glass meets then the bond won't be 100% unless it is cleaned and prepped for silicone adhesive to be reapplied.

I'm not an expert though, that's what I think.

+1 on that! interior silicone can be re-done but you should redo all the corners, as it wont bond to the old well. As long as you are careful not to cut the inner seem where glass meets glass, you should be fine. I did this on one of my tanks and it turned out great.

Also suggest you place painters tape on the edges to create some clean seam lines. Plenty of you-tube vids for that!

 

[TURKLET0N]

Yes I'm talking about doing the silicone in the corners that go vertical but not redoing the bottom of the tank at all. If you look at the picture you will see that the silicone is scraped off and I want to redo that while leaving the silicone at the bottom that is still in the picture. I want to make sure that would be OK.

 

[Specfishin]

Not ok. I know it may seem a daunting process,just hit the whole interior of the tank. When cleaning old silicone out, do not razor or cut the silicone between the panes of glass. You can razor it square to each panel down to an opposing panel. Just don't cut into the seam. Your goal is to remove all interior silicone to look as if it has none on the inside. You are leaving the silicone in between the glass. I may sound redundant but I just want to reiterate key points. Go to home depot and buy the red 2 tool caulk scraler/cleaner tool. A flat blade replaceable razor holder and 10-25 razors. I forget what chemical I used , one was rub alcohol other escapes me. Just use some non-lint debris free rags for ease of cleaning. If your tank is large get a 2nd person to help and definitely take your time taping and work rather quick. The silicone skins quick in the winter and summer. I know this lol. Don't be afraid and its worth the extra efforts.

 

[TURKLET0N]

Ive taken all the silicone off except for the bottom. I have two tube of silicone and painting tape which will be more than enough to do the job. Its a 150 gallon tank.