Tips for resealing a tank?
- Thread starter becact
- Start date
dwd5813
New member
step one, remove ALL old silicone. a razor is your best friend. get it out of every joint.
step two, clean all surfaces. i think it was rubbing alcohol that i used.
step three, tape off the corners if you so desire
step four, put some sterile gloves, no powder or anything, on.
step five, apply 100% silicone to your joints. NO anti-mildew agents, NO mold preventatives. 100% SILICONE, and nothing else.
step six, smooth out the joints with a gloved finger. again, make sure you use gloves with no type of treatment to them. no powders, no oils, no nothing.
step seven, remove tape and/or clean up your lines as needed. (a razor can work wonders here as well.)
step eight, allow at least 24 hrs to cure in a WELL VENTILATED area. the fumes from this smell BAD. (see your product directions for additional instructions re: cure time.)
step nine, after sufficient time has passed (again, refer to the instructions) perform a leak test in an area unsusceptible to water damage. preferably outside if possible. use tap water. no need for anything else, you just want to see if the thing holds water. give it several hours. overnight is even better.
step ten, assuming step nine was a success, drain, clean, and place the tank where you want it.
step eleven, commence fun part.
step two, clean all surfaces. i think it was rubbing alcohol that i used.
step three, tape off the corners if you so desire
step four, put some sterile gloves, no powder or anything, on.
step five, apply 100% silicone to your joints. NO anti-mildew agents, NO mold preventatives. 100% SILICONE, and nothing else.
step six, smooth out the joints with a gloved finger. again, make sure you use gloves with no type of treatment to them. no powders, no oils, no nothing.
step seven, remove tape and/or clean up your lines as needed. (a razor can work wonders here as well.)
step eight, allow at least 24 hrs to cure in a WELL VENTILATED area. the fumes from this smell BAD. (see your product directions for additional instructions re: cure time.)
step nine, after sufficient time has passed (again, refer to the instructions) perform a leak test in an area unsusceptible to water damage. preferably outside if possible. use tap water. no need for anything else, you just want to see if the thing holds water. give it several hours. overnight is even better.
step ten, assuming step nine was a success, drain, clean, and place the tank where you want it.
step eleven, commence fun part.
Sam2000001
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14828418#post14828418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dwd5813
step one, remove ALL old silicone. a razor is your best friend. get it out of every joint.
step two, clean all surfaces. i think it was rubbing alcohol that i used.
step three, tape off the corners if you so desire
step four, put some sterile gloves, no powder or anything, on.
step five, apply 100% silicone to your joints. NO anti-mildew agents, NO mold preventatives. 100% SILICONE, and nothing else.
step six, smooth out the joints with a gloved finger. again, make sure you use gloves with no type of treatment to them. no powders, no oils, no nothing.
step seven, remove tape and/or clean up your lines as needed. (a razor can work wonders here as well.)
step eight, allow at least 24 hrs to cure in a WELL VENTILATED area. the fumes from this smell BAD. (see your product directions for additional instructions re: cure time.)
step nine, after sufficient time has passed (again, refer to the instructions) perform a leak test in an area unsusceptible to water damage. preferably outside if possible. use tap water. no need for anything else, you just want to see if the thing holds water. give it several hours. overnight is even better.
step ten, assuming step nine was a success, drain, clean, and place the tank where you want it.
step eleven, commence fun part.
The tank should still hold together once all the silicone is removed right? I think I read that the silicone inbetween the panes is what holds it together, and that we can reseal just the corners without having to take the tank apart. Hopefully this is correct, as I plan on doing this.
Ragman Jones
New member
Just curious, but why cant you use Silicone with a mildew/mold preservatives? They leech into the water or something?
screwsloose
New member
yes. i have seen it at both my local stores
DO NOT use gloves, you can not feel the silicone on your fingers, and bye the time you notice it will be everywhere, use bear hands, just wet you finger before you smooth out the silicone, just keep it wet and it will not stick, make sure you do it all in one shot, so it all drys at once
Sisterlimonpot
Premium Member
Use the curved portion on a spoon to get a uniform bead.
Well, I'm so ****ed at myself. I spent about 3 hours striping the old silicone, washing the tank out, cleaning it all up with alcohol, masking it off nice and straight, and applying silicone. I used a spoon to smooth the silicone into the edges, then peeled up all the tape. Well, one of the vertical seams looked a little jagged on the edge (not nice and straight along where the tape was) so I tried to smooth it out with my finger dipped in alcohol. Needless to say this caused a big mess and I ended up trying to wipe as much silicone out as I could so I can start over tomorrow. So I wasted $8 of silicone and 3 hours of my time...
I was very generous with the silicone, and had it all down, smoothed out, and the tape up within 5 minutes. Next time I am going to do one seam at a time, and lift the tape off after doing each respective seam, so the silicone will be as wet as possible when pulling the tape up. I will also use my finger dipped in alcohol instead of a spoon next time, I think, because with the spoon the seam had some "chips" taken out of it, for lack of a better word.
I was very generous with the silicone, and had it all down, smoothed out, and the tape up within 5 minutes. Next time I am going to do one seam at a time, and lift the tape off after doing each respective seam, so the silicone will be as wet as possible when pulling the tape up. I will also use my finger dipped in alcohol instead of a spoon next time, I think, because with the spoon the seam had some "chips" taken out of it, for lack of a better word.
screwsloose
New member
sorry for the bad news. i am watching this closely since i am about to do the same thing. please keep updating.
I have never heard of a spoon, but always learn something new, use your finger you can feel everything and get the right bead, DO NOT WIPE any execces silicone till the next day, it will be nice and dry grab a nice sharp razor and you can do all the details super easy, when its wet you make a massive mess, thats why no gloves, you cant feel the silicone.
cowboy20th
New member
When I did my sister's tank, I just used my finger and a razor blade no tape or anything. Tape idea sounds good, but my project turned out very nice as well. I just used the razor blade and a straight edged ruler to even the lines out. Looks like you had just bought the thing at a store. Take your time and be patient, 90g of water on your floor is an expensive fix. It took me three tries until I was 120% satisfied the tank would not fail.
Well, it went a lot better today. I taped off the tank, and did the vertical (visible) seams first. I siliconed one seam, smoothed it with the spoon in one or two slow passes, then pulled the tape up immediately. Then I went on to the next one. After the vertical seams were done, I did the base seams in a similar manner. After all the silicone was down and the tape was off, I smoothed out the bottom and top corners with my finger dipped in alcohol.
The bottom seams and corners are a little messy, but sealed well. It's okay since I will be using a sand bed, anyway, and they will be covered. The vertical seams look great, except one seam has a bubble where the two glass panes meet (the bubble is covered with silicone, though). It is visible, but I'm not going to worry about it too much, unless of course the tank fails the leak test. If it bothers me too much, I may get a syringe and inject the bubble with silicone after the seam has dried.
I discovered after this seam that to get the seams bubble free, you need to apply the silicone slowly and deliberately, making sure you are really forcing the silicone into the seam. If you go too fast some air can get trapped.
The bottom seams and corners are a little messy, but sealed well. It's okay since I will be using a sand bed, anyway, and they will be covered. The vertical seams look great, except one seam has a bubble where the two glass panes meet (the bubble is covered with silicone, though). It is visible, but I'm not going to worry about it too much, unless of course the tank fails the leak test. If it bothers me too much, I may get a syringe and inject the bubble with silicone after the seam has dried.
I discovered after this seam that to get the seams bubble free, you need to apply the silicone slowly and deliberately, making sure you are really forcing the silicone into the seam. If you go too fast some air can get trapped.
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