to reseal or not to reseal???

[Mylilreef]

i just recently purchased a 150g tank (my first big one!) from a guy on CL. i am definitly looking foward to all that room to aquascape with going from only 55g! the only thing is, he said it has been sitting in his garage for a couple of years now. the silicone bead looks really good and intact. the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." keeps going through my head. should i do a freshwater test to see if it leaks and if it's okay just leave it alone? or should i just reseal it while it is empty and not set up yet?

any comments will be much appreciated. also if i reseal does anyone have any previous experience, hints, pointers, or possibly help? also where would be the best place to get silicone if i go that route?

thanks, cory:spin3:

 

[rcpauff]

Leak check!!!

 

[eddybabyhd]

I have a little bit of expierience with re-sealing, re-glazing, tank construction, ect. And I will tell you, that if its a main stream 150 (i.e. Aqueon, Perfecto, AGA, ect) trying to cut it apart and resealing the tank would be a task in and of itself.

Just getting the trim off intact will be a chore, not to mention keeping the tank square during the re-seal process

If you are worried about the degredation of the silicone, then the choice is yours, but it will not be an easy task.

 

[Mylilreef]

it is one of those types with the trim and all tha. i've read somewhere that you can leave the tank assembled and cut down the old stuff right to where the glass panels meet and just lay a new bead over that. is that not a very good way to do it? or would that cause more problems?

sorry if my questions sound ignorant, i'm new to this whole resealing thing.

cory

 

[eddybabyhd]

Not at all.

Laying up a new bead over the old is not going to hurt anything. As far as structurally, its not going to add much, however, it will give you peace of mind that the water is not touching the old sealant.

If it was me, I would not bother with scraping the old bead off (if may turn out looking worse than it does now)

But, if you want to put more on top of it, I dont see an issue with that at all.

Understand that the actual strength of a tank is in the 90 degree joint where the two panes of glass meet. That small gap, prolly close to a 1/16th-1/32nd of an inch.

If you decide to do it, it should be for reasons based on the history of the tank, its old, its had copper in it, the sealant is dry, ect. Dont do it for adding strength, because if the tank is going to come apart, laying another bead of silicone on top of the degraded stuff will more than likely NOT stop it.

Let me know if you need to know the place to get the good silicone from.

 

[luvabunny]

If it were mine, I would freshwater fill it outside and check for leaks. If it holds for 24 hours, I would say good enough.

There's never a guarantee with silicone. The tank I had filled over 10 months suddenly sprung a leak when there was no one in the house and nothing to bother it. When I drained it, the silicone still looked perfect. I never could find exactly where it was leaking.

Long story short, just because it's been dry doesn't mean it's going to leak - and just because you reseal it doesn't mean it's not.

 

[Mylilreef]

well, i got it filled to a little over 3/4 and the seal all around the bottom just seemed to let go. i guess there is no question to the resealing part now. i guess the new question is what kind of sealent to use?

 

[eddybabyhd]

well, i got it filled to a little over 3/4 and the seal all around the bottom just seemed to let go. i guess there is no question to the resealing part now. i guess the new question is what kind of sealent to use?

I use Dow-Corning 999-A or GE 1203

Both are glazing and building sealant and have excellent tensile strength

 

[rcpauff]

When it comes to building/sealing tanks Ed is my friggin hero!! Quite the craftsman!!

 

[rcpauff]

If you can't get it sealed up I have a brand new 150 sitting in my bedroom that has never seen water. if your current tank doesn't work out i would be willing to let this one go. it's a tall 150g, 48x24x30.

 

[Mylilreef]

thats the same size i have. i'll try to reseal this one first. if that doesn't work, i might be interested. but for now it looks like some scraping and a trip to the hardware store.

i'll try to inhale as much acetone as i can when prepping the glass for the new! lol

cory

 

[lauremf2002]

The sealant about made me fall over when I did my little 20 gallon fuge. I held my breath every time I stuck my head in and ended up getting really watery eyes and dizzy. (whether this was from holding my breath or inhaling sealant, I don't know. Probably a combination of the two.) Make sure you do this in a very well ventilated area and wear a face mask ventilator if you have one!

 

[eddybabyhd]

All you are smelling is the Acetic acid as it evaporates from the silicone sealant. While can be harmful in large exposures, I can assure you it smells much worse than it really is.

It is similar to the acids in our own stomachs...Probably why the smell is so foul to us

 

[gregzbobo]

Acetic acid = vinegar.

 

[jkhudson]

Make sure the glass is spotless. After cleaning, wipe it down with alcohol. If there is anything on it the sealant won't stick.

 

[Mylilreef]

I use Dow-Corning 999-A or GE 1203

Both are glazing and building sealant and have excellent tensile strength

does anyone know where to find either of these locally? i've tried lowes, homedepot, and ace hardware and can't find it. maybe one of those has it but not with the other silicone. the employees there don't seem to be much help.:fun2:

 

[eddybabyhd]

PM'd you

 

[Mylilreef]

well after some procrastinating I finally got the new silicone on the tank. i used the Dow 999-A in clear (thanks Ed for getting the silicone for me and especially the couple of pointers). that's some potent stuff!:spin3:

my one suggestion is if you have access to an air compressor, use a pnuematic caulking gun (thanks dad!). you would not believe how easy and fast it makes the process. i resealed it in two steps (bottom then sides) per Ed's suggestion which I would definitely agree with. each step though i spent 10x more time just doing the simple masking off than the actual laying down of the sealant. i think it might have taken a whopping 2 minutes to lay down and smooth the sealant out completely for each steps.

haven't had a chance to do a watercheck yet, but the tank seals look much better all the way around and i am pretty confident it will hold water this time. actually it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. i guess the first time is always the most intimidating.:bounce1: