Advice Needed Please, Second Hand Tank With Old Silicone

[herbie76]

hi all, ive recently brought a second hand tank which is 72x24x30. this tank had been set up and running up until 1 month ago when i brought it. i need some advice on whether to re silicone or not. the only reason i ask is because some of the tank has got algae between the silicone and the glass which means the silicone is letting by. also some of the silicone on the base inside the tank has visually came away. so would it be ok to fill up and get it running as it was a month ago or would it be best to strip the old silicone off and reseal.

 

[BigC]

This is possibly down to yourself. The question will always be on your mind.
Bearing in mind that silicone will not stick to silicone too well it would, in all likelihood, mean a complete re-seal.
You can patch, and others on here will profess to have done this, but its not a good idea.
The decision lies with you and you alone. "Do I reseal" and be safe or "do I carry on regardless" and take the risk.
Other factors would also have a bearing on this decision, upstairs flat, living with parents, rented accommodation, children running about.
There is a fair old amount of water in that tank and if it were to "let loose" there would be a helluva mess and some not so happy folks voicing their opinions.
Your call
Regards
C

 

[markandhisfish]

i think if it were me id want to go the peace of mind route and re-seal , especially with the am,mount of water that tank will hold .

 

[herbie76]

thanks for the replies, i think i will have to re do the silicone then, never done it before though

 

[the biffster]

thanks for the replies, i think i will have to re do the silicone then, never done it before though

if you have a decent LFS
not p@h but a proper tropical fish
shop they will probably do it for you
for the time and the price of the silicone
sealer. you cant use any silicone sealer
it has to be the right type if you use ordinary
silicone it will kill your fish

 

[rjohnson67]

You'll have to scrape off the old silicone and replace it with new. Make sure you get aquarium grade.

 

[raptorrex]

hi all, ive recently brought a second hand tank which is 72x24x30. this tank had been set up and running up until 1 month ago when i brought it. i need some advice on whether to re silicone or not. the only reason i ask is because some of the tank has got algae between the silicone and the glass which means the silicone is letting by. also some of the silicone on the base inside the tank has visually came away. so would it be ok to fill up and get it running as it was a month ago or would it be best to strip the old silicone off and reseal.

I vote for a total reseal too. but its a big job. it will, probably. mean you building some form of jig. in which to hold the parts prior and just after sealing. if you reseal a tank that size (well any really) slightly out of true, it can cause enormous stress.

 

[the biffster]

i was going to do it step by
step but i found this for you
i explains it all to you its
easy to follow and carry out
have good fun sticky moments


how to reseal a tank http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-gS7gp-ehM

 

[Timmy_Bee]

yeah you need lots of right-angled supports made out of 2x4 and i guess do one seal at a time.

My guess would be to build supports that look like this:

| ________________________
|| |
/||[this is the fish tank] |
/ ||________________________|
___/__|___________


I hope you like my art work!

Edit: that didn't work, did it....
Well you need an upside-down T shape, with one diagonal support. Il try again:

|
|\
| \
|__\___________
|
|
|

 

[the biffster]

i was going to do it step by
step but i found this for you
i explains it all to you its
easy to follow and carry out
have good fun sticky moments


how to reseal a tank http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-gS7gp-ehM

 

[raptorrex]

how to reseal a tank http/www.youtube.c...h?v=f-gS7gp-ehM

unfortunately biffo, i would not consider that a re-seal. more a bodge. as om47 says. old silicone does not stick, very well, to new. that is a cosmetic clean up. a reseal involves splitting the sheets of glass, that make up the tank. cleaning all the silicone off. then re sealing the whole thing. honestly that way does nothing to shore up the seals.