Should I re-seal?

[emo]

I got a couple of 2nd 15g tanks a few days ago, one is fine, but the other has been used to keep gerbils in... so some of the silicon has been scratched/bitten away...

There are two areas that are slightly worrying me

The first is in the middle of the tank, at the back... the silicon is all the way through the glass join, however it is a bit worn down

and

There seems to be a small hole, which doesn't go all the way to the edge of the glass, but again, it's worrying me slightly.

I have 1/4 filled up the tank, and it is all watertight... but I don't know if it would be with 15 gallons of water in it!

Would it be worth adding another layer of aquarium silicone on it? Or would I have to strip all the old silicone off, and re-do it? Or will it be ok!


Thanks

 

[simonbrown403]

personly i'de cut all the old out and redo them both, is ti worth the risk for the price of a tube silicon.
peice of mind?

 

[Setzergirly]

Oh man i have to tell you this story of desporation i had for my 29 gallon tank, ok so i origionally bought if for my rats, but they dont live long and i decided to reseal it for fish, i bought my first oscar when it was like 2 inches long, one day a while after he got a whole lot bigger when i was changing some water and some how i cracked the bottom too many rocks? too much pressure of me cleaning them, i dont really know how, but it was puddling underneath my dresser, i had to get a bucket and stick the fish in there while i looked at what happened, i get it all cleaned out rocks and all, and OMG there was this HUGE crack going from one side to the other.......what was i going to do? i knew i didnt have money to go and buy another tank at this time, and the fish wasnt living in the bucket or my tub while i begged someone for money, so the only thing i could think of was........ok ready for this........i broke a picture for the glass and i patched right over the whole crack......granted i used like a whole huge tube of lube, but that baby never leaked again.....


i should go and take a picture of this ten gallon tank i have right now....i dropped it on my foot cleaning it out one day when i was ready to have fish again.....there is this crack on the outter of the tank that i put some sealer on.....its been doing good for about a month now..no leaks.......(time passes looking for the camera) ok so i couldnt find the darned camera...

<3
Ave'

 

[ccg]

If you don't want to cut it out and redo it then just put lots of silicon over it.

 

[ccg]

For the size of tanks and the condition they are in I woudlnt bother cutting it out and redoing it. I would just pick up some silicon and go around the seams again, or at the very least just the 2 spots in the pictures. I recently re-did I 45 gallon that I bought used. It didnt need any at all, but i thought for the $3 cost of doing it that I might as well. I re-did all of the seems and you can even tell, looks like new.

 

[emo]

Thanks for the replies everyone... I think i'm going to go ahead and just add more silicone over the old stuff, especially in the damaged areas... just to be on the safe side!

Aquarium silicone in my LFS is lik £7.99 for a tiny tube

I can get a much larger tube (310ml) for a lot cheaper, it's new but it has expired recently (last couple of months)... will this be ok? Or should I buy a new tube?

I didn't realise silicone expired within a relitively short time space

 

[ccg]

If it has only expired by a few months then it should be fine, I would think so anyhow. As long as it still looks and feels the same it should be fine. I also don't by it from my LFS, I go to a hardware store and purchase a tube of 100% pure silicon by ge and use that, its like $3 Canadian.

 

[abstract]

yea you have to make sure the silicone from the hardware store is aquarium safe...as ccg said your best bet is GE silicone and i believe GE Silicone I is safe for aquarium usage, but GE Silicone II is not...i hope someone corrects me if i am wrong

 

[BigC]

This is the sealant I use much cheaper to buy than the named brands. No problems with this. Only £2.10 for a cartridge plus P&P.

http/www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/b/BITHA6/

 

[Crab Paste]

This is the sealant I use much cheaper to buy than the named brands. No problems with this. Only £2.10 for a cartridge plus P&P.

http/www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/b/BITHA6/

Great price for Aq Safe Silicone.....BUT.....OMG Post & Packing is £5.95 !

 

[BigC]

Yeah! I know CP I had to buy a lot of it (12 Cartridges) to make the postage worthwhile to Nth. Ireland. I thought the Mainland postage would have been a lot cheaper though. It is made/distributed by Bond-It (www.bond-it.co.uk) but they do not sell direct. Try Builders merchants locally to see if you can get a better deal.

 

[Crab Paste]

Yeah! I know CP I had to buy a lot of it (12 Cartridges) to make the postage worthwhile to Nth. Ireland. I thought the Mainland postage would have been a lot cheaper though. It is made/distributed by Bond-It (www.bond-it.co.uk) but they do not sell direct. Try Builders merchants locally to see if you can get a better deal.

I was actually thinking about buying a couple of dozen which would cost £50.40 (free postage over £50) and keeping a few and selling some on.

I've tried the local DIY stores but can't find 100% silicone.

 

[Discomafia]

yea you have to make sure the silicone from the hardware store is aquarium safe...as ccg said your best bet is GE silicone and i believe GE Silicone I is safe for aquarium usage, but GE Silicone II is not...i hope someone corrects me if i am wrong

You're right. GE Silicone I is safe for aquarium use, but II is not. It even says so at the back. I've used Silicone I many times, and it is definitely non toxic.

Type in GE Silicone I in the forum search, and you'll come up with many threads where the safety of GE Silicone I has been agreed upon.

It's much cheaper too, one big tube for less than $3.