Starting out with a used 220 gallon aquarium

[Jayy]

Hey folks,

I'm just beginning my discus journey, using a 220 gallon aquarium I bought at a government surplus auction. It used to belong to a local elementary school, but it's sat in a warehouse for a couple months before being sold.

I got it all cleaned up and noticed that the silicone along the bottom of the tank in front and rear is very cloudy. The tag on the tank says it was assembled in 2003, so it's well over 10 years old. I figured I better check carefully for leaks.

Sure enough, after adding about 5 gallons of water, the rear seal is leaking.

So yesterday evening I cut out all the silicone and wiped down the seams with acetone. I reapplied GE #1 silicone to reseal it and I'm just hoping I did a good enough job. I've never tried to reseal any tank, but especially such a large one before. I should find out tonight whether it was successful or not.

[Altum Nut]

Fingers crossed Jay.
I am hoping that you went through some literature and YouTube vids on re-sealing a tank. The main issue is to never cut or damage silicone seal between glass panes where they adheres to one another.
I wishing you a thumbs up that all went well and no need for a shop-vac.

...Ralph

[rickztahone]

Truth be told, when resealing, it is best to actually take apart the whole pane of glass and then reseal it. Silicone does not adhere to dried silicone, and if you leave any silicone behind, that forms a weak point in your joining of the panes. Something to keep in mind.

[Jayy]

Thanks for the input. I did watch several videos on resealing the aquarium. At first I thought I would just be able to add some silicone over the leaky spot or just reseal one seam, but the videos I watched told me the reasoning for needing to strip every seam and reapply.

I did consider separating the glass panels and starting completely from scratch, but this 220 gallon tank weights about 370 lbs empty. I don't have a helper or a convenient place to do that kind of work so I left the silicone between the panel edges alone. I was very careful not to cut into the seam itself.

I washed down each seam with acetone and then taped it off, and spread a real fat bead of silicone. Then I cut the corner a little bit on an old credit card and used that to smooth the seams. While still wet I pulled up the tape.

This evening it's looking somewhat decent but I won't know till it gets wet. It's only been 24 hours and I'm going to give it another 24 before doing any leak checks.

This is a reef ready tank with dual overflows. If it holds water I am going to utilize a sump and a wet\dry filter. I plan to paint the outside of the bottom of the tank a sandy tan color and go with a bare bottom tank with just a few highly decorative pieces of wood.

My pump just arrived in the mail today, so I am planning on filling the sump tonight and pumping it back through the filter in a loop and then I'll start dosing with ammonia and nitrite to get my cycle started.

[rickztahone]

give it more than just two days of curing, especially if you laid down a fat bead of silicone. It isn't a sprint, it is a marathon, pace yourself and you will be happy you did. Now, if you had discus in bins waiting to be put back in the tank, then I would probably advise you to put them in earlier than later, but as it stands, you got time on your hands, and it isn't the weekend yet

[Jayy]

give it more than just two days of curing, especially if you laid down a fat bead of silicone. It isn't a sprint, it is a marathon, pace yourself and you will be happy you did. Now, if you had discus in bins waiting to be put back in the tank, then I would probably advise you to put them in earlier than later, but as it stands, you got time on your hands, and it isn't the weekend yet

I did lay down a fat bead but it smoothed out pretty well using the credit card. Still, you're right, I should give it until the weekend at least. Patience is not my strong suit.

[rickztahone]

nor mine, haha, but being in the hobby for so many years has taught me that patience actually saves me money, lol.

[Jayy]

Ok, I finally got everything installed and running. Here are some photos:

IMG_20160317_153415.jpg
IMG_20160317_153434.jpg
IMG_20160317_153455.jpg

As you can see my tap water started out really cold and needs to heat up.

IMG_20160317_153529.jpg

[rickztahone]

Was this the tank with the leak?

[Bill63SG]

Just saw this thread,without the tube in front of me,does GE#1 have an anti-bacterial in it? I belive this can be poisonous some bathroom sealents have this.Cant remember if it was GE#1 or GE#2.

[Jayy]

Was this the tank with the leak?

Yep, and I'm sure you can see my very non-professional caulking job in the picture. But, it holds water and that's what matters.

[Jayy]

Just saw this thread,without the tube in front of me,does GE#1 have an anti-bacterial in it? I belive this can be poisonous some bathroom sealents have this.Cant remember if it was GE#1 or GE#2.

When I picked it up from Lowes there were two different GE silicone products on the shelf side by side. I went with the one that did NOT say Mold-Free. The #2 has the mold inhibiting agent whereas the #1 that I bought did not.

[Akili]

Yep, and I'm sure you can see my very non-professional caulking job in the picture. But, it holds water and that's what matters.

Next use masking tape on both sides of the area you going to silicone in a straight line and when you have finished smoothing the silicone, pull the tape off. You will have a clean line.

[Bill63SG]

When I picked it up from Lowes there were two different GE silicone products on the shelf side by side. I went with the one that did NOT say Mold-Free. The #2 has the mold inhibiting agent whereas the #1 that I bought did not.

Should be good then

[pitdogg2]

Truth be told, when resealing, it is best to actually take apart the whole pane of glass and then reseal it. Silicone does not adhere to dried silicone, and if you leave any silicone behind, that forms a weak point in your joining of the panes. Something to keep in mind.

I know you mean well Ricardo but i have resealed many tanks and ALWAYS followed Altum Nut's advice even before I knew better. I have always cut to the glass side and never disturbed the silicone between the glass panes. My first is going on 30yrs now with never any leaks all silicone is still well sealed.

Jayy like Ricardo said take it slow my friend give it a good week to seal then fill with water and let sit a week somewhere where any leaks no matter how small will be noticed. I use my garage floor that way I still can see under it to see if there is any damp or wet spots...Anything that large you only really want to do once and if you get in a hurry you'll regret it 220 gallons of water makes a big mess.

yep #1 is the correct one


edit i see you already fulled good luck