To reseal or not to reseal...that is the question

[Ed13]

I applied GE silicone 1.

GE 1 is not strong enough for the job, even less on a bow front. It's more of a sealant than an adhesive type.

[Keith Perkins]

GE 1 is not strong enough for the job, even less on a bow front. It's more of a sealant than an adhesive type.

I believe you, but it is the mostly commonly referenced product in various tank sealing threads here. Wish I had found the DAP product before I did the job twice and I got a new tank.

[wiifish]

Thanks for all the useful responses.... The tank held up to a few days of filling to the rim. I was curious as I wanted to resilicone a new trim on the tank...so I started picking off some silicone by rubbing on the old silicone and it came off without a problem. I thought if it is that easy then the seams should be just as easy..I tried and it held up...rubbed it a bit longer and harder and a small piece came off...I guess it would have given out eventually. I will reseal it in the summer. I bought the aquarium Silicone from my LFS... cost $20 CAD per tube. That is expensive stuff.

[Discus-Hans]

1) Let me ask you guys something, with "reseal" the tank do you mean clean out the corners of the glass, kit some new in and tank is "resealed"

or

2)take the glass apart in 5 pieces, clean everything very well, all old silicone gone, clean with trychlore, and put the tank together again????


1) hope you can sleep at night because I know I wouldn't, all what the kit in the corners does, is protect the kit BETWEEN the glass. The kit BETWEEN the glass is the ONLY kit that keeps the tank together.

2) Buy a calculator, put 1 + 1 together, good quality silicone kit, your time (if you do the job well) a 75 gallon .......... lets keep it low, 5..... 6 hours? the risk....... naahhhhh not for Hansie

Now if you want to play with glass and you live close to Baltimore, MD I think I've 5 or 6 tanks, cracked here or there. Cut them loose and from the 6 you can make at least 4 "new" 65 gallons. You can pick them up for free, I don't waste my time on them or the risk and.......... I know how to "glue" a tank, I made many, many tanks in my live, but cracked or leaking tanks........ use them to raise mice lol lol

Hans

[KEWX]

Hi Hans! I'll take them. Ken

[Keith Perkins]

Hi Hans! I'll take them. Ken

That took 3 or 4 hours longer than I expected. Apparently everyone isn't as busy shipping fish as Hans is.

[KEWX]

The Project Begins. We'll I got those tanks from Hans and I'm starting to strip out the old silicone to replace the broken panels. I now understand why Hans didn't want to waste his valuable time. It's not an easy job to remove "all" the silicone on a 65 gallon tank and it does take alot of time. The sweat equity will be worth it to me because I'll save enough money to be able to buy more discus from Hans! LOL

After checking out the prices of bulkheads and plugs to close off the drill holes (I'm not ready to set up a central filter system), I decided to check out the cost of replacing the glass panels. Almost all the glass companies I called wanted a ridiculous amount for a 48" X 16" glass panel!! You could almost buy a tank!

But I did find RG Collins Glass in Baltimore, Md that would supply the glass at a reasonable price so I decided to forget the bulkheads and buy fresh glass panels! Glen at RG Collins was great! I pick up the panels tomorrow and start re-sealing.

I'm still a little concerned about the silicone. Any thoughts are recommendations before I move forward? I read as much as I could from various forums about silicone and resealing tanks. Unless anyone has a better idea, I think I'm going to purchase either the DAP or the GE 100% silicone I, waterproof for window/door/attic/basement. It sounds like they are the same product as those labeled for aquariums and sold at twice the cost. It does have a FDA approval code, no sign of any mildew or fungus control. Drying time may be longer than other brands but it was recommended by someone to let it dry for 7 days before filling.

When I finish, I'll have 6 almost new 65 gallon tanks ready for fish! Oh NO!! I'll have to build racks/tables for 6 large tanks!!!! LOL! LOL! Maybe I'll get around to getting fish some day! Wish me luck!

[Discus-Hans]

Good luck lol

Hans

[Keith Perkins]

No surprise I suppose, I'd suggest trying the DAP product that says it can be used on aquariums. Or, if you decide to use the GE Silicone I, just do one tank and see how it holds up for you. It may work better for you than it did for me since your also doing the butt joints, I sure hope so. I'll be interested to see which product you use and how it works out.

[KEWX]

Since I'm doing several tanks, I might try several different products to see how they work. Sound like an ideal time for a product test?

What products/types should I test?

[Keith Perkins]

I'd like to see DAP Adhesive Sealant and GE Silicone I. Here's a link to the DAP product so you can see what the packaging looks like. IME it's much more difficult to find than GE Silicone I, which is available everywhere. Looked at 4 likely places before I found the DAP product at Home Depot.

http://www.dap.com/product_details.a...67&SubcatID=10

[KEWX]

I saw that produce at Home Depot but it's over $4 for 2.8 oz. in a small tube. That would make it $12 for the same amount ( tube) that's in a large tube which cost under $5. I wish it came in the large tube. Even the Prefecto brand sold at Dr Smith/Foster only costs $9.99. I can get tubes from GLASSCAGES for $6.

[JaredP]

I have a 45 tall that I got because it was leaking. I cut only the interior sealant out, leaving the frames on. Using the GE 1 I resealed just the interior seals. I water checked it for 3 days, and it's been holding water for a year.

I would not brave pulling panels off.. not yet at least. The key is take yor time.

[Keith Perkins]

I saw that produce at Home Depot but it's over $4 for 2.8 oz. in a small tube. That would make it $12 for the same amount ( tube) that's in a large tube which cost under $5. I wish it came in the large tube. Even the Prefecto brand sold at Dr Smith/Foster only costs $9.99. I can get tubes from GLASSCAGES for $6.

I concur with the size availability and pricing information you posted on the DAP and GE products. The thing is that at this point I've sunk a lot of time into trying to reseal my 72. Every project I do probably takes twice as long as it should because I'm really anal about the details. If I'm going to attempt it a third time and break the tank all the way down I'm not sure I'm willing to use the GE product again. I don't want to have to attempt to fix it a fourth time, so at this point spending $20 for 5 small tubes of DAP instead of $9 for 2 large tubes of GE I think is the route I'll be taking.

[KEWX]

Good luck! I bought some of the Dap you suggested. I'm going to use it to re-attached a new panel (between the glass) and then use the GE I to lay down a bead over the seams for one of the tanks. I'll do another with Prefecto Silicone from Dr. Foster/Smith and the 3rd I'll do all GE I.

P.S. How did you clean off all the old silicone? I've spent hours scraping with razor blades and Exacto knives. I started using the acetone to help find and soften the hidden silicone, so I could scrape it all off. A fine nylon scrubby and very fine steelwool also helps. If the seals fail, it won't be because I didn't get the old silicone off!