Resealing leaking large tank

[emartin]

After driving for practically the whole day I returned with a 150g I bought from chris1932 (who I must say has some beautiful Discus tanks!).

The tank has a leak at the one corner. I was planning on filling it up partially one day to see exactly where it was so I can mark it with a marker.

Anyway I was looking for advice, ideas, etc on resealing it. Should I take apart the whole tank and then reseal all the glass panes to eachother, or should I just take the silicone in the inside off and just reseal the inside of the tank?

Thanks,
~Ed

[YoungAquaticPhotos]

I have bought and resealed a number of tanks. All I do is strip all the silicone off the inside of it, making sure to get all of it off the inside glass. I use a razor blade scraping back and forth. Go all the way up the side corners too. Then I buy a caulking gun size of caulk placing one line at a time and use my finger to smooth the bead out. I caulk the bottom first then go up the side corners. I have never had one leak afterwords. I have a 90 that I sealed 10 years ago that is still holding water. This last year I have resealed a 55, 45, 29, 20 & 15 all in place holding water.
Taking the whole tank apart is way too much trouble for me. so I never would do that, especially with all the luck I have had with resealing it without taking it apart.

[emartin]

Also, about the tank I have, one thing I didn't mention is it's a very old tank...one of those that have really thick plate glass (weighs at least 300lbs) and no center braces. Also, the plastic trim on the top and bottom is cracked in many places but I believe that is just for decoration and not for actually supporting the tank like plastic trims are in newer tanks. Think I should still just re-silicone the inside or take apart the whole thing to be safe? The glass is in great condition so either way I am going to be filling this tank up by spring...

~Ed

[CJC]

Ed,
All you need to do is what YAP posted.

[emartin]

So the broken plastic trim isn't going to affect the tank's old silicone seams?

Also my garage goes down to the mid 50s fahrenheit...is that fine for the silicone to cure or sure I plug in a room heater?

~Ed

[CJC]

Ed,
You need to read the instructions! I believe 50 is a little to cold for proper curing, I'd hook up the heater.

[jerrytheplater]

Ed

I had a 38 gallon AGA tank with a broken center brace. I filled it up and measured the bowing of the tank as it filled. I forget the actual amount of bow, but it was enough to scare me. I ended up making a patch with a piece of 1/8" PVC sheet and very small stainless steel flat head screws and nuts. I used 0-80 flat head screws from McMaster-Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/ part number 96877A076. Paste that number in the search box to see the screws. I bought the nuts from them too. I used about 15 of them on each side of the break. It works fine and the top fits too.

[emartin]

Any idea what I should do for the extra brace to help my paranoia? I was thinking wood would be the cheapest solution but it could weaken over time from getting wet every so often. A stainless steel new top and bottom would work but I'd have to pay someone to make it. And lastly a glass euro brace would probably work best but also be pricey for the glass...

Any thoughts?
~Ed

[emartin]

Well GE Silicone I says do not use below 40F, but I figured 55F is still pretty cold though so I guess I will have to use heaters.

Well, now it's time for me to look into making a wooden stand... Whether or not I end up taking the tank apart (hopefully not!) or just resealing the inside and making my own extra brace I am getting this tank up by Spring...

Thanks for the advice guys.

[emartin]

I have a question... If worse comes to worse and the tank will need to be completely reassembled, would it be cheaper/easier to find people with experience or an actual company to reassemble it, or would it be cheaper/easier to just recycle the glass and make 3 6ft plywood tanks?

~Ed

[emartin]

Hey everyone, think I should just start pealing off silicone and clean it without bothering to fill it first to see how bad the leak is? I'm getting tired of waiting for myself to come out with a design for a wood stand...

~Ed