# Resealing my tank



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

I will be starting a 29g tank that I bought at a flea market. The was in good condition, and a reef aquarist assured me that the tank was in good condition.

Yesterday I did a leak test by filling it up with water and running my XP1 in it overnight. It held together fine, no leaks. But as I keep looking at the sealing and feeling them, I get worried. The seals are very thin, and look worn. In some places, I can run my finger over it, and it will peel. I really don't want to have 29 gallons of water on my bedroom floor, so before I do anything, I want your opinion on the matter.

















































If I do need to seal it, what type of sealant can I use, and how would I go about resealing it?

thanks


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Looking at the pics the seals look ok to me. But to play it safe I would re-seal it, since you say they are thin & peeling. 

Use an "aquarium sealent" that can be bought at a LFS or go to Lowe's and get "GE Door & Window sealent" (I think it is called), which is much cheaper. In your case removing the old seal (or as much as possible) & appling a new one will be best.


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Ya, I think thats what I am going to do.

How should I do it? I think somebody here made a journal of doing it w/ pictures and everything.


----------



## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I vote for leaving it alone. If you fill the tank and let it stand for a few days and no leaks occur, it is very unlikely that it will leak when finally set up. If you apply new silicone sealant on top of old sealant it wont stick. If you peel off the old silicone and apply new sealant without first thoroughly removing the traces of silicone left by the old sealant, it may not stick either. So, why do all of that work, take the chance of doing a messy job, when the tank holds water?


----------



## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

The process of peeling off old silicone may cause leakage.


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Ya, but the silicone seals on the edges peel off when I rub my finger over them.
And thats just my finger, think of what water erosion might do to it. 

Now I don't know if I should just leave it alone, or reseal it.

In the pictures, I am NOT talking about resealing the bottom seals (the big fat seals), I am talking about resealing the side seals.


----------



## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

hoppycalif's advice is good but if you feel like you can't trust the seal then go ahead and re-seal it.
I've done it to several tanks over the years that I've gotten from garage sales and extended family
members and I haven't had many problems. I would go with a real aquarium sealant I pick it up for
about $5.00 so it's not that much more than a construction grade sealant like GE's at $2'ish.

~

What I do is break the seals with a razor (cut down the center of the seal) and then scrape it away
with the razor and then clean the tank with bleach let it dry and then clean it with salt water and
let it dry then hose it down with tap water and let it dry again.

After that it's just simple caulking cut the tube at a 45 degree angle and run a line of caulk down the
four vertical seams. Then wet your finger and run it along the seam from the bottom corner up to 
the top to flatten it and to make it even. Then do the same thing for the four horizontal bottom 
seals. Let it set in a well ventilated spot for 48 hours and then fill the tank and let it set for another
48 hours to see if it leaks.

I used to live within a few miles of a company that made custom salt water tanks for McDonalds
and that's exactly how they sealed there tanks.

- Brad


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Do these pictures change your verdict at all?

























__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


















That is the seal I am pulling off... it didn't take any force to do it...

I would really not want to reseal it, but the safe side of my brain says do it.


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

bradac56 said:


> hoppycalif's advice is good but if you feel like you can't trust the seal then go ahead and re-seal it.
> I've done it to several tanks over the years that I've gotten from garage sales and extended family
> members and I haven't had many problems. I would go with a real aquarium sealant I pick it up for
> about $5.00 so it's not that much more than a construction grade sealant like GE's at $2'ish.
> ...


Thanks for the run down!

I think I need to reseal the vertical seams, but I don't think I need to seal the horizontal seams ( look at the above pictures), right?


----------



## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

ir0n_ma1den said:


> I think I need to reseal the vertical seams, but I don't think I need to seal the horizontal seams ( look at the above pictures), right?


Yea I'd re-seal it to after looking at those pics.

- Brad


----------



## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

ir0n_ma1den said:


> Do these pictures change your verdict at all?


Yes, they did and I would certainly reseal the whole tank. Otherwise, I wouldn't use it.


----------



## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

That definitely looks like it should be resealed.

I could be wrong, but I've always heard you should reseal the whole tank at one time as new silicon doesn't stick to old well and could cause a weakness where the new and old meet. I don't know if it's an old wives tale or not, but I haven't been willing to take the chance.


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Personally when I resealed a tank, I only removed the loose stuff & resealed over the rest. I had no problem with the new sticking over the old.


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

this is the stuff I bought today. It'll work, right?

Like trenac said, I removed the peeling stuff the best I could with a razor and will just run a seal down the corners. I now see why building tanks is a PITA.


----------



## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

That should work just make sure there isn't anything with more than four letters in the ingredient
list other than silicon. Personally I wouldn't take the chance and just pay the extra $1.50/$2.00's
for official aquarium sealant I picked up a 8oz tube from a LFS that's lasted me a good long while.

- Brad


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (Apr 27, 2007)

Okay, all my stuff has arrived except the plants, so I need to reseal the tank today. So what should I do first? should I rub alchohol on the vertical seams, dry it, and then apply a bead of silicone? I really don't know how to go about this, could someone chime in?

thanks


----------



## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

Cut the remaining seems with a razor, scrape as much away as possible and then bleach it.
Let it dry and then clean it with hot saltwater let it dry again and then hose it out with 
clean tap water and paper towels. Then your ready to re-seal it.

- Brad


----------



## evitagen22 (May 1, 2007)

This is a good site that explains it:
http://aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_article.php?aid=107

I recently resealed my 45 and its a pita. You need to make sure you scrape off as much of the old silicone as possible, then using rubbing alcohol to remove any oils or dirt that might prevent the new stuff from sticking. Also, make sure you have enough silicone before you begin, my 45 gallon took slightly more than one tube.


----------



## Jolly_jubjub (Dec 16, 2010)

Hey guys, I realize this discussion is from quite some time ago, but I'm about to undertake the same venture and hoping to get some support. 
I've got a 24ish gallon aquarium that is quite old, and I don't trust the vertical side seals at all. In your opinion, should I redo the side seals as well as the ones along the bottom (which seem fine) and risk misalignment, or just do the vertical seals and risk a leak where the old and new silicone meet?
Thanks!


----------



## frog111 (Feb 14, 2006)

For a 24 gallon, it is not that much more work to do all the seams. Every tank that I have resealed and had subsequently leak was one where I applied new silicone over old because I got lazy. 

The basic recipe is the same as above, scrape with razor, clean, and reseal. The only variance is what to clean with. I use alcohol, and it also helps remove the thin film left after scraping. Others suggest bleach. Alcohol has the advantage that you don't need the extra rinse.

Frog


----------

