# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Opinions on whether you would or wouldn't re-seal this tank....



## trace_lynn (Mar 4, 2003)

A friend of mine gave me a 35 gallon hex tank that had been sitting in her garage for about 4 months because she is moving and didn't want to get into the hobby after all. She received it free from the original owner (moving also - a lot of people selling their homes!) who was using it as a scorpion tank (no water). I brought it home, cleaned it up, filled it with water and it has sat today without leaking. I noticed before filling it though that some of the outside edges of the silicone were peeling a little (you can rub it and the outside edge will lift up - not brittle at all, but still not stuck to the tank. I have read up on what it would take to re-seal the tank so that is not a problem......My question is, would you go ahead and re-seal this tank or since it is holding water just fine leave it be. The tank sticker (between glass and wood molding around the top) states it was manufactured Dec 199? The last number is not distinguishable. I don't know if it has been re-sealed before either.
Thanks!

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?


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## trace_lynn (Mar 4, 2003)

A friend of mine gave me a 35 gallon hex tank that had been sitting in her garage for about 4 months because she is moving and didn't want to get into the hobby after all. She received it free from the original owner (moving also - a lot of people selling their homes!) who was using it as a scorpion tank (no water). I brought it home, cleaned it up, filled it with water and it has sat today without leaking. I noticed before filling it though that some of the outside edges of the silicone were peeling a little (you can rub it and the outside edge will lift up - not brittle at all, but still not stuck to the tank. I have read up on what it would take to re-seal the tank so that is not a problem......My question is, would you go ahead and re-seal this tank or since it is holding water just fine leave it be. The tank sticker (between glass and wood molding around the top) states it was manufactured Dec 199? The last number is not distinguishable. I don't know if it has been re-sealed before either.
Thanks!

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?


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## jonah (May 5, 2003)

If it's in the house, it would get resealed. If it was one of my garage tanks, I might let it go and see what happens. Just the fact that it's been dry for a long time would make me cautious.

jonah


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

you already filled it with water... but did you put stuff in it, or is it just water? if the tank is empty with water, i would probably redo it... if you already have the whole thing decorated... i would just leave it because i'm lazy (i'm not accountable for any ruined carpeting if you listen to me) but if it's still easy to empty the tank and you think you can do a good job, then knock yourself out. then if it leaks, you only have yourself to blame









JP


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## trace_lynn (Mar 4, 2003)

Sorry - I should have specified







I filled it with just water and its sitting on my front porch - official testing area







- no carpet damage!

I was actually able to talk to the original owner yesterday (Friday), my friend called the original owner (her friend) - dizzing I know - but he stated it was used as an aquarium until his son got tired of it, then he switched it to a scorpion tank and then that went sour so it sat in his garage for aprox a year and then in my friends garage for 8 months ( I was told 4 before so aprox 2 years to accomodate everyones memory lapses







) and so I decided its best to re-seal it.

Thanks for the input though - if I hadn't gotten the extra info from the two parties it came from - the opinions here would have made me go ahead and make myself do it (I just didn't want to go through the hassel and needed some pushing). Safer in the long run - I just hope I can do a good job of it now........

Thanks Again!

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?

[This message was edited by trace_lynn on Tue June 03 2003 at 10:30 AM.]


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

if you happen to know of any plumber type people, they could probably help out. like spreading bathroom caulk.







good luck with resealing it, hopefully it'll work out for the best in the long run.

JP


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

If you could post your directions, pictures and cautions I think everyone would appreciate it. Let us know how it works out.

*James Hoftiezer

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*


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## trace_lynn (Mar 4, 2003)

I finished re-sealing it last night - I didn't even think to take pictures; however, I can say that if you don't have to re-seal DON'T DO IT









Since this was a 35 gallon Hex tank standing at 23/24" tall - it was a real PAIN. I really think this would have been easier on a 4-sided tank.

Suggestions/Steps: 
1 - Make sure you have 5-6 new sharp razor blades (not to use on yourself - It wasn't that bad!) to cut the silicone away with and scrape the glass.
2 - Some alcohol ( the rubbing alcohol kind - although a drink might have helped along the way).
3 - The finest sand paper you can find
4 - Some type of "V" to smooth out the silicone - easily found at Hardware store (this stuff is messy and is hard to get off your hands so you don't want to use your fingers).
5 - 100% Silicone (I got the kind that would go in a caulking gun) *GE Silicone I - Window and Door* (Make sure its as above because the others have mildewicide even though they say 100% silicone)
6 - Elbow grease, patience, time (Weekend project)

You want to finish the whole project as close to each step as possible because you don't want dust, oil, etc. to get on the glass after you have removed the old silicone. I did it within two days. The first day I cut all the silicone loose and made sure it was ready for the silicone and then did the silicone the next day. To make sure nothing gets on your glass you can always flip the tank over or cover it with a sheet to keep everything out.

1st - Remove all of the old silicone. Cut, scrape, peel, whatever you have to do to make sure its all gone. New silicone won't stick to the old stuff so you can't do just one joint - you have to redo it ALL.

2nd - Rub all the joints where you were working down with alcohol to make sure to remove any and all oils, dirt, and this also helps you see if you have any silicone residue left or if you missed any. If you missed any - of course you have to remove it and then redo the alcohol step till its all gone.

3rd - Lightly sand the joints (edges of the glass). This step is suppose to get rid of any silicone you may not see that is bonded/embeded in the glass. (This was from another site and I honestly could not see a difference in the before or after - so its your decision on whether you want to do it or not). There were not any scratches on the glass caused by the sandpaper that I could see, but if your careful, any you do cause will be eventually covered with silicone anyhow. - Again, your call on this step.

4th - If you do sand, make sure you wash/rub everything down again with alcohol and get the glass joints clean again. Let this dry and then its silicone time.

5th - **Be sure not to breath this stuff and do this in a well-ventilated area. Your using a lot of silicone - therefore you have a lot of ammonia coming off of it.** 
Apply an adequate (but not huge) bead down each joint - you may want to do 2 joints at a time but don't do too many at a time as the silicone starts becoming rubbery fairly quickly and you want a smooth seal. After your bead is down the length of the joint, run your "V" tool to smooth out the silicone and press it into the joint itself. *I did all the way around the bottom first and then the sides* Also, with your head down in a 24" tall tank, hold your breath in the tank and come up for air (Not directly over the tank). I felt like I was swimming as I had to turn my head to the side and away from the tank to breath!









6th - Once you have the silicone in place and smoothed out, flip your tank over with something under one end so there is a small air gap and let it sit for AT LEAST 24 hours to cure. (I say upside down because you don't want anything to attach itself to your silicone, dust, bugs, or in my case cotton from cottonwood trees - uggghh - it gets in everything).

7th - After 24 hours, cross your fingers and then you can test it by putting water in the tank to see if you have done a good job (ie - leaks). This is where I am now, coming up on 24 hours so I'll write more if/when I come upon any problems.









Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?

[This message was edited by trace_lynn on Tue June 03 2003 at 10:25 AM.]


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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

Yeh, I was going to say that resealing a hex tank might be tough but you know that now.


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## trace_lynn (Mar 4, 2003)

Well, overnight there were no leaks so I'll start setting it up soon. There won't be any fish in it for a couple more days while I get all the plants in there so I won't worry about any extra ammonia from the water - the filter is coming from another tank and it should definitely take care of the additional ammonia, if any from the sealant.

Of course if there had been leaks, I would have had to do all that over again









For any of you that have to do this - hopefully it is on a smaller tank and only 4-sided. For those of you doing it on a larger tank or even a small hex......GOOD LUCK and have patience









All in all I would have to say that in my situation it was well worth it since the tank with a stand was FREE.

Thanks!

Tracy
Ummm, Is it suppose to do that!?


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## mikajamama (May 12, 2003)

I am getting a 46 gallon bow front that a freind of mine has used to keep reptiles in... The silicon is a bit rough where pets have scratched, so needless to say I will be re-sealing my tank as well. I was looking on the web, and one of the places said that spreading silicone with your finger was easy as long as you dipped in something... I thought it was just water. ah I am using the caulk gun anyways, I am fairly proficient in that... or so I think!


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## Neal (Mar 1, 2003)

I just redid the caulking on my tub and use a tip my Dad told me - Use a potato. The starch in the potato keeps it from sticking to the caulking and its easy to shape the potato to whatever you need.


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## mikajamama (May 12, 2003)

that is a cool idea


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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

Tracy,
How is your tank holding up? I tried to reseal a 75gal that had a small leak this past fall. I had a real hard time finding the right silicon. Most of the silicon I found was not recommended for under water use. If I remember the GE Silicone I - Window and Door was not recommended for use under water. I finally E-mailed All Glass aquarium company. Then sent me a couple of tubes no charge. It was a pain but not to bad, I would do it again if I came up a good deal on an large old tank. 

Hawk

Trust But Verify «*»®


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## Jason Hight (Oct 15, 2003)

I found some silicon made specifically for aquariums at home depot. its by DAP and is just called "Aquarium Sealant 100% silicone." got a tube for like $3...didn't see if they carry bigger tubes or not


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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

That is the sweetest deal. I've looked again and again, but never found anything that actually stated it was for aquariums.

Do you have the part number(UPC ?) or anything?

*James Hoftiezer
Hoftiezer.Net - Journals and Libraries
Rate My Tank!!

Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive(No Longer Active))
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive(No Longer Active))*


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## Jason Hight (Oct 15, 2003)

I just looked it up on the DAP website.

http://www.dap.com/retail/retail_detail.cfm?catid=3&subcatid=7&prodhdrid=32

unfortunately it looks like it only comes in that small tube

it was at my local home depot in the aisle with all the caulk/silicone/etc

hope that helps


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