Sealing a 150 gallon tank

found an old thread on sealing a 55. I just got scamed on a 150 gal. of course he said it held water. well it didnt and since he delivered it I have no recource but to try and seal it. so I scrape off all the old silicon, then clean with alcohol? anything else I need to do? then just get aquarium safe silicon from big al, etc. and proceed like a regular caulking job?
any help would be great , don't want to wake up one day with 150 gal on the floor and worse dead fish

 

Hello Wizard. Hate that happened to you. I can't give you directions myself but I'm sure someone will advise you shortly that does have experience with tank sealing. Best of luck! Hope you share some pictures once you have everything up and running.

 

I've resealed a tank before. Just scrape off all the old silicone (new silicone won't adhere to old, so you have to strip all the seals). I used a razor blade. It's a lot of work to get the old silicone off. Once you strip all the seals, use rubbing alcohol and get the area really clean. Then you're ready to seal the tank. I'd suggest wearing gloves for this part- I didn't and it was a real mess! Apply the silicone and use your finger to smooth it out. Some people tape around the new seals before applying the silicone to give the seals a straight edge. I didn't so I can't advise on how well that works. When you get it all done, let it cure according to the packaging on the silicone. I let mine cure for a couple days. Then, it's time to leak test. Fill it up with water and wait a couple days to make sure there are no leaks.

That's about the best I can explain it. If you have any more questions, let us know!

 

I resealed a 29gal that I made into a sump. Harp is right but I did taped mine, I also took an old cerdit card cut of the corner and used it to scrape the seams make it look nice. Then before the silicone drys take off the tape this is so it dosen't pull up the seam when you peel off the tape. Let dry at least 24hrs before adding water. Also do this in a well vented room outside is best the fumes from the silcone will get overbaring toward the end.

 

check this link out:



Hope it helps! Cheers!

 

thnaks for the replies. I now have a project. once I get it done I will post the reults
thanks again

 

okay one last question, I have read to use acetone to clean the old silicone after scraping, is acetone safe?

 

Yes. But I used rubbing alcohol and that worked well. The point of either is to get the glass as clean as possible so the new silicone sticks. Scrape it off the best you can and then use either the acetone or alcohol to get it extra clean.

 

Oh, and don't forget the pic's after you've got it set up!

 

okay I sealed it on tuesday, it has been curing in the garage. I will fll it tom and hopefully I did it all right and pics will follow

 

Good luck on the leak test

 

ok BIG FAILURE!!! filled the tank yesterday, discovered this morning there is STILL a leak. this time, the one side is pulling away from the front. drained it, scraped out all the silicone from between the glass pieces this time, and will try again, WISH ME LUCK !!!

any1 in the Indy area know anyone who reseals tanks? just in case

 

I believe to reseal a tank you have to remove ALL of the silicon first, basically you have to tear down the entire tank

 

I believe to reseal a tank you have to remove ALL of the silicon first, basically you have to tear down the entire tank

we did

 

ok, realed it again, this time I also ran a band of strapping around the top. the last time what happend was the ssilicon held at first but then it seemed the weight of the water actuallypushed the long side away from the shorter side. thus ripping the silicon apart. so after resealing I went to lowes, asked asked my friend in recieving for some cloth strapping and clips. it has been holding water for several days now. if all is well I will finsh working on the stand and bring it inside this weekend. I overddid the silicon so its not pretty, but I figure I can trim it later.

 

sounds to me like the center plastic brace on the top frame is not there. That would cause the glass to bow and the seal to fail, do you have that brace?

 

no we got the tank used(ripped off). there is nothing on the top. until I ran the banding, commercial type used to secure frieght to pallets. that has held . so now I will just make something to cover the band and that will also allow me to put on a glass top. prob 2 pieces. so I will finish the stand and move things inside tomorrow(sat)

 

okay the tnk has held water about 2 weeks now, so I will finish the stand. also got a brainstorm and went to the LFS and ordered ($50) a new plastic rI'm piece for the top. the strapping was holding fine, but figured why not make it look a little nicer.

 

I thought that was the case. I got ripped the same way on a 35gal ended up getting a top piece for about 10 bucks its not to hard to change out and it will look better then a strap.

 

yes the LFS guy said a few weeks. my take on it would be just slice the old top off, it looks like it is glued(silicon?)on. so I will just take that off, do a dry fit, then it is fits silicon it on.
well this delay gives me a little more time to mess with the stand, and also figure out what fiters to put into it

 

Just be careful not to scar the glass cutting of the top frame it will weakin the glass.

 

Ohh forgot to tell ya. Take a puddy knife put it under the plastic frame. Than take a drimel to the sides with the knife under it. The cuting disk will only cut the plastic.

 

I just resealed a 115gallon tank using ge2 100%silicone black... no problems... I advise u to tape it off after you remove old silicone and wipe very clean with alcohol...

 

oh yea use a utility knife to take of old silicone...heres a pic of the tank...
taped off


done

 

okay the rI'm almost looks metal, it is in what I think is 3 pieces. I will try the putty knife idea. the rI'm piece isn't in yet.
I did clean the old area well with aceton and then used tape to hold it into place. the silicon held what happened, I think, is because the rI'm was in several pices, the weight of the water pushed the long side from the short side, pulling the silicon apart. when is resealed it the second time and used the banding on top it held for 2 weeks. that's whne I ordered the new trim piece for on top. I hold it is the right size when it comes it. the LFS guy said most 125/50 are the same size. so I'm just waiting for it to come in now
I think I will be taking my eheim 2217 from the 30, replace it with a aqua clear 70. so in the new tank I'll have a magnum 350 and the eheim 2217, and a powerhead 50 going.
now for sunstrate, any ideas for the pacu? right no its just aqaurium gravel

 

Well just a bit of advice for anyone in the future who needs to reseal a tank, there is an easier way to remove old silicone. I work at lowes and we carry a product that you just apply to the silicone and it removes it without as much scraping. Just a thought.