silicone repair

[murdock6701]

I have a deep 6 sided glass tank (24+ gallons) - it has a small leak somewhere about 3/4 of the way up on one of the seams - it is not in use at this time but I would love to fix it and put a couple of angelfish (FW) in it as it has the depth to allow them to grow - should I remove all the old first or just go over the whole thing w/ a large bead - I really don't like the tank all that much because of the distortion it presents in seeing the fish although it makes it seem sometimes as if you have more fish in it than you actually do - I'm not into doing a job "half assed" but I also am not into completely redoing the whole thing either - any suggestions of proven methods would be greatly appreciated - thanks!

[goldenpuon]

I'm actually very bad myself at repairing silicone on a tank or fixing cracks buut Carl has an article on it. Here's the link.

www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/03/aquarium-silicone.html

Hope that helps!

[eve]

absolutely scratch all the old silicone off and put the new one in

then let it cure for at least 24 - 48 hours

and then test it out for 48 hours with water and see if it holds up

[corycatwoman]

i will agree with eve, but if the other seems are doing fine you might be able to get away with just taking off the 1 leaky seem to the bare glass and around the corners that are atatched to it and then redoing the corner with a little thicker of a bead and then up the seem that is the original problem with a normal sized bead.

[corycatwoman]

well this sunday im hoping i can get a free 45 gallon tank. all the guy told me is that it needs to be re sealed. so the only cost i have to pay is for the sealent which is around 5- 10 dollars ant petsmart. and of course all the things that go onto the tank filters,heater,gravel, lights...


my biggest and most important question is whats the best thing to use to clean a tank that leaks?

i would love to clean it out before trying to reseal the silicone.


second and also important question what is the cheapest solution for filtration?

and lastly if cleaned properly and resealed properly does it matter if he has had fish in the tank. then reptiles then fish again?

only ask because i was told if anyones had animals other then fish in the tank that the fish will die. i think they meant more like rodents and not reptiles but im just being safe.

[Carl]

First of all, I have been repairing tanks (professionally) for quite some time and feel that unless a tank is less than 3-5 years old (depending on manufacturing quality), I will strip out ALL silicone.

I will often sterilize a tank with a 20 to 1 water to bleach solution prior to stripping if used by reptiles. As well you can use vinegar in the stripping process to help remove hard water deposits which is important to remove as well, otherwise new silicone will not adhere well.

Carl

[goldenpuon]

I would recommned the bleach solution Carl mentioned since reptiles were in there previously. Use a razor blade knife to get off the old silicone and when you apply the new, apply it smoothly, let it sit 48 hours, and check to make sure that you did a good job afterwards. Then to be absolutely sure it is leak-proof, fill it a few inches at a time with water, check to make sure it is not leaking and continue to add water at this rate until you are sure no water is escaping and you are satified with your sealanting job.

Hope that helps!

[corycatwoman]

awesome thanks. i knew it had to be clean to re apply the sealant but i just wasnt sure what to use the bleach water sounds good i used it on the 30 gallon and also some of the works but looking back that wasnt very smart it made cycling the tank take twice as long.

as for the filtration. whats the cheapest and easiest to maintain solution for filtration. ive heard everyone talk about undergravel, HOB, sponges. all sorts of different kinds. if anyone can describe the process of maintining each kind of these filters that would be great! also which one is the cheapest in the long run over a few years.

[Carl]

I just updated my Aquarium Filtration article (as noted in the update board), this might be a good starting point.

Aquarium Filtration

Some of the information is generalizations, while other information is based on controlled studies.

Besides the popular HOB filters, consider the under rated Sponge Filters, or the much less well known (but often superior) internal wet/dry filters (such as the ReSun BF200)

Carl