Help me reseal this tank please

[FahakaHome]

I need some guidance for resealing a Dutch Aquarium Systems 270g pond I have 2 leak points in the upper 1/4-1/3 of the tank. It’s odd shaped and the lower of the 2, the silicone is visibly detached on one side of the seam.
This unit has internal filtration and cannot get to the bottom under the internal filter or the corners behind the internal filter. Is there a way to reseal the tank up to the filtration that is viable?
The leaks are in the 45 degree angle joints. I have resealed a 75 and was successful but know silicone over old silicone is bad. Not opposed to using other adhesives if necessary.

 

[Gpdriftwood]

What type of fish will be going in it? If u don't want to totally strip/clean all old silicone and reseal, then the easiest ghetto fix is to dry it out, clean well and go over the seams from the inside with waterproof tape. I don't like flex seal tape, I use the gorilla brand waterproof tape. Stingrays will chew it though, just FYI.

 

[FahakaHome]

I am not opposed to scraping the silicone off. The tank is structurally sound as is. Just a steady drip per second leak in one spot and a lot slower leak in the other. I am concerned that scraping the inside silicone every where but where the internal filter/overflow is at I will not be able to seal up old silicone to new silicone. About 10 inches from the front of the back glass 31” of bottom of back glass and 21” of vertical at back glass is inaccessible and the filter appears to be not removable without breaking it.
Is there a way to make a solid bond to old silicone? Is a blanket of silicone over those 2 spots doable? If it was close to the top I wouldn’t be worried. At the bottom of the tank it could be pretty bad.

 

[FahakaHome]

Oh and fahaka puffer and a colony of kribensis will be in it.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Well if you already successfully sealed a 75g, then you already know the process.

Yes, that whole internal filtration unit has to come out. Its not worth it to try and piece together a new seal to the old ime, especially with a tank that size.

Ive never tried waterproof tape, but i do find myself in agreement that it would look ghetto as fuq.

Thats a gorgeous tank with a ton of potential. If its me, i would disassemble the entire thing and rebuild it just for fun using a quality structural silicone like rtv108 or scs1200. I would trash the internal unit and drill the back panel for a sump. I would do way more work than is necessary to get it running lol.

One thing that jumps out at me concerning the leaks is the why of it all. If you do reseal the tank in its current configuration, whos to say it will not spring leaks in the same places? Is that a metal brace around the top? Aluminum? You may need to augment that frame with some glass eurobracing between the glass panels to properly support those angular seams.

Best of luck with the overhaul, whatever you end up doing, and keep us posted how it turns out.

 

[FahakaHome]

It is some kind of plastic trim, plastic welded together to be seamless and I don’t think there is a need to brace the tank in anyway. The tank is 25-30 years old and still holds water the way it was designed and built. It’s not a home made tank. And I don’t disagree that complete disassembly would be best. I have never done that and am trying to avoid that. This particular setup is wood bottom and rim supported all around so I do think it would be easier than a “normal” glass tank to put back together. I just don’t want to get that deep into it if I can avoid it.

 

[Backfromthedead]

It is some kind of plastic trim, plastic welded together to be seamless and I don’t think there is a need to brace the tank in anyway. The tank is 25-30 years old and still holds water the way it was designed and built. It’s not a home made tank. And I don’t disagree that complete disassembly would be best. I have never done that and am trying to avoid that. This particular setup is wood bottom and rim supported all around so I do think it would be easier than a “normal” glass tank to put back together. I just don’t want to get that deep into it if I can avoid it.

Im confused, if its leaking, then its not holding water the way it was designed and built. At least not full capacity and it doesnt look like that filter will function half full. And while yes, it may be that the design does not require a top brace, but youre dealing with decades old silicone now.

I suppose you might get away with just stripping the seals up to and around the filtration unit. Could last for 25-30 more years or could start leaking from another seam in a week.

Cheapest and easiest option of all: fill it halfway, you now have a 135g paludarium that is still pretty cool.

 

[FahakaHome]

I understand what you’re saying now. I looked at some of what you’ve done and saw mention if not trusting old trim and old silicone. I will try and get the internal filter out. Worst case I can run canister filters on it and run without the internal filtration. Debated on pulling it for more space in the tank anyways. Where are you located? Kansas by chance? Could use a hand if it is gonna need a full tear down.

 

[Backfromthedead]

I understand what you’re saying now. I looked at some of what you’ve done and saw mention if not trusting old trim and old silicone. I will try and get the internal filter out. Worst case I can run canister filters on it and run without the internal filtration. Debated on pulling it for more space in the tank anyways. Where are you located? Kansas by chance? Could use a hand if it is gonna need a full tear down.

Haha no im east coast. But after reevaluating this im actually favoring a full reseal with quality silicone in lieu of a rebuild.

That top trim should pop off pretty quick after running a razor blade between it and the glass. Then it actually shouldnt be too hard to cut out that filter box. They usually have some space between the panels because the installer had to drop it in after the tank was together. Some high test fishing line will be your best friend there. Start with the razor blade on the seam and then work the fishing line in like dental floss. Safest way to disassemble tanks imo. When you get that out its just stripping the seals and resealing like youve done before. You can reinstall the filter box after or set up a new type of filter if you like.

 

[FahakaHome]

I like the sound of that! There is no visible seals to the filter box though I assume they siliconed in a few spots and stuck it on. Thank you for spending sometime thinking on how you would handle it. I will start disassembling and cleaning it tonight. Hopefully be ready to water test again next weekend! I will keep this updated on how it goes!

before I used ge type 1 for the 75. Is this still a decent option? Or a better choice for this job?