Tank reseal and top rim help?

joedodge

Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 6, 2008
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Hello all I'm getting back into the hobby now that life slowed down a lil again been a few years. I got back a 40 gallon tall tank from a friend I'm gonna use. He had lizards in it and a heat lamp melted the top rim brace and kinda dried the silicone. I was gonna use a razor blade and acetone and cut all the silicone out and top rim off and reinstall a new one and seal the tank with ge1 silicone. Does anyone have any advice or wisdom? I did one tank years back this way but wana do this right
 

PDRed302

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2011
1,521
90
66
Fort Worth Texas
What you named off sounds about right, my main concern is; since there was a lizard in it, was the tank sold as a terrarium or an aquarium? I would question it's structural integrity if it is not actually a fish tank (thinner glass, etc).
 

joedodge

Candiru
MFK Member
Oct 6, 2008
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No it's actually an aquarium. It was mine three years ago when I had to take a step back from fish keeping and a friend kept lizards in it is all
 

mudbuttjones

Fire Eel
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Jul 29, 2014
1,375
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Wisconsin
I just resealed a 40b and replaced both top and bottom trim. Each trim was like $16 at the lfs iirc.

The top is harder than the bottom due to how it sits on the glass. I used a hacksaw blade (without the actual saw handle) and a fine tooth miter saw.

Make lots of relief cuts every few inches. Cut slowly and make sure your blade doesnt contact the glass. Slip a razor or exacto knife under the trim to break the seal and gently work it off. Dont force it.

uploadfromtaptalk1412700304756.jpg

I ended up doing this around the perimeter of the tank. Then the sides kinda peeled off. The blade rode on top of the layer of silicone just above the glass.

Be careful. Take your time

:edit:
For the reseal just remove the silicone with a razor, wipe with isopropyl alcohol. Ge 1 works good. Use masking tape to help make clean lines. I let mine cure 1 week. Dont go too thick.

Sent from my SCH-R950 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
5,383
2,571
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Southern NH USA
Hello all I'm getting back into the hobby now that life slowed down a lil again been a few years. I got back a 40 gallon tall tank from a friend I'm gonna use. He had lizards in it and a heat lamp melted the top rim brace and kinda dried the silicone. I was gonna use a razor blade and acetone and cut all the silicone out and top rim off and reinstall a new one and seal the tank with ge1 silicone. Does anyone have any advice or wisdom? I did one tank years back this way but wana do this right
I resealed my 180 a year ago and just used a razor. No acetone needed. I just wiped everything down with iso alcohol before resealing. My experience with GEI was that it skinned over much quicker than I thought it would, so you may need to work fast on the glass to glass application. Take the extra time to apply the masking tape. I found that wearing form fitting latex glove and using my fingers to apply the bead worked best.........at least for me. GL
 

fishguy306

Peacock Bass
Community Vendor
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Oct 24, 2005
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If you do a proper job resealing a tank it is a lot of work. Expect to spend several hours cleaning the tank and getting it ready to reseal. You'll go through several razor blades to get the majority off. Then it is wise to use acetone to clean the glass. It needs to be spotless or you run the risk of a bad seal. I would use a high quality silicone, something better than GE I which is a sealant, not an adhesive. RTV 108 is your best bet, you can get it through Grainger. Silicone will skin over in 3 to 5 minutes, depending on humidity in the room. If it skins over you have been too slow and will need to start over. You want about a small bead of silicone, up to about an 1/8th of an inch at most. Use clamps to hold the tank together to dry, not tape or straps. Give it two weeks to fully cure, while the outside may seem dry before that silicone dries from the outside in and wont have full strength until it is all fully dry.

That all said, I have to think it would be easier and not much more expensive to just buy a new tank. I get wanting to DIY but for such a small tank I'd rather have the piece of mind knowing it was done correctly and not need to worry about 40 gals of water on my floor.
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
5,383
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Southern NH USA
From his post, I'm pretty confident that he just wants to reseal it, not completely dismantle it down to individual glass panes. If this is in deed the case, then GEI is fine and resealing is fairly simple IME
 

fishguy306

Peacock Bass
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Oct 24, 2005
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Resealing a tank is fully disassembling it, cleaning it and reapplying silicone, both the seam between the glass and the inner seam. I assume you are suggesting that he just replace the silicone in the corners? That silicone does nothing towards holding a tank together and keeping the water in. It's sole purpose is to protect the silicone between the glass, which does all of the work.

If the silicone in the corners is dry and brittle the silicone between the glass will be just as bad which means the tank is bound to leak or burst a seam and needs to be fully disassembled.
 

xraycer

Arapaima
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2013
5,383
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Southern NH USA
Resealing a tank is fully disassembling it, cleaning it and reapplying silicone, both the seam between the glass and the inner seam.
I believe the more appropriate term for that would be "rebuild". Anyways, I do believe the OP just want to pt a new application of silicone to the continuous corners of the inside of the tank........which I would refer to as resealing ;)
 

fishguy306

Peacock Bass
Community Vendor
MFK Member
Oct 24, 2005
1,161
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Illinois
That is not resealing a tank however as you aren't sealing anything. You are protecting the seams, not keeping water in by doing that. Either way, if the silicone in the corner is dry the silicone between the glass wont be any better and should be replaced as well.
 
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