No only cut out all the silicone from the inside. Never took a razor to the actual seam sandwiched in between glass
265 Gallon Crossroads, a decent read ahead of you.
- Thread starter jesteratc
- Start date
I've never resealed a tank so I can offer no advice in that department. If it was me, I'd go 180 brand new and build in wall like you wanto it. Id be afraid of the entire tank bursting at the seals because you may have "missed a spot". Not worth having major flooding at your new home.
Same here,and I have never heard of doing so but just thought I'd ask since it was mentioned earlier.
A complete reseal means removing the top and bottom frames, cutting all the silcon joints beyween panes and putting it all back together.
So the question is, how far are you willing and able to go? A complete reseal is basically a rebuild and if you aren't comfortable with or able to handle those very large, very heavy pieces of glass, the rebuild should be handled either by a professional or as a team. Two people are used to set the glass on these tanks when they are built. ...so getting someone to help is what I would recommend.
If a complete teardown isn't going to happen, try setting the tank on its side to allow you to get into the tank all the way down. Removing the old silicon is extremly important....but tooling the new silicon is very important as well and if you can't reach in like you need to get the bottom and lower corners, you won't get a proper glazing.
Just out of curiosity, you may consult a local glazer/glass company and see if they may be able to help. The tank is certainly worth the investment.
So the question is, how far are you willing and able to go? A complete reseal is basically a rebuild and if you aren't comfortable with or able to handle those very large, very heavy pieces of glass, the rebuild should be handled either by a professional or as a team. Two people are used to set the glass on these tanks when they are built. ...so getting someone to help is what I would recommend.
If a complete teardown isn't going to happen, try setting the tank on its side to allow you to get into the tank all the way down. Removing the old silicon is extremly important....but tooling the new silicon is very important as well and if you can't reach in like you need to get the bottom and lower corners, you won't get a proper glazing.
Just out of curiosity, you may consult a local glazer/glass company and see if they may be able to help. The tank is certainly worth the investment.
Judging by the pictures it looks like a lot of start ans stopping on the corner joint...it should be smooth and even ans properly tooled.
Also, removing the corner overflow to get at the joint may be the safest way to do that corner as well.
That is a beautiful aquarium and it fits right where you have it in that room...
Also, removing the corner overflow to get at the joint may be the safest way to do that corner as well.
That is a beautiful aquarium and it fits right where you have it in that room...
The first time i re-sealed it i tapped everyting off, all the edges, as well as uprights and the bottom. I then went around and did a think bead of silicone. I was afraid to stop and have a break in the seal anywhere so i did the whole tank. It took probably 15 minutes to do everything. When i finally got around to pushing the bead in with my finger it was slightly bunching up. So i quickly went around to get it done as fast as possible. This is why it looks a bit notty on the edge. This could be one of my big flaws. This time ill do the bottom first, one edge at a time. Place a bead down, then smooth, then next bottom edge. When all 4 bottoms are done, ill move to the upright corners. Too tired from a 11 hr day to do it today, but ill update when i can. Thanks everyone!
I'd try and sell for more than you paid for it, make a profit; and go for the build in wall tank personally lol, because even a 150 is massive; and unless you need a 265g for a specific massive fish, to me it would be pointless space.
Updates. Not great but something?
I got my first quote to have the tank Professionally re sealed. They said 40$ per seam, but that means a total of $320 to seal my tank. Not terrible, could be worse i suppose. But thats more than i wanna pay. Also, theres no guarantee with that. Whhaaaaaat, no guarantee? Thanks but no thanks.
Then i got my second quote in from a local shop around where i work. Hey i wanna re seal my 265 gallon do you know anyone that can help me? No. Deffinately not. Ok, can you help me? Well, if i were to do it id start at $550 and go up from there, and no Guarantee. Man Nobody wants to own there work.
Ok so back to doing it all myself. Fine than at least i know what i have ahead of me.
So heres the tank with around 2 " of rock and water in the bottom.
My pumps cant pump when its this low. So i have to empty it by hand. and if i try to siphon with my garden hose its a real pain.
Turns out there was around 15 gallons of water still in just that small depth.
As you can see i have some rocks big and lots of gravel.
The large rocks in total are around 75 to 100 lbs for all of them, and the gravel fills up (2) 5 gallon buckets.
In order to scoop up all this i use my sons pool toy. Its like a shark shovel/bucket? So i scoop the rocks, drain the water out the bottom, and then put that into a larger pale that i then carry out of the tank into the 5 gallon buckets.
after about 2.5 hrs im left with this.
Basically the sludge from the water and tiny rock particles. this is probably the worst part gathering it all into one corner to lift out with paper towels to trash.
Heres where im at right now.
My goal tonight is to get the sludge out, and drain the sump system. As much as possible anyway. Because of the baffles in the sump i cant get all the water out until i remove it from the bottom of the cabinet, and i cant do that unitl the tank is light enough for me to slide away from the wall.
Ill update tomorrow as long as i stick to my schedule. Thanks for reading.
I got my first quote to have the tank Professionally re sealed. They said 40$ per seam, but that means a total of $320 to seal my tank. Not terrible, could be worse i suppose. But thats more than i wanna pay. Also, theres no guarantee with that. Whhaaaaaat, no guarantee? Thanks but no thanks.
Then i got my second quote in from a local shop around where i work. Hey i wanna re seal my 265 gallon do you know anyone that can help me? No. Deffinately not. Ok, can you help me? Well, if i were to do it id start at $550 and go up from there, and no Guarantee. Man Nobody wants to own there work.
Ok so back to doing it all myself. Fine than at least i know what i have ahead of me.
So heres the tank with around 2 " of rock and water in the bottom.
My pumps cant pump when its this low. So i have to empty it by hand. and if i try to siphon with my garden hose its a real pain.
Turns out there was around 15 gallons of water still in just that small depth.
As you can see i have some rocks big and lots of gravel.
The large rocks in total are around 75 to 100 lbs for all of them, and the gravel fills up (2) 5 gallon buckets.
In order to scoop up all this i use my sons pool toy. Its like a shark shovel/bucket? So i scoop the rocks, drain the water out the bottom, and then put that into a larger pale that i then carry out of the tank into the 5 gallon buckets.
after about 2.5 hrs im left with this.
Basically the sludge from the water and tiny rock particles. this is probably the worst part gathering it all into one corner to lift out with paper towels to trash.
Heres where im at right now.
My goal tonight is to get the sludge out, and drain the sump system. As much as possible anyway. Because of the baffles in the sump i cant get all the water out until i remove it from the bottom of the cabinet, and i cant do that unitl the tank is light enough for me to slide away from the wall.
Ill update tomorrow as long as i stick to my schedule. Thanks for reading.
Im glad your fixing it. We take granted for a lot of things we end up buying new things when old things can be fixed like this tank. I know for me a tank this large I couldn't do myself so I applaud the initiative your taking. This guy makes great videos and makes plywood tanks and reseals tanks and etc. Check out his channel and watch this video.
Heres a newer video he made
Heres a newer video he made
That first video is how i did it the first time. Then i realized i can get a smooth edge without using the tape. Because i found out the silicone sticks to the tape and wants to pull away from the edge. This go around i wont be using tape.
