So when tearing it down, am I supposed to be do literally that, taking apart all the panes and cleaning and prepping them out like I have a huge stack of glass or am I just cleaning out all the old silicon on the inside while it's still together and just re applying new adhesive. I'm headed today to go pick up Momentive RTV108
Hello; Yes this is what I would try first. The portions of the tank that are still securely adheared to each other would only have the inner seam of old silicone cut away. The failed end panel of glass likely needs to be removed so that you can get at and clean the edges. Then the end panel be put in place with silicone in between where the glass panels join. Then before that silicone cures run a seam along all the other inner corners where all of the remaining lass panels meet. This last line of silicone will be more for leak sealing but will also add some strength.
That said, this will still be a risky repair and may not work. You are on the horns of several delimas. --You can move the tank to some location for the repair and where a test fill failure will not do damage to floors, carpet and walls. The potential issue being that moving such a large tank back into it's set up place can lead to leaks.
-- You can try the repair as I described in place. If you are lucky (skilled) and the repair goes well then all is fine.
-- You can go the full tear down and reassembly of all the panels. Still a risk of a leak later. Als some risk of cracking the glass at some point. Not so much on smaller tanks, but those glass panels should have some weight.
I am one who usually tries to do a repair. If you own the home then any failure is to your own place. If you rent and do not already have it, consider renters insurance. Be sure to check that the policy covers such a large tank.
What ever you decide to do, Good Luck.
