Used 180 gallon tank

[fishblahblah]

Hi all,
I was lucky enough to get a free 180 gallon tank off of Craigslist. The guy had taken down his fish room a couple years back and had stored the tank outside. I currently have a grossly overstocked 125 and was hoping to: 1) thin out my stock by trading quite a few of my current fish in to my lfs, 2) combine the remaining fish from my 125 and 75 into the 180, and 3) move my planted angelfish tank stock to the 75.
The 180 held water but was in rough condition with both center braces broken. Since it had been stored outside I thought it was best to redo the silicone since I had to build a new top frame anyway; wanted to do it so it would last. I've built the top frame and resealed the tank. I let the silicone cure for 4 days and have had it filled with water for about 24 hours now.
*Now* the silicone is not very pretty looking because I really tried to goop it on pretty thick. It's not leaking so far but today I noticed very small bubbles or air pockets in the silicone. If I press the pockets in an upward motion the air bubble releases and dissipates. I can't tell if the bubbles are from when I filled tank and are just caught in the imperfections in the silicone (the application isn't very smooth) or if they're actually between the glass and silicone. Is this a bad seal? It's holding water now but should I be expecting a leak at some point?

 

[Bigfishnut]

Only time will tell. When you seal a tank, thickness of silicone is not important. Getting even distribution is far more important. Easier to do that with a thin bead and spread it evenly with your finger. If you want a professional looking job, use masking tape. Just be sure to remove the tape before the silicone begines to cure.

 

[fishblahblah]

Only time will tell. When you seal a tank, thickness of silicone is not important. Getting even distribution is far more important. Easier to do that with a thin bead and spread it evenly with your finger. If you want a professional looking job, use masking tape. Just be sure to remove the tape before the silicone begines to cure.

Ok thanks. When I resealed the tank I used masking tape but thought a thicker bead and coating would be better for such a large tank. The silicone is not necessarily evenly distributed because i used my finger to spread it but globbed more on in parts that looked a little bare and especially along the bottom and corners. From the pics included in my op, what do you think? Is it too uneven and should the little bubbles be in there? I can reseal it but JEEZ what a big pain to scrape all that stuff off again.

 

[fishblahblah]

Anyone have any other input? It's still holding water today. Any thoughts on the tiny bubbles? Any thoughts or suggestion are greatly appreciated!

 

[wannadivesteve]

In my opinion, I would worry about bubbles IF they are directly between the glass, eventually they could get bigger if you don't have a good seal or bracing and cause problems. If the bubbles you are worried about are off to the side of the actual joint I doubt there will be a big issue. I am under the impression that the strength of the joint is the caulk directly between the glass, the bead of caulk added to the corner to the sides of the actual joint are to ensure there aren't any capillary leaks that might have been missed. I've seen some tanks over the years that had little in the way of an extra bead in the corners that have done just fine. I cfould be wrong though.

 

[fishblahblah]

In my opinion, I would worry about bubbles IF they are directly between the glass, eventually they could get bigger if you don't have a good seal or bracing and cause problems. If the bubbles you are worried about are off to the side of the actual joint I doubt there will be a big issue. I am under the impression that the strength of the joint is the caulk directly between the glass, the bead of caulk added to the corner to the sides of the actual joint are to ensure there aren't any capillary leaks that might have been missed. I've seen some tanks over the years that had little in the way of an extra bead in the corners that have done just fine. I cfould be wrong though.

Ok. I really appreciate the replies. The seams where the actual glass meet look to be in good shape. I compared it to the seams on my 75 and 125 and it's in almost as good condition. The other tanks have no space or bubbles between the panels of glass while the 180 has a few very tiny spaces(i would describe them as micro bubbles) on each side. So far the diy frame and reseal are keeping the water in the tank. I will be letting it sit for at least a week in my back yard and monitoring any changes in condition/size. The outside temp is staying around 70-80 degrees and no rain for a while. I still need to stain and waterproof the frame but am waiting to empty the tank again. Thanks again.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I would be more concerned about the tank being full and sitting on those bricks. I feel like you are just asking for it to crack. I would drain it immediately and get it setup on a frame of 2x4's before you fill it again.

As for the reseal, I think that as long as you did the work quick enough and did all of the seems such that none of the silicone cured in between, you should be fine.

One last thing, for your brace, if you want something other than the 2x4 top frame, you could try something like what was done with my 220. Here is a picture of it:



It's a glass pane that is siliconed to the front and back of the tank.

 

[fishblahblah]

I would be more concerned about the tank being full and sitting on those bricks. I feel like you are just asking for it to crack. I would drain it immediately and get it setup on a frame of 2x4's before you fill it again.

As for the reseal, I think that as long as you did the work quick enough and did all of the seems such that none of the silicone cured in between, you should be fine.

One last thing, for your brace, if you want something other than the 2x4 top frame, you could try something like what was done with my 220. Here is a picture of it:

View attachment 1270340 View attachment 1270341

It's a glass pane that is siliconed to the front and back of the tank.

Ok. I'll drain it in the morning and set it up on the stand. I've been trying to collect as much info as possible on this project because it's such a big undertaking and I have very little experience with carpentry and repairing tanks. I considered the glass brace while searching for replacement options for the frame. A replacement frame for anything over a 125 gallon was impossible to find. You would think that I had the only 180 ever made. Even Aqueon did not sell replacement frames for their own aquariums. But the problem I had with the glass brace was the number of people asking for help on forums like this one after the glass suddenly detached from one or both sides. Your brace looks like it is set into your plastic frame though which is nice. It has a nice finished look to it. Was the brace missing/broken when you bought the tank or did it happen while in use? Did you install the glass pane?
The wooden frame has proven to be a bit more involved and not as sleek looking but I'm hoping it will add a bit more structural integrity.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Ok. I'll drain it in the morning and set it up on the stand. I've been trying to collect as much info as possible on this project because it's such a big undertaking and I have very little experience with carpentry and repairing tanks. I considered the glass brace while searching for replacement options for the frame. A replacement frame for anything over a 125 gallon was impossible to find. You would think that I had the only 180 ever made. Even Aqueon did not sell replacement frames for their own aquariums. But the problem I had with the glass brace was the number of people asking for help on forums like this one after the glass suddenly detached from one or both sides. Your brace looks like it is set into your plastic frame though which is nice. It has a nice finished look to it. Was the brace missing/broken when you bought the tank or did it happen while in use? Did you install the glass pane?
The wooden frame has proven to be a bit more involved and not as sleek looking but I'm hoping it will add a bit more structural integrity.

My tank is an old school O'Dell tank. It was built with that brace. The brace isn't actually attached to the frame at all. Those pieces on the side of the brace are just slip on pieces that are not attached to the main frame.

 

[fishblahblah]

My tank is an old school O'Dell tank. It was built with that brace. The brace isn't actually attached to the frame at all. Those pieces on the side of the brace are just slip on pieces that are not attached to the main frame.

Nice. It's a good looking setup.