I used acetone to remove any tiny bits of silicone that my eyes and my scraper did not catch but could be felt to the touch.Since it removes silicone I thought it wasnt a bad idea to make certain the surfaces of the glass were free of any residue.....worked for me.
225 Gallon Aquarium Leaked
- Thread starter mike37909
- Start date
Okay but at the time that I successfully resealed my tank I was only concerned with residue from the acetone as I was not aware that it evaporated.
do not get me wrong, clean the pee out of with either. but do not rinse with any thing i guess was [point i was trying to make, when it comes to resealing a tank like allot of things, prep is everything , its only going to be as good as the prep you put into it no matter how good you are with a calking gun.
I could have used that bit of intel a few years ago and thank goodness I netted no ill results from my rinsing.
but again to the OP, once a tank is leaking, this the seal between the glass not the bead, the bead is to protect that seal, your true water seal is between the glass panes. can you do a seal with resealing? sure, but its temp, it will leak again. The purpose of resealing is to keep that seal protected. not to stop a leak, IMHO.
Sure, but how many years? 20 years? 30 years? 50 years? My guess is that there aren't many 50 year old tanks still kicking around. The silicone sealant used in aquariums are similar to the ones used in construction. They are just 100% silicone with no additives. In construction, I understand they quote about 25 years for the silicone sealant lifespan. I think it's naive to think that silicone seals in the aquarium somehow magically have an INFINITE lifespan when structural silicone does not. Sure, some may last longer than 20 years depending on use. My point is, seals DO have a lifespan. It's dependent on how good and what kind of silicone used is, as well as the workmanship and stress on the seals. How do you know how a secondhand tank has been handled in the past that puts pressure on the seals? How do you know the company that made the tank didn't cheap out and use an inferior grade silicone? With a new tank, those variables are minimised.
Merely the act of large water changes puts a big change in pressure on the seals. I do 80% weekly water changes. The pressure on the seals varies from quite high PSI to atmospheric pressure back to high PSI again over the course of 30 mins. Over decades, this will for sure weaken the seals. Structural silicone usually doesn't undergo such change in stress as it is usually more constant.
In any case, if you buy second hand items of any kind, you take some element of undefined risk. You are relying on the previous owner to have treated it well. You pay more for a lower risk with new items, but I have found that sometimes it's a false economy.
Hello; I have some old tanks in use for at least 15 years and maybe 20 years. I agree that there are few all glass aquariums from 50 years ago, perhaps none, as back then tanks were sealed with a tar like substance and had metal frames. Not sure when all glass tanks with silicone were first available.
