DIY Resealing a 220--any advice welcome

[Jrob]

Okay, so i have a craigslist tank that i got for a steal...or what i at least thought it was at the time... until i took it home and found out my monster tank leaked...

thankfully, the glass didn't shatter or crack anywhere...the glass only separated from one pane to another...

So after being convinced by my two best friends to not sell it..i plan on trying....TRYING...to reseal it..anyone who has ever done this is welcome..and encouraged to give me as much advice as possible ...i have read the sticky on JK47 on how to reseal...and even sent him a pm.. so hopefully i can get this going down soon, and up and running very very soon ...

 

[Jrob]

Okay so here the glass is...separated but no cracks or tears in it...so hopefully soon to be fixed..

the wood is to hold the pane of glass open so i could scrape the silicone off with a razor...

i filled it up at night, took about 45 minutes.. (low water pressure)

the box full of goodies is waht all came with the craigslist sale..

the last picture is what scares me...it looks like the tank has been resealed before..?

 

[Jrob]

dad said that we should epoxy one side of the glass to the other...Clamp it together, duct tape the outside together, then silicone the inside so that the epoxy won't leak to the tank..when its filled...any take on that?? really looking for advice : / or input

 

[DMD123]

You got the tank for quite the deal! The little bit of elbow grease to get it up and running will be well worth it.

Just take your time with it and remember to overbuy the amount of caulk you need so you dont run out in the middle of the job! That tank seems to have some thick glass, but if it were me I might be tempted to do some glass bracing on the top before securing the top frame back in place.

 

[Jrob]

the labor shouldn't be the problem..the time to do it and doing it right is what im worried about lol
got a new job, so im working about 60 hours a week now...
as of now i have 1 - 10oz tube of sealant/caulk, right now i plan on resealing almost the whole tank, because the bead is very small in all corners...but i'm only using this tube for the corner to begin with...
the glass is very thick--im taking more pictures..one of the pics shows that the glass is (i think) 5/8" thick.. idk it was late but i think thats what it was...
do you have any pictures/references on a glass brace?? because the trim on the top isn't a frame, it is just a long piece of fake plastic made to look like wood-its called exclusionary trim..and has no structural integrity at all..it serves no purpose besides for looks..

 

[Jrob]

minor update no pics...
we epoxy'd the major leak in the corner together. let it sit several days, i peeled the duct tape off that was holding it together...took off the vice that was also holding it together...
Next step-peel out all of the small beads in the corners, take a razor blade to the leftover epoxy...
Reseal the whole tank with silicone.

 

[Jrob]

kind of been slacking really bad...been busy with work and getting ready for school again..

Corners are fully epoxy'd ...
duct tape is peeled off...
vice is taken off and returned to home depot...
small beads and all remaining silicone inside of the tank is peeled out...

In the process of scraping all of the excess silicone off with a smaller razor blade, and then acetoning the remaining residue...
Shortly after that i can scrape the epoxy off that is gooped up in spots, and begin to reseal..pics to come soon

 

[Jrob]

The duct tape residue is peeled off...
Money returned to account for vice...
excess silicone is scraped off...
tank has been acetoned..
all of the epoxy has been cleared except for the stuff on the inside of the 'seam'..
tank is fully resealed....
it is Now in my garage floor ...Filled to the BRIM...currently rimless...it has been filled for TWO whole days now...
and has not leaked one drop only 5 more days to go and it goes into the basement....then building the stand, and gathering materials to start it up