Does this tank need to be resealed?

[Hybridfish7]

Old 30 I drained and left in my storage after a parasite outbreak killed all it's inhabitants. It's been dry and completely empty for the last year or so, there wasn't even substrate in it to begin with. My main concern is the silicone, that looks a little iffy to me. The rim is also cracked. I feel like I should do something about it but I don't want to risk compromising the tanks structural integrity any further because of my inexperience with this kind of thing.

 

[BIG-G]

I think it needs to be repaired.
The frame being cracked shouldn’t matter to much.
Look at the silicone between the glass, if it looks good you can just do a reseal of the inside silicone.
Use razor blades to cut all the old silicone out, being careful not to let the blade slip between the glass.
Be sure you remove all the residue completely.
Wipe everything down with alcohol before reapplying new silicone.


For this size tank it’s not a lot of money to just replace it.
But if you’re like me I like to fix things instead of just replacing them.
This kind of repair isn’t hard, once you get the hang of it.

 

[Hybridfish7]

if I do reseal that should involve taking the top rim off right? what should I do once the top rim is off? if it's cracked should I even bother putting it back on? and because of the height of a 30, would not having a top rim be problematic?

 

[BIG-G]

if I do reseal that should involve taking the top rim off right? what should I do once the top rim is off? if it's cracked should I even bother putting it back on? and because of the height of a 30, would not having a top rim be problematic?

No, to do an inside seam repair you do not need to remove the top trim.

The only reason I would remove the top trim would be to replace it or if I was completely disassembling the tank for a rebuild.

 

[Hybridfish7]

Alright then, gotcha. That saves me a lot of pain and hassle

 

[TwoHedWlf]

A 30, that small unless you want to do it for fun I'd probably go buy a replacement. Especially if you're in the US where you get the dollar/gallon sales every second week.

Then disassemble the old tank and you have a big supply of glass for lids, repairs, etc.

 

[Hybridfish7]

30bs are one of the uncommon models (that they don't sell for a dollar per gallon) hence why I wanted to repair mine. Cheapest I found a 30b for was 120. Meanwhile I got mine old and used for 20. If it was something like a 20l id just buy a new one and scrap the old one for glass.

 

[Raka]

If this is the long 30 worth the time and silicone. Ive seen one for sale ever and its part of a setup my lfs has had on sale for years.

I scraped my 29 in about 10mins, glass was chipping on bottom so wasnt worth it imo when they are $30 at Petco currently.

 

[Hybridfish7]

well i got it resealed, black silicone so it looks nicer

but I just checked the back of the silicone bottle cuz I was wondering how long it would take to cure (it took only a few hours to get solid and not stick to my fingers) and it says "not safe for aquarium use"
is that just for the curing process because it releases heavy amounts of ammonia during that or does it mean in general? it's 100% silicone but it also says fungus free so I feel like it might have some sort of fungicide in it. Would this still be safe or should i start over?
edit: so I found out it's just gonna be inert when it cures but it's silicone 2 so that's an ammonia cure, will it still leach after it cures or will I be fine?

 

[Raka]

well i got it resealed, black silicone so it looks nicer
View attachment 1409878
but I just checked the back of the silicone bottle cuz I was wondering how long it would take to cure (it took only a few hours to get solid and not stick to my fingers) and it says "not safe for aquarium use"
is that just for the curing process because it releases heavy amounts of ammonia during that or does it mean in general? it's 100% silicone but it also says fungus free so I feel like it might have some sort of fungicide in it. Would this still be safe or should i start over?
edit: so I found out it's just gonna be inert when it cures but it's silicone 2 so that's an ammonia cure, will it still leach after it cures or will I be fine?

My understanding is that you need safe for aquarium as the anti fungal will leech.