Has anyone resealed a 300+ gallon glass tank

[PDRed302]

Don't forget the masking tape as stated above, I resealed this tank (345) from a leak, as well as built a stand and hood/canopy.


Do it, its worth it.

They're aren't a whole lot of 300+ glass aquariums floating around, at least not enough to give up before trying... A little silicone and a lot of patience go a long way.

 

[fishrlife]

When doing the four corners start at the bottom hold the caulking gun upside down you will get a smoother bead I'm sure that's obvious lol

 

[Chicxulub]

If I had a chance at gettting a 300 that needed a reseal at a great price, I'd be all over it. I'd figure out how to do a reseal. I'm all about DIYing stuff to save money!

Moved to DIY projects

 

[administrator]

Tank looks great. I love the setup.

Don't forget the masking tape as stated above, I resealed this tank (345) from a leak, as well as built a stand and hood/canopy.


Do it, its worth it.

They're aren't a whole lot of 300+ glass aquariums floating around, at least not enough to give up before trying... A little silicone and a lot of patience go a long way.

 

[furious piranha]

Just thought to mention, if you tape up the corners for that nice straight line you have to remove the masking tape while the silicone is still wet. That will keep the line nice and crisp

 

[Kogo]

Thanks for the tips guys

 

[Superbass]

things were looking good for almost 2 weeks and i was just about to pat myself on the back for my first reseal. last night i must of just caught it about 30mins -1hr into its leak. lost about 3" of water( 14g no biggie its in an unfinished basement with a drain).
well unfortunately my reseal was a fail... ill have to start a new thread for some advice. the silicone split 6-7" (from the top down).... i was kind of thinking it would... but chanced it anyways. gotta drain take out the gravel etc etc take apart completely... this is one of those floating bottom types... but ill have to verify after complete dismantlement. FYI same corner that leaked, when i was resealing it i noticed the seperation. if you have this i suggest dismantle, rebuild and brace, again my dimensions are only 5'X1.5'X2'.

 

[pigoo]

I wanted to add this VERY VERY IMPORTANT tip to folks resealing tanks that haven't done it before. Many of the DIY instructions on the internet mention using masking tape to get a nice professinal look...which is a great idea! But what isn't mentioned (exactly) is when to remove the tape.

The silicon you use has about a 2-5 minute working time...time before it starts to setup/dry to the point that you can no longer work it.

When it comes to the tape removal & resealing a tank. You want to remove the tape RIGHT AWAY!!! Do not wait 1 minute, do not wait 2 minutes...remove it right away! What happens is...if you wait too long to remove the tape (what I mean by too long is 5-10 minutes)...a "skin" or "membrane" of semi-dry silicon starts to form on the surface of the freshly laid & smoothed silicon bead.

When you go to remove the tape...this "skin" will get pulled off as well...TOTALLY ruining the nice professional look you wanted! I mean REALLY ruining it to the point that you will need to remove all the freshly laid silicon...and start ALL OVER!!!

My advice is...have two people fo the resealing. One person lays and smooths the silicon beads...the 2nd person removes the tape as soon as the silicon bead is laid & smoothed. By doing this...you will be guaranteed a nice professional looking resealing job!!!

Learning this lesson the HARD way is not very desirable! Nobody wants to clean, scrape, and reseal an aquarium TWICE!!!

 

[Superbass]

I heard about that skin forming, thats why i was rushing and loling. i tried to be not so hesitate while "beading" but it is difficult when you have no idea what you've never experienced. when i was "done" i forgot to take the tape off immediately, i had this feeling i was forgetting something, i think it was under 5 mins that i remembered, so that could of been the reason for the imperfect look for some areas. do you really have to take it all off again if its imperfect? wont it still hold?