How thick of a bead (Silicone)

[FreeGT]

I am currently resealing a 200 gallon glass aquarium. I never got a straight answer on silicone, so I ordered 8 perfecto tubes.

I want to know what thickness my silicone bead should be. On small tanks a finger will suffice, but on a 200 gallon, that's alot of pressure!

I have the caulking spreader tool with variable thickness. Anyone know what the specs are for new glass tanks, or do the big companies just use a finger?

 

[nes999]

you got a steal on that zebra pleco

i used the back end of a plastic spoon

 

[deeda]

I just checked my Perfecto 220G tank and the silicone 'flange' extends approx. 1/8" to 3/16" on the front & side panels. I hope that makes sense.

When I resealed a used 125G tank, I just used my index finger (in a vinyl glove) to tool the silicone bead in the corners. My hand would be considered medium size. I cut the cartridge nozzle at about the 1/4" mark. It worked perfectly. It duplicated the 'flange' seal on my 220G tank.

You are just resealing the inner fillet of silicone, correct? The silicone that bonds the sides, front and bottom panel joints is the actual structural bond. The inner fillet is just an additional leak proofing step.

Hope this helps.

 

[FreeGT]

I just checked my Perfecto 220G tank and the silicone 'flange' extends approx. 1/8" to 3/16" on the front & side panels. I hope that makes sense.

Not really. Do you mean to the left and right of the side seam? Like the excess to the side of the bead?

When I resealed a used 125G tank, I just used my index finger (in a vinyl glove) to tool the silicone bead in the corners. My hand would be considered medium size. I cut the cartridge nozzle at about the 1/4" mark. It worked perfectly. It duplicated the 'flange' seal on my 220G tank.
Hope this helps.

I have this tool. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...4jZDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=11&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0 On a large tank I thought it might be better to use this for consistancy. I work at a large petstore and checked out all the tank seals, and all of the larger tanks are just finger spread (some really sloppy!).


And honestly maybe I'm being a little too anal about this. I'm just going to focus on a nice solid bead, without any gaps (bubbles). From the looks of the tanks I checked out there seems to NOT be a science or thickness guideline.

You are just resealing the inner fillet of silicone, correct? The silicone that bonds the sides, front and bottom panel joints is the actual structural bond. The inner fillet is just an additional leak proofing step.

Yes I am only doing the inner seal. From my understanding the outerseal cannot handle the pressure alone, and thats why the inner seal is so important. I checked the silicone all around the outerseal, and there are no air bubbles, and it is not pulling away. I would imagine this inner seal should age slower, as it is not exposed to as many elements.

I scraped out ALL of the old silicone, I am going to hit the glass with 1000 grit sand paper before I hit it with 91% rubbing alcohol. This thing should be STERILE!

For anyone wanting single sided razor blades, home depot had a 100 pack for $10.....

 

[FreeGT]

you got a steal on that zebra pleco

Can you believe I offered to trade it for someone to totally reseal
(inner and outer) my 200 gallon........ and they said NO! LOL

It's a 7 year old male, he seems to be doing great in a small community tank, but he is pretty shy at feeding time, but I knew this, and take steps to keep him fed!

 

[deeda]

Not really. Do you mean to the left and right of the side seam? Like the excess to the side of the bead?


Yes, that is what I meant.

One other thing, whatever 'tool' you decide to use, try to make one continuous pass when tooling the silicone. It makes for a nicer finish.