leaking all glass 150

[squirt2005]

I've had this tank for about a year or so and it sprung a leak, it's dripping at a few drops an hour. I'll drain the entire tank tonight but need advice with resealing it. Do I really need to strip ALL the sealant away before I redo it? Or can I get away will going over the silicone provided the new stuff goes onto the glass. Thanks. Need to do this soon. 12 and 14" fish don't like it in 20 and 30 gallon tanks. I'm also worried. I've never resealed anything bigger than a 30 long. Any help is appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Geo_Master]

Do you have a friend or an LFS that can watch the fish for you? Id wait at least a day after the silicone is layed down before water testing, and then 3 days leaving the water just sitting to see if it will leak...

 

[Wolf3101]

yes you need to cut away all of the silicone and then clean the glass well...

it's not necessary to seperate the pannels and completely rebuild the aquarium but the entire inner seal needs to be done at the same time. If your inexpieranced at this you might want to tape off the seams to do a neat job. On a tank that size I HIGHLY recomend a calking gun and a tube of silicone rather than the small tubes from the LFS. It's a LOT easier to get a smooth even bead.

 

[Geo_Master]

What I do is lay a bead down and then I put those weird gloves you get from the dentists on to smooth the silicone out.

 

[Wolf3101]

Coat a regular tablespoon with Pam cooking spray and use that to get a smooth even joint. The pam keeps the silicone from sticking to the spoon.

 

[Geo_Master]

Thats a really cool tip. Thanks.

 

[canucksfan1]

or u can just spit on your finger, that alwasy works for me (we use caulking when we are roofing on any seams or nails in flashing that are exposed)

 

[Davey_8313]

or u can just spit on your finger, that alwasy works for me (we use caulking when we are roofing on any seams or nails in flashing that are exposed)

I do the same thing. Doesn't taste too bad, lol. I do tile for a living.