my tank "popped" after being sealed

[dr_sudz]

Ya make sure you give it the full time to cure, or you may even want to remove the pain that is leaking fully and reseal from scratch. Then let it sit for atleast a week before filling

 

[Miguel4u2]

why dont you re enforce the bottom of the tank with glass

the glass is not the problem, its the silicone, the glass i have in 1/2 inch thick

i have successfully resealed quite a few tanks up to 220g. And the method i use is whats called the spoon bead.

Basically you do everything just as normal (remove all silicone from inside, clean with denatured alcohol or acetone, tape off 3/4" around the entire tank at all seams, etc)

And then you use the back side of a plastic spoon to spread the silicone. It makes a larger bead size. And in theory should provide stronger seal strength. After spreading evenly with the spoon you remove the tape to make nice crisp sealant lines and it looks professional.

thanks for the tip, did you remove some of the silicone where the two glass panes meet?

I use a old credit card that I trim my own radius on one corner. This virtually eliminates the need to tape off the edge of the beads and gives uniform beads all around. I straighten up any odd portions of the beads before it gets a chance to set up with a razor blade.

There are a number of good ways to get a nice looking bead.

My best advice is to push the bead of new silicone, do not pull it. Pushing the bead with a small amount leading the tip of the tube makes sure the new silicone makes it all the way down into the corner. Pulling the bead can allow air pockets under the silicone in the corner giving you a false idea you have a good bead.

will do, i will be sure to push this time, thanks!

How long did you let the silicone cure? If it held water for six hours then a slow leak started and then it became a huge leak it sounds like the silicone didn't get enough time to harden properly. It happened to me once before so the second time around I let it cure for a week. Probably too long but I was paranoid of it happening again.

go with acrylic , silicone really isnt that strong. I would just order some acrylic sheets and make yourself a tank. ill never go with glass over 100 gallons anyone , after my 200 gallon sprang a leak. Now all my fish are at the lfs awaiting their new home.

i let it cure for more than a week and it still failed,and i will go acrylic next time but for now this is what i got.thanks.

Silicone can hold the weight. But the GE II might be your issue. It is non bioseal and all but I've used it for a few small projects and had poor results with it compared to GE 1.

I had 2 tubes that took forever to cure and had very weak hold after they did.

i am going to use ge i for the bottom and ii for the top sides, how does that sound? i also think it was the ge ii but it should be strong enough for the top corners right?

Yeah, first, how long did you leave the silicone to cure? I left it to cure for approximately 5 days. My beads were at 3/4in wide, even after 5 days, i think some part were somewhat soft than other parts, but I thought it was safe enough to start filling with water. As for scraping the old silicone, I scraped everywhere EXCEPT the silicone in-between the glass panels. On the corners, I put down extra silicone for extra protection/hold. I also used a credit card to "PUSH" the silicone into place, making sure to put enough pressure to go into the cracks that once had old silicone. IF i were to do it again, I would go with the spoon approach, sounds easier and less of a mess.

Remember the importance of resealing, HAVE LOTS OF PATIENCE BEFORE refilling with water. I would wait a week or week and a half before putting water in.

Good luck redoing it. I know it sucks, but it will all pay off in the end!

thanks, as for he spoon method, since it has a round shape it won't really push the silicone well into the corners so should i first use my finger then the spoon?

How long did you let it cure? I just used DAP on the box it said you could fill the tank after 48 hours, but online the more complete instructions say you can fill at 48 hours but full strenght is at 7 days, as hard as it is to wait that is what i'm doing, wedneday i'll find out if it holds

i let it cure for more than a week and it still failed,let me now how it goes for you.

 

[Muni]

I would recommend the GE I over the II anytime.

If you are dead set on using a black silicone then see if you can find DAP or DOW. They both work well and are available in Black.


Edit: You can find the correct DAP and DOW type numbers in this thread. A good read.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118131

 

[Miguel4u2]

I would recommend the GE I over the II anytime.

If you are dead set on using a black silicone then see if you can find DAP or DOW. They both work well and are available in Black.


Edit: You can find the correct DAP and DOW type numbers in this thread. A good read.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118131

so should i go with ge 1 on the bottom and dap on the sides or just everything in dap? thanks for the help and good luck on your build

 

[Muni]

Probably easier to just do everything with DAP instead of switching tubes and mixing types.

I've never used DAP myself but it seems to be used a lot with success. So for the sake of making things a bit easier just use one type. And let it cure properly. 5-7 days for full strength.

 

[FSM]

If I remember correctly, II doesn't have the same glass bond rating as I. Last time I was at the hardware store though, the packaging was different and no longer had the bond strength chart on it.

 

[Miguel4u2]

If I remember correctly, II doesn't have the same glass bond rating as I. Last time I was at the hardware store though, the packaging was different and no longer had the bond strength chart on it.

if only i knew, thanks.

 

[Miguel4u2]

Probably easier to just do everything with DAP instead of switching tubes and mixing types.

I've never used DAP myself but it seems to be used a lot with success. So for the sake of making things a bit easier just use one type. And let it cure properly. 5-7 days for full strength.

thanks for all your help i really appreciate it.

 

[gomezladdams]

Dont mix silicone I and II.It will make a sticky mess that wont cure!I know it happened to a project I was working on!

 

[Miguel4u2]

i want to do it perfect this time, so would this silicone work? it dap in black for windows and doors. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4MY67?cm_mmc=Google%20Base-_-Adhesives,%20Sealants%20and%20Tape-_-Caulks-_-4MY67

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/dap-silicone-rubber-sealant-101-oz-cartridge-p-5373.html?ref=42