I had the same issue, and tried to go the "remove one pane of glass" route. After I got the problem pane removed, it turned out to be easier to tear down the whole tank and start fresh. And you get the peace of mind of all new silicone...
my tank "popped" after being sealed
- Thread starter Miguel4u2
- Start date
Mattyou;3734442; said:
I doubt I've seen as many tanks as you, but all my tanks have the bottom inside the walls, not the walls sitting on the bottom... I've read a fair about of discussion on which way is best, seems to be a tie. I'd go with however the tank was originally made.
I recently had a leak in my 120g. When I first bought it a couple years ago it had a leak. The first time I redid all the seams, scraping all the silicone i could get to with a razor blade. I went as deep as i could into the seams. i then cleaned with rubbing alcohol and resealed it. I let it cure for a few days and then test filled it and let it sit for a few more days. Once I was sure it wasnt leaking i brought it inside. This time due to time constraints and the PITA involved with moving it and such i just cleaned out the one seam that had the leak and resealed it in place. After the initial bead I put a larger "peace of mind" bead over it. The bigger bead is less attractive when exposed but you cant really see it now that cravel and such are back in. The extra silicone was really more for my wifes peace of mind as she was quite distraught when we had 60 or so gallons of fish water soaking into the carpet.
As for the actual tank construction I would say mine seems to be a combination of what people are describing. the edges of the glass are angled so that the bottom tip of the side panes are outside the bottom pane but the top edge is actually ontop of the bottom pane. I know because I dug in deep with the razor to get the silicone out.
As for the actual tank construction I would say mine seems to be a combination of what people are describing. the edges of the glass are angled so that the bottom tip of the side panes are outside the bottom pane but the top edge is actually ontop of the bottom pane. I know because I dug in deep with the razor to get the silicone out.
To remove the plastic tank trim, I use a hacksaw blade and slid it between the frame & glass to slice the silicone away. A long thin blade knife or razor blade will also work. Very tedious.
Be aware that there is probably some silicone on the edge of the glass that you cannot reach with this method. But once you get the inside & outside glass surfaces free, you can carefully 'tap' the frame upward to remove it.
Be aware that there is probably some silicone on the edge of the glass that you cannot reach with this method. But once you get the inside & outside glass surfaces free, you can carefully 'tap' the frame upward to remove it.
The tank is about 125 gal. 72" long 18" wide. The top brace borke a long time ago and when filled it bowed a lot which worried me so i tried to brace it but it didn't work so i left it for a while.
A week ago i put two 8" wide glass supports in it going from inside face to inside face. Just got done filling it and it has held for about an hour so far!!! I'll let you know if it pulls away but so far it seems like strong stuff. Cleaned everything really well with a razor and rubbing alcohol.
Good luck
A week ago i put two 8" wide glass supports in it going from inside face to inside face. Just got done filling it and it has held for about an hour so far!!! I'll let you know if it pulls away but so far it seems like strong stuff. Cleaned everything really well with a razor and rubbing alcohol.
Good luck
