Quick quick need an answer...Jack dempsey 40 long

[Moloch]

All I can find for sealant (that says aquarium safe) is loctite brand silicone in 3oz tubes. Should this work fine? And how many tubes would I need? The standard gun-sized tubes are about 10oz...I'm thinking 3 maybe 4 of these?

 

[Moloch]

Uhm....I just did all 4 vertical edges with silicone and used half (or less) of a 3oz tube...does that not sound right at all?

 

[Racersk]

GE Silicone I is what I used. It comes in the standard caulking gun sizes and I only had to use one tube to reseal a 90 gallon glass lizard tank that I wanted to fill withwater. Those 3 OZ tubes got me through one 24" up and about 12" of the width.

Make sure to use tape on the silicone edges for that clean look, pull the tape as soon as your done, otherwise the slicone comes up with the tape(and leaves those pointy silcone threads )

 

[Moloch]

Yeah I think I'm gonna have to redo it again (I rushed myself for some reason)

I didn't really get rid of ALL the residue (there were spots that the razor just wasn't doing ANYTHING to, all I had to clean with as pure ammonia that I mixed with water and it didn't really seem to be helping). I got the glass as smooth as possible then broke open the silicone and ran right up the corners. Only used about half a tube, I'd say I had about a 1/4" bead, smoothed it over with my finger--that crap is hard to get off with soap & water--and now I'm waiting for it to dry. Tube says 45 minutes before its not tacky & 24 hours to cure.

I'll probably end up having to scrape this back off, REALLY clean everything, tape it up like I should have & use about twice as much silicone (larger bead anyways). We'll see...

Does it work to only do the vertical corners? Or will that leave leaks at the bottom where it meets the old silicone at the bottom?

I almost got the GE sealant, but I was hesitant to get silicone that says not for aquariums when right down the isle I could get silicone made for aquariums:\

 

[packer43064]

All I can find for sealant (that says aquarium safe) is loctite brand silicone in 3oz tubes. Should this work fine? And how many tubes would I need? The standard gun-sized tubes are about 10oz...I'm thinking 3 maybe 4 of these?

GE 1 windows and door is what a majority of people use.

Uhm....I just did all 4 vertical edges with silicone and used half (or less) of a 3oz tube...does that not sound right at all?

I have the bigger gun-sized sealant. It is 9.8 ounces. So you used less than 1.5 ounces of sealant? There's no way in hell on earth I would use this little amount on resealing. I did my 55 gallon and used over half the bottle easily.

GE Silicone I is what I used. It comes in the standard caulking gun sizes and I only had to use one tube to reseal a 90 gallon glass lizard tank that I wanted to fill withwater. Those 3 OZ tubes got me through one 24" up and about 12" of the width.

Make sure to use tape on the silicone edges for that clean look, pull the tape as soon as your done, otherwise the slicone comes up with the tape(and leaves those pointy silcone threads )

When I first resealed my 55 I had alot of those pointy threads of silicone. It wasn't a show tank, but now is so it's being stripped now and resealed. lol

 

[Moloch]

Yeah.....basically at this point I just don't what the easiest way to go about undoing it & starting over is, or if its not too late to just pile a bunch more on (its only been 30 minutes or so....)

I still want to know if its fine to just be doing the vertical edges though? I've left the bottom alone because it looks very much in good condition there.

 

[packer43064]

Yeah I think I'm gonna have to redo it again (I rushed myself for some reason)

I didn't really get rid of ALL the residue (there were spots that the razor just wasn't doing ANYTHING to, all I had to clean with as pure ammonia that I mixed with water and it didn't really seem to be helping). I got the glass as smooth as possible then broke open the silicone and ran right up the corners. Only used about half a tube, I'd say I had about a 1/4" bead, smoothed it over with my finger--that crap is hard to get off with soap & water--and now I'm waiting for it to dry. Tube says 45 minutes before its not tacky & 24 hours to cure.

I'll probably end up having to scrape this back off, REALLY clean everything, tape it up like I should have & use about twice as much silicone (larger bead anyways). We'll see...

Does it work to only do the vertical corners? Or will that leave leaks at the bottom where it meets the old silicone at the bottom?

I almost got the GE sealant, but I was hesitant to get silicone that says not for aquariums when right down the isle I could get silicone made for aquariums:\

It's okay I over did my first reseal and put a whole tube on a 29 gallon before. It held water of course, but looked like utter crap!! So I did the opposite because I was over cautious. lol

Most people reseal the whole tank, the sides and the bottom. It's just how people do it. You might as well, a few years from now you might have to reseal the bottom and then the old silicone on the uprights might not stick to the new silicone.

GE 1 Windows and Doors is the way to go. They don't say it's safe for aquariums for legal issues. Some fool would sue them when they used only half a 3 oz. tube to reseal a 40 gallon tank. Jk, I had to.

 

[packer43064]

Yeah.....basically at this point I just don't what the easiest way to go about undoing it & starting over is, or if its not too late to just pile a bunch more on (its only been 30 minutes or so....)

I still want to know if its fine to just be doing the vertical edges though? I've left the bottom alone because it looks very much in good condition there.

Since it's near the tacky stage by now I wouldn't add more silicone. I would try and take it all off hastily. Or wait a few hours then try when it's a little firmer. That's me, I've never tried to put more silicone on after 30 minutes though.

Also I suggest testing outside. Or in a bathtub or basement with a drain. You may have done your best job, but mistakes happen. A gallon the floor sucks, but 40 gallons and you have some serious drying to do.

 

[Moloch]

Eh...I just added more...its really starting to look terrible

I think I'm going to let it sit for an hour or two then scrap it all off and go again. In the meantime I can go on a beer run & get some cleaning alcohol at the same time so I can do that part right, get a cheap spatula to make a smoothing tool out of, and clear my head of these fumes

Honestly before I added more it didn't seem like there wasn't enough in most places...could've stood to be more even & whatnot, but overall it didn't seem too bad, then again....i dunno.

I've still got 2 full tubes and a half left of this stuff, it was about 5 bucks a tube. So I can either hope that this'll be enough and stick with it, or I can return the unopened tubes and get the GE s1... I'm thinking stick with what I have just because I already have it and thats just sort of how I do things.

Ugh.

 

[packer43064]

Eh...I just added more...its really starting to look terrible

I think I'm going to let it sit for an hour or two then scrap it all off and go again. In the meantime I can go on a beer run & get some cleaning alcohol at the same time so I can do that part right, get a cheap spatula to make a smoothing tool out of, and clear my head of these fumes

Honestly before I added more it didn't seem like there wasn't enough in most places...could've stood to be more even & whatnot, but overall it didn't seem too bad, then again....i dunno.

I've still got 2 full tubes and a half left of this stuff, it was about 5 bucks a tube. So I can either hope that this'll be enough and stick with it, or I can return the unopened tubes and get the GE s1... I'm thinking stick with what I have just because I already have it and thats just sort of how I do things.

Ugh.

So you have about 7.5 ounces left. That will be enough.

At least you know what to do. Just try and use at least twice as much and you will be set.