# Made a mistake resealiing...should I redo it?



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

This is the first time I've ever tried resealing a tank. It's a 25 gallon.

First, I removed ALL the silicone on the inside of the tank. Used many razorblades, and cleaned with alcohol. It took about 2.5 hours. It was quite smooth when I was done. Before resealing....I made a mistake!!! I touched the area with my fingers... a lot. I was running my fingers along the seams thinking to myself how incredibly smooth it was... I didn't know that you weren't supposed to touch it after the alcohol!!!!

So...my fingerprints are under the newly laid silicone...

Is this REALLY bad? Should I redo it, or wait a few days and test it out?


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## greenbirds (Jul 30, 2007)

If you want to be absolutely sure, then yes you should redo it. BUT, being as lazy as I am, if it were me I'd go ahead and test it out somewhere safe, then forget it about it. Hopefully it doesn't come back to haunt you in the future. It's only 25gal -- the stresses on the glass are not huge like on a larger tank. Look at it this way, all that scrubbing with alcohol, your fingers probably got pretty well cleaned anyway. That's not to say oil-free, because no matter how much you clean your hands, they are always secreting oils.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Ok...I took the plunge...AGAIN! Originally, I though i'd wait 'til it dried to remove it, but it turns out that it's A LOT quicker to remove it when wet. Super messy, but it only took me 15 minutes. There's a bit left, but I'm going to wait for that small amount to dry (shouldn't be more than half a day) before I remove the rest. I will do it tonight, then I'll reseal (again...) tomorrow. I want to get it right, because this tank leaked on me, I freaked out, and I don't want it to happen again.

So to recap, here's what I'm going to do (please let me know if I'm missing something or doing something wrong):

1. remove the rest of the silicone with a razor blade (or 3, or 10).
2. rub with alcohol (this is just to clean the area, right?)
3. PUT ON SOME GLOVES! 
4. Silicone one "line" at a time, and smooth each one as I go--with a spoon? (or do I silicone the whole tank and THEN smooth?)
5. Let dry 3 days (is this enough?)
6. Test!

I'll be using a generic brand of GE's silicone 1 for windows and doors--no additives.


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

switch #3 and #2 around and you should be golden! (if your tank doesnt take to long to seal, id say seal it all at once so you have one continuous line of sealent, then smooth... i believe if you dont smooth it out all you have is ugly seals, but you get more protection from one continuous seal... but im no expert, *** only re-sealed 10 gallon tanks...Allot of them, but still only 10 gals...

Oh, almost forgot to mention, the alcohol is to remove any residual silicone and oils that have been left behind on the edges... soem people even go so far as to use acetone, then rubbing alcohol (after the acetone has evaporated of course...) but that stuff is much harsher so youd have to be careful with it...


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Whoops! (about switching 2 and 3) I wouldn't want to make that same mistake again...silly me. I guess I can reseal the whole bottom, smooth, then seal the 4 vertical seams, and smooth. At the end, do I need to put a little extra silicone in the corners?

If I were to do the whole tank and then smooth, it would probably be about 10 minutes before I could do all the smoothing. I think that's too long..?

Thanks for your help


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## Curator (Feb 18, 2009)

id Im sure that sealing the bottom then smoothing, then the vertical seams, then put down the vertical seems then smoothing them, the main thing is to connect the seems as soon as possible... which means it may be better in the long run to apply the beads first, then smooth it all out, since *** only done this to a 10 gal, the all at once method is all *** used, for a larger tank you might want to get a few words from somebody who has done a larger tank be4...


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I've siliconed up to a 520 gallon tank. With more average size tanks, all you need to do is apply the silicone in a smooth even bead, pushing it ahead of the tip, and you won't need to touch it up. However it is wise to have spoons on hand in case your hand jiggles, or you sneeze. Finish the tank, which in a ten will take only seconds, and in average size tanks, a minute or two. Then if there are blemishes, run the back of the spoon's tip (or a Red Devil caulk smoothing tool) down the vertical beads. You should not have to touch up the bottom beads since they are not usually visible due to the frame and certainly if gravel is used. Leave silicone glops where thay fall or where they are pushed aside by the spoon tip. Much easier to clean them up after a few days of curing.
P. S. Doing the 520 was interesting. I used the back of an empty 10 oz. silicone tube to smooth the beads, and breathed through a hookah since the tank was being assembled in the room it would stay in, and there was not that much ventilation in it. It took about 20 tubes to do the tank seams and set the glass front.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

When you say "pushing it ahead of the tip", what do you mean?


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## illusions2281 (Jan 25, 2009)

is 100% sillicone safe? i just redid mine and i used ACE 100% sillicon but then as i was changing tubes i noticed it said mildew resistent. i did not list any chedmicals or anything. so is thisgoing to be safe for fish?


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

No, it cannot contain any additives (no mildew resistant stuff). People have had tons of trouble with those.


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## daytona1295 (Feb 12, 2009)

I just resealed a 20 gallon maybe i just got lucky but all i did was clean scrape then put new silicone and its holding fine (without the use of alcohol) . Also i used a silicone tool i got from wal mart to smooth the silicone out.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Ok, I'm done!! I resealed the whole thing first, then I smoothed. I added a little extra silicone in the corners before smoothing.

I realized that I put a REALLY thick layer of silicone. For the 25G, I used an ENTIRE tube!! How long will this take to dry? Is 4 days long enough?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Is that a ten oz. tube? The little toothpaste size tube from the pet shop would be a different story.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Yes, it's a 10 oz tube


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## Morpheus (Nov 12, 2008)

Fours days is plenty.


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