# resiliconing an old aquarium



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

Hello everyone, im new to the forum and am in need of a bit of information.

I have been out of the cichlid hobby for 18 years. And am now trying to ease my way back in.

I have a 75g that i used to temporarily house a monitor lizard when he was a baby. He scratched the silicone corners a tad though.

My question is: Is this aquarium salvageable? Should i scrape all the remaining silicone off and apply new? Or just apply the new over the old? And lastly, what silicone do you reccomend?

Thanks for all your help.
Chad


----------



## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

you need to remove all the old silicone first, and the GE silicone I is good for aquariums


----------



## shaguars7 (Apr 12, 2009)

i 100% agree with cjacobs...i have done it with tanks bigger and smaller than a 75


----------



## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i'm working on a 90 right now, the 24 inch depth is a p.i.t.a.


----------



## Malawi_Junkie (Nov 26, 2009)

Remove old silicone and apply new.


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

thanks all, i was afraid you were going to say that.

appreciate the help.


----------



## krfhsf (Dec 25, 2008)

razor blade out the outer seal. Do not scrape the inner seal(silicone at the 90's). clean real good with acetone to get all of the old silicone residue off(silicone will not stick to old silicone).When it comes to silicone more is not better.A small bead is actually better than a fat bead. you can press it in better with better contact. reseal with GE1 window and door. press it in real good with your finger into the seams so it makes good contact. After 4 day's clean it up with a sharp razor blade. fill with water on the 5th to 6th day. Works for me. Good luck!


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

thx krfhsf, i REALLY appreciate the step by step. :thumb:


----------



## thunderroad15 (Mar 22, 2005)

Not to be stupid, but all this ripping out old silicone and putting in new all happens with the glass panels still inside the plastic frames? I have a 90 leaker that I would love to reseal and set up near a drain in the basement. I have always wondered this, and could never quite imagine it. So, now my guess that I would keep it in the frame, then remove ALL the silicone, clean it up, and replace all of it, RIGHT?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

thunderroad15 said:


> Not to be stupid, but all this ripping out old silicone and putting in new all happens with the glass panels still inside the plastic frames? I have a 90 leaker that I would love to reseal and set up near a drain in the basement. I have always wondered this, and could never quite imagine it. So, now my guess that I would keep it in the frame, then remove ALL the silicone, clean it up, and replace all of it, RIGHT?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


What they are talking about is removing only the inner "fillit" seal and leaving the "butt" seal between the glass intact. That will work on a tank that still has tight butt seals, which saves the work of removing the plastic rame on the tank.

It is rather difficult to remove all the silicone while the tank is strill in the frames. You need to remove the frames in order to get the silicone out. However leaker tanks generally require this extra step.


----------



## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

ChadRamsey said:


> Hello everyone, im new to the forum and am in need of a bit of information.
> 
> I have been out of the cichlid hobby for 18 years. And am now trying to ease my way back in.
> 
> ...


Before you rush into this, have you tried filling the tank to see if it leaks? how bad are the scratches you're talking about? is it possible you are worrying about this for no reason?


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

that is a GREAT possibility rhinox.

no i havent filled it, EVER as a matter of fact.

BUT id like to consider it preventative maintance if you will. Id hate think that it will spring a leak while its holding 75g in my living room. My wife may not think too highly of me.

Ill fill it this week and let you know.


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

well, its been full for 24 hours and no sign of leaks, BUT i have noticed a few chips along the corners that concern me. But still no leaks what so ever.


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

ok, so it was filled for 4 days with not a drop leaking out.

here are is a pic of the edge in question that was scratched by the monitor.










and here is a pic of the chipped corner that also does not leak what so ever.










i plan to start scrapping and resealing the edge tomorrow.

But what do you all think i should do with the chipped corner?

thanks AGAIN for the help.


----------



## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

Just IMO, but if the tank has been filled and not leaking for 4 days, its not likely to start leaking any time soon. Furthermore, I'm not sure I would put any more faith in a DIY resealing being any less likely to leak any time soon.

I can't really make a good judgement based on the pics - just too hard to see the extent of the damage. Regarding that chip - is it on the inside of the corner or the outside? Is it smooth/polished or filled in with silicone, or is it sharp and looks like it occured post-manufacturing? Reason I ask is I notices a similar chip in the corner of the used 125g tank I purchased a while ago. Made me nervous at first, but then I noticed it is on the inside of the tank, and filled in with the silicone fillet. It appears to have been manufactured with the chip in it and passed whatever quality checks the manufacturer uses.


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

Ok thx Rhino. But just for my own piece of mind i scrapped what was left of the old out and am resealing the edge anyway. It appears that the INSIDE sealant is more cosmedic than functional besides. What really matters is that the butt seal is intact i take it.

The chip: it is NOT all the way through to the inside. It kind of a shallow chip of the outside piece of glass on that corner. It does look POST manufacturing as well. When you said that you put silicone fillit in your chip, are you saying that you just filled it in with silicone or put something completely different than GE1?


----------



## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

No I'm saying that the chip was already in the glass on the inside corner when the tank was manufactured, and the factory silicone fillet on the inside fills in the chip.

Good luck with the reseal. I'd give it at least a week before filling with water. I had to reseal the top frame onto my 55g aquarium and it smelled like vinegar for a week plus!


----------



## ChadRamsey (Mar 12, 2010)

ok, thanks for all your help

now to start my BG :thumb:


----------

