# Need advice on scraping and resiliconing my tank...



## bradleyheathhays (Oct 19, 2011)

Just got a second hand 125g tank of questionable integrity so I'm going to go ahead and reseal it all before setting it up. Can anyone point me to a general DIY/FAQ kind of thread on resiliconing your tank?


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Fairly easy actually.

Materials:
Razor blade(s)
GE I silicone
Painters tape
Rubbing alcohol
Rag

1) Using the razor blade, cut out all the existing silicone inside the tank. CAUTION: Razors are sharp! 
2) Soak the rag in alcohol and scrub the entire inside seams. Let dry completely
3) Use the painters tape to outline the thickness of your new seams. At least 1/4"
4) Starting with the bottom pane of glass, begin making your new seams using the GE I silcone.
5) After laying out the sillicone, use your finger to smooth it over.
6) When all seams have been completed, remove the tape while the silicone is still wet.
7) Let cure for ~ 48hrs. 

Good Luck


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

What people don't understand is that just by resealing the tank, this does not do anything for the integrity of it. In order to make the tank completely safe again, you need to remove all the glass and silicone, and reseat it all.
Aquarium Silicone
GE I or II Silicone


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

All old silicone must be removed as it will not stick to itself(that's part of what alcohol is for ,beside cleaning thoroughly).As Madness said there is more to re-sealing than just water tight integrity(pretty important),but the structural aspect is for more important.The silicone curing(cured) is really what holds the tank together,and125G of pressure is fairly powerful.I would let tank cure at least 1 week as from what I've seen of new aquariums they are ALWAYS at least 3 months old(tag of assembly on tanks).A few here have re-sealed tanks(much smaller) and waited the standard 2+ days before water testing in garage.If you can be patient I would really cure for at least 1 week.
Don't get silicone that has mold inhibitors in it as they seem to leach some sort of toxin that members have had trouble(dead fish) with.GOOD LUCK,I hope you get to enjoy your BIG tank!


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## ovoxo_mik3 (Dec 3, 2012)

Scrape out ALL of the silicone. After that I clean the surface very well with lacquer thinner. Then I run a tape line about a 1/2 inch from each corner on both sides. I lay the silicone in the crack with a caulk gun. After that I dip my finger in a bit of lacquer thinner so while you run your finger over the caulking it won't stick to you finger and it lays the caulking in there perfectly. After that, I take all the tape off and it looks perfect!


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## Donald Hansen (Jan 21, 2011)

I find that one of those plastic pot scrubbers works good for taking off that last little bit of silicone.

DLH


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## bradleyheathhays (Oct 19, 2011)

Well, I've gotten a lot of help so far and all of the various information sources tend to agree with each other except on this one point. Some give advice that, considering I'm doing a 125g tank I should take the tank completely apart separating the glass panels and top and bottom plastic frame pieces, remove all the silicone, and then rebuild it from scratch. While other advice is to scrape all silicone from the inside of the tank that I can get to making sure not to let the razor slip between the glass panels to compromise that silicone, and then clean and re silicone the inside.

So which advice should I take? Would it be ok to just do it the simpler way, or is breaking the tank all the way down entirely necessary?


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## rift lake (Nov 8, 2012)

Glass Aquarium Silicone Reseal - YouTube this might help but never done this myself


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

After watching video above I would say if the caulk between the glass appears in good shape that this method would appear to work. Good video.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

bradleyheathhays said:


> So which advice should I take? Would it be ok to just do it the simpler way, or is breaking the tank all the way down entirely necessary?


Breaking the tank down entirely is not necessary at all. If you want to give yourself that extra bit of confidence in the job, then by all means.


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## Donald Hansen (Jan 21, 2011)

Do you know how old the tank is. Some may argue that silicone will last forever but it's my personal experience that it is only good for about 30 years. My first 55 gal started leaking at about that age because the silicone had dried up. It didn't get hard but if you ran your finger across it, it would just turn into crumbs. 

DLH


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## mijotter (Jul 26, 2011)

I'm doing something similar with a 40g. Wanted to make it rimless so I removed all of the plastic as well. With resealing everything and leaving the plastic trim off would the tank hold just fine if i let it cure for at least a month?

I'm using: Amazon.com: All Glass Aquarium AAG65010 Silicone Sealant, 10-Ounce: Pet Supplies


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## KMoss (May 7, 2011)

mijotter said:


> I'm doing something similar with a 40g. Wanted to make it rimless so I removed all of the plastic as well. With resealing everything and leaving the plastic trim off would the tank hold just fine if i let it cure for at least a month?
> 
> I'm using: Amazon.com: All Glass Aquarium AAG65010 Silicone Sealant, 10-Ounce: Pet Supplies


The plastic rim acts as a structural support. If you want to go rimless, you probably need thicker glass than a rimmed tank.


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## KMoss (May 7, 2011)

Rift lake - that's a really good video.


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