120 gal. glass!!!! Re-sealing it????

I was just given a 120 gal. glass tank today and Im not real cumffy with the silicone in it. It does appear to be several years old. The joints look good but i want to cut the excess out and throw in new beads all the way around. Will that be safe? Your input will be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!! im eager to get this thing going.

 

What type of tools do you have on hand?
Was this aquarium use for other than fish?

 

it was just a freshwater tank and it was drained today. Seemed to hold fine but I dont like the big beads that were put on by someone else other then the factory. I would like to think I have all the tools I'd need. I build all my own tanks thus far out of acrylic but this whole glass think is a scary thing and I have to say i dont want to cut it appart if I dont have to.

 

Sounds like a solid aquarium the way it was described. You don’t have to remove the factory silicon joints; but remove the silicon that is probably lifting from the glass or a total discolor “eye sore”. All I can say Resealing can be a time consuming and your going to need an open area like a garage for it to cure and leak check.

You’re going to need a few items:
1 masking tape
2 Windex
3 industrial razor blades
4 paper towel’s
5 straight edge


First step is to drain clean and dry out the aquarium emphasis again must be completely clean & dry. Use your straight edge as a guide for scaring a straight line utilizing the razor blade stop one inch above the bottom joint …..Next run your razor blade flat to lift off the old seal…. Repeat using a fresh razor blade to clean off the residue that is left over……after the edges are cleaned of all residue….spray with Windex and wipe clean of an area approx 8-10 inch’s from the joints….let the area dissipate for at least an hour…. Recheck again to make sure the old silicon is dry…. If this is all good start laying a straight line with the masking tape prior laying on the new silicon……let the silicon cure for about an hour or two so you can remove the masking tape “this will produce your clean edge”…. after this is complete wait 72 hours to a week for the silicon to properly cure depending on temperature and humidity …after the cure your going to have to find area to do a leak check with the aquarium filled to the top wait 24 hours and check for leak.

I hope this will help you!!!!!!!GOOD LUCK

 

Alright! Good to see the Yman! 8)

 

Awesome input. I wish I would have read this instead of going straight into my garage to cut the whole tank down when i got home. Ya, i thought about it all day at work and just decided I want black silicone joints and My baby boy loves the fish tanks and thats where we sit him so he can sleep and I will only have doubts if i left it alone. There was one joint where you could see that the silicone had turned white so reguadless that pane would have had to come out " at least i thought" so i may as well learn and make it the way I'd want it if i bought it. You rock yman and thanks again for the tips!

 

heh. I was worried you would do that.. I told you not to rush!

Y is an old friend from NYC. We both worked at this fish store called 'Age of Aquariums' on 60th and 2nd. He built a lot of custom tanks back then.