Should I reseal this aquarium?

Hi all!

Just got back into the aquarium/fish tank world after a long hiatus and I recently purchased a 90gallon bow front with an intank overflow setup off of someone local to my area to setup a reef tank. I have been working on getting it put back together and get everything cleaned up and working as I wanted as it was all pretty "used". When it came time to clean the actual tank, I noticed that the inside seal was pretty cracked up off the edges and not very straight. I haven't done a leak test yet, but it just eeks me to see the black seams so jagged. I would like to straighten them out, but would love to not have to reseal the entire aquarium.

With that said, IF the aquarium is not leaking, can I simply tape off some straight lines and seal over the existing silicone to create a nice look without structurally effecting the current seam? Would this hold up ?

Or do i have to reseal this whole thing? If i do, I've read i have to take out the overflow, reseal the "box", then reseal the overflow back on. Is this correct? I'm in the Houston area, is there a company that can do this?


Thanks!

 

While you can alter the appearance of the beads with another layer; generally silicone does not adhere very well to old silicone. IMO the thought of 90 gallons of tank water spilling out onto the floor makes me cringe with the scenario you describe ESPECIALLY A BOWFRONT.The only sure way to repair an aquarium is to remove all the old silicone and start over.This is NOT an easy job. I am unaware of any companies who would do this and to tell you the truth for what a new tank would cost it is not worth the trouble IMO.

 

if i have to reseal the whole thing, do i have to pull the overflow off, reseal the whole aquarium inside, then resilicone the overflow box back on around the edges?

 

I suggest that you remove the old silicone and reseal the tank. If there is a break in the old silicone, applying a new bead over the old will not seal it (I learned that the hard way). I wouldn't remove all of the old silicone at once. I would do one seam at a time. I would also wait longer than the listed 24 hour drying time before filling the tank with water (also learned that the hard way).

Good luck.

 

here are some pics, you can see most all of it is fine, just the sides are not straight.

If you are saying do one seam at a time, do you have to do each seam before the previous one dries? How much time is that? Seems my 20 gallon sump silicone started getting dry in about 20 minutes.

Any thoughts on how to handle this with the way it looks?

 

I would, without hesitation, cut the old stuff out and reseal it. It looks to be in poor condition and I would put my money on an eventual leak- which is frustrating beyond explanation. Wait until it starts to go from white to clear (happens quickly), but I would wait longer than 24 hours to fill it.

 

reseal the whole tank. Unfortunately once you remove the silicone in one area, you will not get a good seal without resealing the entire tank. Also like others say wait longer then the recommended 24 hours.

Good luck

 

and by reseal the whole thing you mean just the entire inside seal?

Do i need to pull out the overflow as well to reseal the tank first then the overflow second?


Thanks everyone for all the replies and for looking at this for me, I want to do it right, and don't mind working hard for good results.

Any other tips would be much appreciated.

 

how is the overflow? I personally wouldnt reseal the overflow if it is an internal one as it is not going to cause any leakage.

yeah you just want to reseal the inside IMO. I have found from my own experience that you WILL NEVER get a good seal between the panes of glass if you try to seal the outside. I had a seam blow out and couldnt get it resealed properly.

Here is an article on how to reseal the tank. It is a PITA in my opinion, but i fear if you do not, it is going to leak looking at the bottom part of the seams. Somebody used a scraper to clean their glass and didnt stop at the seams!
Resealing an Aquarium, by Nick Spinelli

 

You will need to remove the overflow as the seam on the back of the tank runs underneath it. You will also have to remove ALL the old silicone including any old residue. If this is your first time attempting something of this nature I would strongly suggest selling this tank to someone who could use it for a snake or lizard. I can not overstate how big a job it is to remove old silicone and then replace it. Bowfront tanks are notoriously suseptible to leaks and the thought of trying to repair one just scares the heck out of me.