Should I Reseal based on these pics??

[asonitez]

Form this Pic of the inside of the tank. Do you think I should Reseal it a bit?

My plan was to take tape and mask off the tank near the damaged edges of the silicone. Then use a razor blade to give the damaged edge a decent straight line.then run a bead and fill in the gap. Good Idea? Bad Idea? Or leave it alone? The tank does not leak.

I still have to Glue my baffles into my sump and have them cure. Water and Sand will be in the tank this weekend.


I the raggy ness was caused by the previous owner cleaning coraline off the glass.

 

[Anonymous]

New silicone will not bond to old silicone. You'll be creating a big headache for yourself if you choose to do it this way. If you can't stand the seam (or, if it's a bad seam and doesn't hold) then strip out the whole thing and reseal.

 

[asonitez]

your prolly right seamaiden...... if i remove the silicone.... will i have to have something holding up the glass while i reseal it? Meaning if I remove that silicone will the glass front just come off ? that would suck.

 

[brandonberry]

You'll still have some silicone between the panes holding them together. Don't try to seperate the panes. Just scrape out the silicone that is on the inside of the tank and be sure to get off all the residue so that it looks like clean glass. This is important to allow the new silicone to bond properly. Then clean all the surfaces with isopropyl alcohol and apply masking tape. Finally you can apply the silicone and use your finger or a tool to spread it evenly in the seams. It is best to allow it to cure for a couple of weeks before filling the tank.

 

[Anonymous]

your prolly right seamaiden...... if i remove the silicone.... will i have to have something holding up the glass while i reseal it? Meaning if I remove that silicone will the glass front just come off ? that would suck.

No, not if you simply limit the scraping to what the razor will reach. Personally, I would not mask anything off, I would get some scrap pieces of glass, make corners with them and practice running a smooth bead and smoothing down on those. A few hundred tanks of that and you get pretty good!

In any event, scrape down with a new straight edge razor, make sure there are no "nubbins" of silicone left inside the seam. If you're worried that the glass won't hold, then use tape on the OUTSIDE of the glass BEFORE you scrape, run the tape across the seams you want to hold together (I honestly don't think this is necessary unless you're truly resealing the tank, in which case you do want to take it completely apart and you'll probably want something like a rug cutting blade or something that can be slipped between the panes of glass to separate them). Make absolutely certain there is absolutely NO silicone residue or pieces left where you're running the new bead. SMOOTHNESS of the bead is extremely important -- if you run a bead and it's full of holes (air bubbles), save yourself the headache and just wipe the thing off. Once run and before a skin sets, wet your finger and smooth down. The closer you can get to smoothing down in one pass the better you'll like the results. I think Vitz once posted a trick of his that I've never had a chance to try where he uses a piece of potato to smooth over the bead. I've never seen it done, but I can imagine it might do a better job than your finger. Or not, depending on how good you are with a potato.

I prefer to use good old vinegar to clean, but I'm sure the isopropyl evaporates well enough to use that. Be SURE you're in a well-ventilated area when you apply the new silicone! Seriously. It's not toxic, but it fecking hurts your eyes and nose (depending on how sensitive you are to acetic acid).

 

[Anonymous]

You'll still have some silicone between the panes holding them together. Don't try to seperate the panes. Just scrape out the silicone that is on the inside of the tank and be sure to get off all the residue so that it looks like clean glass. This is important to allow the new silicone to bond properly. Then clean all the surfaces with isopropyl alcohol and apply masking tape. Finally you can apply the silicone and use your finger or a tool to spread it evenly in the seams. It is best to allow it to cure for a couple of weeks before filling the tank.

As I just posted to asonitez, I personally can't recommend using masking tape. In my mind it leaves room for more mistakes that are difficult to correct once the silicone is dried. It would also leave a ledge of silicone, never attractive, and a ledge is a good place for the silicone to start lifting. Also, it seems to me that if you left the tape in place for a little too long (long enough for that skin to have formed) you run the risk of ruining that bead you just ran and smoothed over. It's a simple and easy thing to learn first how to run a smooth bead (sans a buncha bumps) with the old caulk gun, and then to smooth by hand (read: finger).

A 24-48 hour cure is plenty for aquatics unless you're in an exceptionally humid environment (and what fishroom isn't exceptionally humid?), and a week is more than enough. Just my opinion/experience.

 

[asonitez]

hmmm.. well it does not sound too difficult and I am not in an area where I won't get ventilation. The tank isn't scheduled for water until at least sunday. I think I will re-run the silicone and see how it turns out on a piece of scrap glass.

 

[ChrisRD]

The joint in the pic looks a bit rough but, personally, I wouldn't be too concerned about structural integrity.

As for resealing, I've always masked my joints. IMO it's the easiest way to get nice straight lines. Just be sure to pull the tape immediately after smoothing the silicone. You don't want to wait until it gets tacky or it'll stick to the tape and make a mess.

my $0.02...