Need advice on redoing silicone on a 120g rimless

I just picked up a 2 year old tank that was made by glasscages. The owner had a problem with the top left corner splitting. I bought it today and plan on taking the front pane out and trying to redo the silicone to all the seams of the front panel. Problem is....this will be my first time. I will be using dow corning 795 black. My main concern is adhesion to the old silicone to the new at the bottom corners once I put this front panel back on. Will it stick or not? Should I put out the extra effort and redo the whole tank? Anyone has any experience or advice they can share on this one? Thanks in advance.

Vu

 

I have no experience with re-siliconing a glass panel, but I have heard that just one panel can't be done. The reasoning is that new silicone wont stick to dried silicone and because it's all connected, all of it will need to be removed and redone. Again, I have no personal experience with this, this is just what I've heard. Sorry I wasn't more helpful, I'm sure others will be.

 

You're going to have to remove all old silicone before applying new. Go grab a trusty razor blade, and good luck. There are many tutorials about the process. Remember, Google is your friend. Keep us updated.

 

Hmmm....I guess it got myself into kinda a big mess. Oh well, I have time to spare so I guess I will tackle the project from start to finish. BTW, any thoughts on what I should do with the silicone connecting the eurobrace on the bottom of the tank? It's just a 3in strip of glass sandwiched to the bottom piece along the perimeter. Should I have to redo the silicone there too or just the edges of the panels? Again, thanks for the advice.

Vu

 

The people at glasscages are all but encouraging. They told me:

"We don't reseal old tanks, and prefer to not give advise since, no matter what you do, the tank will likely leak after you re-seal it.
Sorry."

I guess all us DIY'ers are SOL since resealling a tank is essentially building a new tank assumming all the glass panels are clean and in good shape.

 

One of our club members 250g split, new tank but set up on a DIY stand which voids the warranty. It would be a bargain if it could be done. Do you have some clamps you could keep some pressure on it during curing?

 

Lots of good advice here. To some--myself included--DIY is a great pleasure in this hobby. I won't repeat what's been already said, but use the internet, YouTube and Google. You'll do fine. The knowledge is out there, you just have to commit the time and patience and forget about what you've been told by a vendor whose motivation is different than the hobbyist. You're much less apt to get bad advice on a forum; as we have nothing to gain other than the satisfaction of your success.

You'll do fine.

Good luck.

 

Nanook, I do have some clamps but not sure if they span the 24" needed to do this tank. There's always lowes down the street though. Yeah, I love the feeling of accomplishment once a DIY is done and fully functional.

Reefsparky, thanks for the encouragement. I have done some research lately and fully agree with you on your comment about the vendors advice. I will see this project from start to finish. I will try to take some photos to keep everyone posted.

Vu

 

You can always reseal a tank with sillicone, the problem is you have to use a massive amount which is displeasing to the eye.

Take all the panes apart, scrape as much silicone off as you can (mainly because you need a clean glass surface for optimum stick) and start from scratch. The best method I have found is a blob in the corner and then a nice thick consistent line along the pane edge. The most important part is using your finger to shape the silicone. This is where you either have a leak or not in my opinion. Google it and check it out, it's easy if you practice

 

K3rack. I've done a lot of research and I know that old silicone will not stick to new but what about this idea. Since the current silicone is only in between the glass pieces without any smeared to the edges of each panel. Is it possible to take apart just the front panel and redoing that along with smearing about 1/2" of silicone to each panel and adding that same amount of smear to all the existing seams. Since each existing seam is completely free of silicone except for the tiny 1/2 mm gap that holds the glass together would a new strip of silicone on top be okay? Since the water pressure will push onto the new silicone an since the new silicone will full form a water tight seal. Wouldn't that be sufficient? Or will the integrity of the silicone be compromised because of the seam in between the glass is not one piece with the new bead/smear that is now joining each of the coner in the tank?

Vu