Questions about plugging holes and resealing a tank

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ProfsChimpo

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 28, 2014
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A few years ago I bought a 72 bow with a corner overflow and two pre-drilled holes on the tank bottom for a great deal off CL (around $50 w/ stand). I was very new to the hobby and trusted the person that sold it to me, so despite the silicon looking worn out and beat up, I went home, filled it with water, cycled the tank and eventually setup a really nice tank. I had it running for about a year before I moved the fish into a bigger tank and luckily never had a leak. After emptying it I moved the tank into my garage and kind of forgot about it.

My fiance now wants to setup a turtle tank (one or two Texas map turtles, most likely) so I've been tasked with fixing and cleaning that old tank. The cleaning part is simple and I've watched a ton of videos about how to reseal, but I've got questions about the rest.

First - How do I remove the top border around the tank? I've read online to go around it with a knife to break any silicon holding it in place, but this didn't seem to work no matter how many times I tried doing it. I'd rather not break it so that I can reuse it.

Second - Should I plug the holes at the bottom of the tank? I've removed the overflow since it was filthy and beat up, not worth saving. I've never done a turtle tank, so I'm not sure if it would be possible to use these holes for filtration or not.

And finally - If I should plug the holes, what is the best way? I've read to either use bulkheads or glass + silicone. I have some glass that is bigger than the holes that I could use, but I'm not sure if thin glass will hold.

Thanks in advance!
 
We just resealed our first tank, a 75 gallon. We couldnt get the frame off either sobwe b just made sure to seal each corner up to the frame. I fugured we wouldn't fill it to the tippy top anyway so ir wasn't a huge deal.

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I agree, leave the frame on it and get as much silicone out of the corners as you can.

I've covered many bottom drilled holes with a piece of double strength glass and silicone. Capping off bulkheads works also if you have them already and have space for them, but glass/silicone tends to be a cheaper route.

You could use the holes for a turtle tank, it might actually be a better idea to if you wanted to run canister filtration or a sump. You just need to set the overflow pipe height at whatever height you'll have the tank filled to.
 
Thanks for the replies! I tried a few times after posting to get the frame off and was unable to do so. After seeing both of you suggesting to just leave it on I went ahead, I cleaned as much silicone as I could and left it on. Whoever attached that did not want it do come off :)

For covering the bottom drilled holes with glass and silicone, you said you've used double strength glass. Where would I go about finding some? I'd assume local hardware stores?

If I do decide to use the drilled holes, how would I even start to set those up to be used? I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to plumbing and filtration. I've only used one HOB (for my smaller tank) and a couple of canisters for my others. And for the canisters I've either used the overflow/pipes that were already there or just hung them around the back of the tank with included pipes/hoses so I didn't have to do any real plumbing work. I'm not opposed to doing the work, I just have no idea how to!

Thanks again!
 
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