Pics of my new tank & questions

[Aquarium Girl]

After numerous unavoidable holdups, I have finally finished painting the tank stand - only one more coat on the hood and it's done.

Here are pics of the tank which was custom made for me. The guy makes a lot of tanks but I don't personally know anyone that has bought a tank from him. It's 4x2x2.

A couple of questions:

1) The silicone bead is not pushed into the corners and edges. I notice this is the same on my 55 gal octagonal and has not been an issue. Is this normal? There seems to be a good amount of silicone between the panes of glass.

2) There is a small chip in the top edge where the pieces meet. I don't think this will effect the tank but would like some input/assurance.

3) The best way to clean it? I'll need to use a razor blade to take off the extra silicone on the panes, but can I trim/shave the extra silicone off of the outside corners where it has oozed out between the panes or would this potentially compromise the seal?

Thanks in advance!





Silicone











The chip





The tank

 

[molliwopp]

It will be fine to trim the silicone on the outside. If trimming inside just be extremely careful not to stab or get underneath the seal , use the blade virtically to start with. I would SLOWLY cut a line straight down the silicone you want to remove then turn the blade and CAREFULLY shave of the excess.

As for cleaning, i wouldnt think there would be much in there you need to clean that could harm your fish. If you want to be safe, white vinegar or wine vinegar mixed with salt and water for any nasties. You can use pretty much anything to clean it if you rinse and soak it for long enough. People even clean dirty second hand tanks with bleech.

The chips on the outside and wont or shouldnt be a problem at all.

 

[Aquarium Girl]

No it just needs some silicone drips cleaned off the glass and a general clean before I paint the back so I'll try the vinegar.

I should have filled it for a test before I paint the back, but don't have anyone around to help me move it and I don't trust the table it's sitting on to support the extra weight of the water.

I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed that the guy's made a good deal of tanks and knows what he's doing!

Thanks for the reply.

 

[molliwopp]

Ah, vinegar wont clean stuck silicone its for friendly disinfecting.

 

[Aquarium Girl]

No that's cool, I'm aware of that I have razor blades and some acetone if I need it to remove the silicone.