New Project <55 gallon build>

[Bschowa]

So i got a 55 gallon tank the other day that was in pretty rough shape.

The seals are gross, and i mean gross black and moldy
The glass has some shallow scratches in it
The top support bar was broken off
but hey: the tank was free!!!
so here goes the build i'm pretty much starting from scratch, hope you enjoy

here is the goal of the night,
1. take the top rim off.
2. order new rim
3. remove old silicone.

 

[Bschowa]

After removing the rim

Some Nice hard water stains/ light scratches all throughout the tank

the Rim came off in peices pretty easily, i didnt even need to cut it that much, glad i didnt even try to fill the tank up first

The gross moldy black seals

Full rimless shot

 

[Rhino]

Looks great so far! I did this to a tank once and de-rimming the tank is the hardest part by far.

 

[Bschowa]

thanks, i think that buffing out the scratches is going to be pretty difficult

 

[greaver83]

you probably wont be able to see the scratches if they are in the inside when u put water in it

 

[Bschowa]

lol but it wouldnt be a project then

 

[greaver83]

its gonna be really hard to buff a scratch out of glass you would have to have some sound a quarts based compound something harder than the glass and they your going to have swirl marks everywhere not to mention it would effect the integrity of the glass because you would be making it thinner in that spot just my 2 cent though

 

[Bschowa]

the whole thing is scratched, but none of it is deep. it looks like someone tried to clean the glass with steal wool. i have a buffing compound that i use to take scratches out of glass for my car, im hoping that that works, all i will need to do is make sure to wash it very well!

i ordered the new frame tonight, i need to go out tommorow and get some more razor blades, and finish taking all of the silicone off. then i will have the panes by themselves and will be much easier to work with the buffer

 

[Bschowa]

you probably wont be able to see the scratches if they are in the inside when u put water in it

i did some research and it seems that you wont be able to see the scratches once filled but after a few weeks when your tank has cycled and algae starts growing it will be near impossible to see through the glass because the algae will grow in the scratches.

 

[joejeff]

My tank has a few scratch from rocks being moved by my chlids and they don't show any extra algae growth...

 

[greaver83]

All my tanks have scratches on the inside from rocks you would be here pressed to find a tank that doesn't and none of my tanks collect algae in the scratches either

 

[Bschowa]

Ok sweet, so I might not have to buff out the scratches after all! That makes my life much easier thanks guys.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

My 36g had some scratches and after cleaning it out with a razor (salt and algae), it got some more. But, now that it is filled, you can't tell at all.

I'm sure yours will be similar.

 

[Bschowa]

hey all, i hope your all having a good night, i did a little work on the tank but not much. iv got all(other than scraps) the silicone off of the surfaces and its looking good, got both the bottom and top frame off

i am having some issues getting the peices of glass apart though does anyone have any experience doing this that could give me some advice? i keep running the blade down the seam but it doesnt seem to be doing anything unfortunately im stuck at this point until i can figure out how to proceed

here are some pictures

 

[greaver83]

Mineral spirits will break down the silicone might help some

 

[Bschowa]

wow, that worked great! i let them soak for a bit and they cut right out.

if i have time tommorow im going to clean up the glass and then all i have to do is wait till the frame gets here

 

[greaver83]

Clean all the edges with ammonia ant make sure it's perfectly square when you start resealing doesn't hurt to go heavy on the bottom

 

[Bschowa]

sounds good, do i have to silicone the inside seal at the same time as i put the tank back togather or can i do that after it has cured?

i got all the glass cleaned up with goo be gone worked great, now i get to write a 5 page paper i have been putting off lol yay

 

[greaver83]

no you have to seal it all at once new silicone will not bond with already cured silicone its a pain in the you know what resealing a tank just make sure you go with a fish safe silicone that has good tensil strength i use DAP aquarium sealent cost like 5 bucks a tube at lowes i recommend you tubing a video to see how the pro's do it

 

[Bschowa]

even if the first round is purely to hold the pieces of glass together? i was thinking i would seal the glass together and then cut the residual pieces off (clean it up) and then seal it.

isnt that what people who reseal their tank usually do? otherwise wouldnt you have to completely tear apart your tank every time you reseal it?

not sure if that makes sense