Resealing 150 gallon

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Scubasteve77

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jun 2, 2016
Messages
18
Location
St. Louis area
So I got this tank recently off letgo. I can't complain about it as I assumed something was wrong. For $40 I hauled away the 6' 150 gallon tank and 4 boxes of stuff for it. 2 emperor 400 hob filters, 2 buckets of gravel, box of fake plants and decor, air pump and under gravel filter. Also came with stand and canopy and light.... Yes what a deal! So I get home the stand is rotten and I thought I would simply repair it but decided to build from scratch. So I tossed it. I'll keep the canopy but the light is not what I want so don't need it either. I set the tank up on cinder blocks above the drain in my garage. Filled it with water and found a leak. I bought aquarium silicon and started cleaning and cutting out old silicon. And removed top frame. I'll post some pictures soon. Any tips on Resealing feel free to post them up.

I'm wanting to go with my first attempt at a planted tank with this.
 
Well, considering everything, the tank alone was worth the $40! Even with the colossal pain in the butt. I think it'll be awesome for your first planted! Let me know how it goes. :) Love to see pictures!
 
When you have the old silicone all stripped out, and are sure you got it all, take a new blade and go over it again. I would then examine all the butt joints carefully to see if there is any give in the joints. If none, you can reseal. This is a good time to give the glass a thorough cleaning. When that is done and the tank is dry, clean tall the joints with acetone or alcohol, going beyond the width of the seal. A couple inches even will do no harm. If you aren't comfortable with caulking, an idea suggested on another forum might be of value. That is to buy a tube or two of the cheapest caulk you can find and practise running beads in the corners of cardboard boxes. You can use masking tape to lineate the edges of the seam. Plan the sequence of joints, ahead of time and do a dry run. With a tank that size I would have one or two helpers so you can rotate/flip the tank around so you have easy access. I think this is important, as you need to be quick to get it all in so you can smooth it before it skins over. Wear nitrile gloves so as not to inadvertently get any skin oils anywhere near the seam. Once the silicone is in, smooth using a plastic spoon or your finger. Keep in mind that the seam does not need to be that thick to be effective. If it is too thick, it will be difficult to smooth down evenly and avoid any air inclusion. If you used masking tape, remove as soon as smoothing is done.
 
When you have the old silicone all stripped out, and are sure you got it all, take a new blade and go over it again. I would then examine all the butt joints carefully to see if there is any give in the joints. If none, you can reseal. This is a good time to give the glass a thorough cleaning. When that is done and the tank is dry, clean tall the joints with acetone or alcohol, going beyond the width of the seal. A couple inches even will do no harm. If you aren't comfortable with caulking, an idea suggested on another forum might be of value. That is to buy a tube or two of the cheapest caulk you can find and practise running beads in the corners of cardboard boxes. You can use masking tape to lineate the edges of the seam. Plan the sequence of joints, ahead of time and do a dry run. With a tank that size I would have one or two helpers so you can rotate/flip the tank around so you have easy access. I think this is important, as you need to be quick to get it all in so you can smooth it before it skins over. Wear nitrile gloves so as not to inadvertently get any skin oils anywhere near the seam. Once the silicone is in, smooth using a plastic spoon or your finger. Keep in mind that the seam does not need to be that thick to be effective. If it is too thick, it will be difficult to smooth down evenly and avoid any air inclusion. If you used masking tape, remove as soon as smoothing is done.

I liked the plastic spoon idea. I am going to mask it off as well to keep my lines really straight. I have a 10 gallon laying around that I'm gonna reseal as a practice run lol. Trying to get the top frame off without breaking it is a pain. I got the bottom seals removed today and working on getting the frame off. The frame is kind of dingy looking so I was gonna buy a new one but the replacements are two peices and my ocd doesn't like the look of them. Is their a certain type of paint that I can use that's aquarium safe? Or is it ok to use a can of satin black fusion I have already to spray the top frame?
 
This advice is great, and so helpful, and timely!

Where did you find the replacement frame? My boyfriend is looking to reseal a 110 gallon tank, but it is just slightly too long to work with the standard replacement frames at Over the Edge and Glass Cages (the two place we have found that sell replacement frames).

You might want to consider euro bracing the tank, if you are worried that the existing or new frame will not provide enough structural integrity. That's what we are considering doing.
 
This advice is great, and so helpful, and timely!

Where did you find the replacement frame? My boyfriend is looking to reseal a 110 gallon tank, but it is just slightly too long to work with the standard replacement frames at Over the Edge and Glass Cages (the two place we have found that sell replacement frames).

You might want to consider euro bracing the tank, if you are worried that the existing or new frame will not provide enough structural integrity. That's what we are considering doing.

Well the replacement frame I found is from over the edge, they have the size in the "custom frame" section. However the replacement frames from them are in 2 halfs. So in the middle of the frame will be a seam. I'm not sure if j like that or not. I have a lfs looking through suppliers of theirs to try find me a new frame.
 
Oh, interesting: we hadn't seen the custom frames. In looking at it now, though, it looks like the shortest length is still too long for our tank. Bummer.

As far a paint, "the king of DIY" has some advice in one of his youtube videos about how to build a plywood aquarium. The paint he recommends is pond shield, made by Pond Armor.
 
Oh, interesting: we hadn't seen the custom frames. In looking at it now, though, it looks like the shortest length is still too long for our tank. Bummer.

As far a paint, "the king of DIY" has some advice in one of his youtube videos about how to build a plywood aquarium. The paint he recommends is pond shield, made by Pond Armor.

What size frame do you need?
 
We need 18" x 48 1/32". The Over the Edge frame that is closest is 18" x 48," but in their shipping quote, they said the outside glass dimensions could be no longer than 47 7/8" for it to fit.
 
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