Thank you for your website. It is the only one I could find of it's type.
Here's the situation I'm currently in...
I purchased a 180 gallon glass tank (72Lx24Wx24H), 1/2" thick glass, which leaked because the silicon cracked along the bottom length. Using a razorblade I removed all of the silicon and disassembled the tank. I cleaned the glass with alcohol after virtually all the silicon was removed.
The building process: I placed the bottom glass on the basement floor with no spacer. I taped the sides up around the bottom piece. (You know how the bottom piece should be flush up against all of the sides? It wasn't. When the sides were placed around the bottom piece, there was a 1/2" gap between the bottom piece and the lengths. In other words the bottom piece was the appropriate length for the tank, but it was about 1" shy on the width.) After the sides were taped into place around the bottom base, and the gap between the two length pieces was even (about .5") I laid a bead of silicon on all of the inside edges. I used an extra thick bead on the length sides where the gaps were. After it dried, I flipped the tank over and filled those gaps on the bottom with silicon. Later I glued the support glass across the top.
My concerns: The tank sits on an iron stand, it doesn't have plastic frames on the top or bottom, the bottom surface of glass is flush with the bottom edges of the tank, and there's gaps along each bottom length of the tank which are filled with silicon and have extra thick silicon beads inside the tank. ALL GLASS WAS PUT TOGETHER, THEN THE SILICON WAS APPLIED AS AN INNER BEAD, SILICON WASN'T PUT ON THE GLASS EDGES BEFORE SETTING THE PIECES TOGETHER. I'm concerned that if I fill it the seam along the bottom length will rip and it will pour water.
Questions: If I put Styrofoam between the tank and the iron stand will that be sufficient to fill the tank and would I be confident it wouldn't leak? If not, what do I have to do to make this tank work?
I've been an aquarium enthusiast my whole life. I'm a 23 year old University of Michigan Dearborn student whose among the top of my class. I tutor business and math classes. My point is that you're talking to someone who can figure things out well. I've successfully built a 30 gallon. I'm not confident in this tank because when I bought it I attempted a fast fix by cutting out the ripped seal, cleaning the glass, and laying fresh silicon down just along the ripped area, which overlapped the old silicon in the corners. That resulted in severe leaking days after.
I need your advice because this 180 has sat in my living room, appearing to be built for over a month due to my reluctance to fill. My 8 red belly, and 3 gold piranhas are squished in a 30 gallon and have been for months, resulting in about 3 cannibalism casualties thus far.
You're Experience, and Honesty in helping a fellow hobbyist is appreciated man!
Scott Gossett
Canton Michigan
Here's the situation I'm currently in...
I purchased a 180 gallon glass tank (72Lx24Wx24H), 1/2" thick glass, which leaked because the silicon cracked along the bottom length. Using a razorblade I removed all of the silicon and disassembled the tank. I cleaned the glass with alcohol after virtually all the silicon was removed.
The building process: I placed the bottom glass on the basement floor with no spacer. I taped the sides up around the bottom piece. (You know how the bottom piece should be flush up against all of the sides? It wasn't. When the sides were placed around the bottom piece, there was a 1/2" gap between the bottom piece and the lengths. In other words the bottom piece was the appropriate length for the tank, but it was about 1" shy on the width.) After the sides were taped into place around the bottom base, and the gap between the two length pieces was even (about .5") I laid a bead of silicon on all of the inside edges. I used an extra thick bead on the length sides where the gaps were. After it dried, I flipped the tank over and filled those gaps on the bottom with silicon. Later I glued the support glass across the top.
My concerns: The tank sits on an iron stand, it doesn't have plastic frames on the top or bottom, the bottom surface of glass is flush with the bottom edges of the tank, and there's gaps along each bottom length of the tank which are filled with silicon and have extra thick silicon beads inside the tank. ALL GLASS WAS PUT TOGETHER, THEN THE SILICON WAS APPLIED AS AN INNER BEAD, SILICON WASN'T PUT ON THE GLASS EDGES BEFORE SETTING THE PIECES TOGETHER. I'm concerned that if I fill it the seam along the bottom length will rip and it will pour water.
Questions: If I put Styrofoam between the tank and the iron stand will that be sufficient to fill the tank and would I be confident it wouldn't leak? If not, what do I have to do to make this tank work?
I've been an aquarium enthusiast my whole life. I'm a 23 year old University of Michigan Dearborn student whose among the top of my class. I tutor business and math classes. My point is that you're talking to someone who can figure things out well. I've successfully built a 30 gallon. I'm not confident in this tank because when I bought it I attempted a fast fix by cutting out the ripped seal, cleaning the glass, and laying fresh silicon down just along the ripped area, which overlapped the old silicon in the corners. That resulted in severe leaking days after.
I need your advice because this 180 has sat in my living room, appearing to be built for over a month due to my reluctance to fill. My 8 red belly, and 3 gold piranhas are squished in a 30 gallon and have been for months, resulting in about 3 cannibalism casualties thus far.
You're Experience, and Honesty in helping a fellow hobbyist is appreciated man!
Scott Gossett
Canton Michigan