180 used build

Genec · Feb 12, 2018

Hi, I need some advice on this used tank I purchased. I read that the silicone that is actually holding and sealing the tank is the silicone between the glass planes. On this tank the silicone on the front panels look worn (probably due to excessive cleaning from the previous owner). The only part that looks worn is the silicone on the front vertical panels. This tank has some sort of frame around the front glass edges (vertical frame) as you can see from the pic, Is this normal for these tanks? The back glass pane doesn't have this and I can see the actual joints for the glass panes. I don't really want to do a re seal or anything and wondering if a water test would suffice. BTW the glass looks to be about 1/2 inch thick.

jkapit · Feb 12, 2018

I would reseal the tank or at least the front seams. There are many you-tube videos on how to do it.

The reason I recommend it is that when the boarder is scraped away like the front one are, coralline algae can start to grow in the seam and compromise the tank. It’s not had to do and will prolong the life of your tank.

cracker · Feb 12, 2018

Tank looks pretty good. Just because the visible silicone looks beat up ? Fill the thing & see what happens. Perhaps the garagee to a good place for a test fill . I see the edges You speak of. " Don't cut " between the seams but you could cut off the silicone that isn't attached to the glass. If You decide to reseal ,the (unstuck) silicone will need to be cut away any how.

Genec · Feb 12, 2018

cracker said:
Tank looks pretty good. Just because the visible silicone looks beat up ? Fill the thing & see what happens. Perhaps the garagee to a good place for a test fill . I see the edges You speak of. " Don't cut " between the seams but you could cut off the silicone that isn't attached to the glass. If You decide to reseal ,the (unstuck) silicone will need to be cut away any how.

Thanks for the reply. Ill fill it up and see how it goes. I was just torn on reading some post when I did a search. Some say it really has no bearing and some say that you need this to prevent the siilcone between the glass planes from wearing out. There is still a thin outer seal in the corners (where they didnt over scrape) so im thinking this should be ample to cover the seal between the panes if it indeed matters.

Genec · Feb 12, 2018

I started on restoring the stand. Here are some of the progress pics. The tank has 4ea 1inch holes plumbed on the bottom glass, Im going to install a Synergy overflow for the drains as I want more than 1inch for the overflow. I was thinking of using 2 of the existing bottom holes as returns from the sump (and just plugging the rest). Wondering if 1 return would be sufficient or should I just go with 2 returns since the holes are there?

cracker · Feb 12, 2018

Nice work on the stand ! You will like the synergy overflow. I have them on both my tanks. One is a 180 also. As for the silicone seams. If You can live with the extra silicone leave it alone. You can always clean it up if desired. So the tank has 4 drilled holes thru the bottom? OK , I see the pic. One or two returns? This is my own op ,go with 2 returns one in each back corner. This will add to the plumbing & most important cut back on the efficiency of the return pump . That's your call.

Genec · Feb 12, 2018

cracker said:
Nice work on the stand ! You will like the synergy overflow. I have them on both my tanks. One is a 180 also. As for the silicone seams. If You can live with the extra silicone leave it alone. You can always clean it up if desired. So the tank has 4 drilled holes thru the bottom? OK , I see the pic. One or two returns? This is my own op ,go with 2 returns one in each back corner. This will add to the plumbing & most important cut back on the efficiency of the return pump . That's your call.

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna try and drill the overflow tonight. Ive drilled before using a glass-holes kit on my existing 85 gallon. In regards to the silicone, its not actually excess, its more of lack on the front 2 panels. See pic below. the stand this tank came with is surprisingly just plywood (initially there wasn't even a plywood directly under the tank). I noticed that on these tanks the tank sits on the outer frame for all its support.