Acrylic tank sealed with silicon

[BobDD]

Hello,

I bought 100g acrylic tank. Later I noticed that all seams are sealed with silicon. Tank holds water, no visible peeling off of the silicon. I have some concerns with reliability of the seal and not sure that should be my next step.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Attached picture of one of the seam.

 

[andrewey]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

If I were in your shoes, I would remove the silicone (really simple, as you know it doesn't bond well and isn't as much of a pain to remove) and reseal with a tube or two of weldon. Probably will take a few hours and cost about $20-40 dollars in weldon, but will give you more peace of mind.

I would also confirm the tank wasn't sealed with weldon and silicone was applied on top of the weld. I've seen one or two sumps where that was done (likely to cover up a small leak from the original job).

 

[fishguy242]

agree 100% silicone will fail,weld on ,will bond perm

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

When you apply the weld on, you are going to have to do one seam at a time. Prop the tank so the seam is at around a 45 degree angle. Apply the weldon at the told and let it flow down the seam. Trying to "smear" weldon like caulk.. well, that isnt going to work at all and make a HUGE mess.

 

[h2so4hurts]

Remove the silicon. It will do nothing. If you want to reinforce the corners Google "Weldon 40 tilt method"

 

[fishguy242]

also well ventilation ,eye protection!!!!

 

[andrewey]

In addition to the above technique, take a look at the pin method. I've been using that recently and it's been working well. There are a couple of other methods, it's pretty simple all things considered once you get the hang of any of them. Just do it in a well ventilated area, use a respirator if you have one, and use eye protection.

Let it cure for longer than you want to

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

The pin method is utilized to bond sheets initially. Unless there is a "repair" pin method.

 

[andrewey]

The pin method is utilized to bond sheets initially. Unless there is a "repair" pin method.

Sorry, I had assumed the sump was going to be broken apart into 5 pieces and welded back together. You can absolutely keep the sump together and do one pane at a time- I just wanted to give options in case the whole thing fell apart during the repair.

 

[BobDD]

Thank you very much for all your replies.
Its fishtank and looks ike panels are glued together with solvent but on top there is silicon coat.
The problem is that silicon formed a very tight bond. It is difficult to remove it completely. Any tips on how to remove it from acrylic?

 

[fishguy242]

try to find weak spot ,or bottom of tank,once under should peel,any input/advice @Joe Glass Cages ,thanks

 

[Joe Glass Cages]

Hi @fishguy242. Agree with all the previous suggestions. Weldon for Acrylic and Silicon for Glass. Best of luck!

 

[h2so4hurts]

Should come right off once you get it started. Silicon does not stick to acrylic at all

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Here is the thing, and i dont say this lightly. You may really want to think about using this tank for a sump or something only.

You dont know the origin of the tank and addint silicone to an acrylic tank is absolutely micky mouse. If they did that, they mighy have used weldon 40 to build the whole tank..or worse, cheap acrylic that doesnt bond well.
I would hate to see you get your tank all setup and get all this expensove livestock in..and then it splits a seam and springs a leak