Aquarium building

[Cory]

When you silicone a big tank, do i need to compress the joints? Or just tape and let it dry?

Is silicone stronger the thinner the bead?

 

[noclav]

I used painters tape and a thin bead between the glass and another bead to finish off the inside. No clamps were used but I guess it depends on size.

 

[Cory]

I used painters tape and a thin bead between the glass and another bead to finish off the inside. No clamps were used but I guess it depends on size.

Its a 225 gallon im rebuilding.

I need to cut the glass too. Anyone used a wet saw successfuly?

The tank is together now, but its got a crack on the edge so im cutting it and rebuilding it. There is virtually no gap between the panes. So im wondering if it needs to be compressed to get less than 1/16" bead of silicone.

 

[Cory]

Bump

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

I used to buil glass tanks. I would only use momentive rtv 100 series silicone and 1/8" gap between the panes.

 

[Cory]

I used to buil glass tanks. I would only use momentive rtv 100 series silicone and 1/8" gap between the panes.

Thanks. Do i gotta clamp the tank while the silicone drys to get that 1/8"? Or just tape it?

 

[mtraylor]

When I have torred facilities I have seen clamps and braces on aquariums as well as weights. You will need to get some builders on here to chime in when such stuff is needed. That is a big aquarium

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

I used zip ties as spacers. pull when the silicone is set, but not completely cured. squeeze more silicone in the holes left by the zip ties. silicone takes at least a week to fully cure.

Clamps are mainly used to hold the panels while the silicone cures.

 

[Cory]

I used zip ties as spacers. pull when the silicone is set, but not completely cured. squeeze more silicone in the holes left by the zip ties. silicone takes at least a week to fully cure.

Clamps are mainly used to hold the panels while the silicone cures.

Thanks. So im curious they got terms like shear strength and psi.

Does shear strength essentially mean the thinner it is between the glass and silcone, the less chance of it ripping apart?

This is a big tank. I have to cut the glass apart and in some place a razor wont even fit between, thats how tight it is together, hence my worry of compressing it with clamps, it seems it was done that way when built.

 

[Cory]

I used to buil glass tanks. I would only use momentive rtv 100 series silicone and 1/8" gap between the panes.

Im thinking of using ge scs 1200. Its supposed to have a better psi rating than mometive 100 series. Thoughts?

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Shear strength is the point at which the adhesive will fail when under a torsional load. shear strength can also describe the parallel sliding of materials against each other.

I don't know the specs of the GE silicone you mentioned. most of the big tank manufacturers like dsa and leemar used momentive.

 

[Cory]

Shear strength is the point at which the adhesive will fail when under a torsional load. shear strength can also describe the parallel sliding of materials against each other.

I don't know the specs of the GE silicone you mentioned. most of the big tank manufacturers like dsa and leemar used momentive.

Here it is:
http://www.siliconeforbuilding.com/specialty/silicone-scs1200construction

Apparently in Canada big aquarium manufacturers use it.

480psi

My main concern is that you only got 5-10 minutes to put the tank together.

Is there a good silicone that allows an hour or something before it dries?

 

[Cory]

Anyone know about removing dry silicone from the edges? I was thinking some kind of spinning soft wire brush.

 

[mkj]

It's possible but highly un-recommended if its your first tank build. If you must, then make it bulletproof by using much thicker glass and eurobrace. If you've never built a tank don't build your first larger than a 40 gallon. Odds are high it wont turn out well. You need practice. Tank could be fine for a year then poof. You don't need sleepless nights. It takes years to master building large tanks correctly.

Remember, the cost of a tank is nothing compared to cost of everything inside. Tanks are not the place to save a few bucks.

Large tanks need to use clamps. Glass is heavy and using tape and trying to adjust then is silly. Smaller tanks you can get away with tape. Clamps allow solid adjustment before silicone. Once all set up it wont move and silicone becomes easy. Don't put sides on top of bottom or gravity will come into affect while curing. Ok to do that on small tanks not large ones.

 

[Cory]

Ive built a few tanks nothing like this! Its in the process of being rebuilt.

The glass is 1/2". The brace is .75". Im going to cut off the cracked end and rebuild it.