Bowfront assembly?

[Aquateer]

Hey everyone. I have been trying to find information on assembling a 155 gallon bowfront aquarium. I was just going to do a re seal on it but there are a few spots that dont look too great in my opinon. So I was curious if there are articles that anyone knows of or has experience with taking one completely apart and doing the seals from scratch.

It wasnt leaking when i got it but there is a sharpie line where im assuming it was repaired at some point. The tank was made in 2004. Any advice would be great. I love the look of the bow front on the same note though if im just better off doing the re seal and then selling it and buying a brand new tank i may just do that.

I am $700 into this tank and stand so far and want it or one to last at least 10 years if possible. I am a home owner and plan on doing a permanent install. Unfortunately they do not make bowfronts this big anymore :/. I did attach pictures of the spots conerning me as well. If i just need cut my losses or anyone has suggestions I am all ears thank you in advance.

 

[AlexG]

Welcome to R2R. There are a bunch of youtube videos on resealing tanks that go through step by step. I have not done it myself but I am sure there are a few people here that have done tank resealing. I would make sure that when you disassemble the tank that you keep and reuse any spacers you find between the glass panels. They will be some kind of thin plastic normally. I would use RTV108 to reseal as it is food grade and has a stronger bond than standard silicone. RTV108 will not be in the store and needs to be ordered but it is not crazy expensive it also comes in clear and black. The key is to remove all of the old silicone and have a clean surface to work with when resealing.

 

[Aquateer]

Welcome to R2R. There are a bunch of youtube videos on resealing tanks that go through step by step. I have not done it myself but I am sure there are a few people here that have done tank resealing. I would make sure that when you disassemble the tank that you keep and reuse any spacers you find between the glass panels. They will be some kind of thin plastic normally. I would use RTV108 to reseal as it is food grade and has a stronger bond than standard silicone. RTV108 will not be in the store and needs to be ordered but it is not crazy expensive it also comes in clear and black. The key is to remove all of the old silicone and have a clean surface to work with when resealing.

Thank you . I have seen quite a bit but none on bowfronts. So as far as clamping the bow may add to the challenge. Ok I will keep an eye out for those. I thought they were removed part way in the process. A lot of the sealing videos for the bowfronts have to do with bracing the front of them and unfortunately couldnt find any of a full tear down.

Ok I was looking at buying scs1200 silicone but i will do some research on the RTV108. Thanks for the suggestion. Yea I will have a little work to do in that department as well.

I have used alcohol on to clean up where i had removed the silicone but i have some splotches on other areas where the sand was. I have not tried the white vinegar trick to soften that up but it will be something i will try.

If anything I can start a run through of me doing it if there isnt a thread on it. Being new to the forum world and r2r i wasnt able to find one. Keep people posted on thoughts, issues, failures successes etc. I still will be holding off for a little bit for more suggestions and input. If breaking it down reassembling it becomes the game plan hopefully it could be a good contribution to others on this site