Redoing silicone: More hassle or worth it?

RC51 · May 27, 2023

Hey humans!

So I recently bought a tank

120x45x45cm 240 liter (65 gallons for the americans

)

Acrylic 7.5k ($54)
Two 90x45x45 160 liter (40 gallon)

Glass 2.4k (17$)

Acrylic 6.35k ($46)
It has a wierd UV burn thing on the back glass

60x60x45 160 liter (40 gallon)

Glass 4.8k ($35)

Ok, that was't A tank but multiple, and I may have a problem with buying too many tanks in 1 week
It's not an addiction (yet)

I have a few questions:

1. Should I redo the silicon on these tanks. I would very much NOT have a leak with these used tanks and I'd rather put 100 hours of work and some money in making sure that doesn't happen. The whole apartment is carpet and on the second floor. I will be water testing EVERYTHING for a couple days in the back yard
The 90cm long rim tank is 10 years old
I don't have any experience doing glass work but I'm willing to learn

2. Is that UV burn looking thing ok to use? I'll of course be testing that but I can put another piece of glass or acrylic over it. (That's going to be a frag tank so I don't really care how it looks)

3. Can you redo silicone on acrylic tanks the same as glass?

I will be drilling all of them with overflow on the bottom (two 1 1/2 inch PVC as drains. I don't want to pay 100$ each on overflow boxes and they will be frag tanks anyway) apart from the 65 gallon with overflow box as it will be DT

Thanks everyone!

Reefer Matt · May 27, 2023

clownfish81 said:
Hey humans!

So I recently bought a tank

120x45x45cm 240 liter (65 gallons for the americans )

Acrylic 7.5k ($54)
Two 90x45x45 160 liter (40 gallon)

Glass 2.4k (17$)

Acrylic 6.35k ($46)
It has a wierd UV burn thing on the back glass

60x60x45 160 liter (40 gallon)

Glass 4.8k ($35)

Ok, that was't A tank but multiple, and I may have a problem with buying too many tanks in 1 week
It's not an addiction (yet)

I have a few questions:

1. Should I redo the silicon on these tanks. I would very much NOT have a leak with these used tanks and I'd rather put 100 hours of work and some money in making sure that doesn't happen. The whole apartment is carpet and on the second floor. I will be water testing EVERYTHING for a couple days in the back yard
The 90cm long rim tank is 10 years old
I don't have any experience doing glass work but I'm willing to learn

2. Is that UV burn looking thing ok to use? I'll of course be testing that but I can put another piece of glass or acrylic over it. (That's going to be a frag tank so I don't really care how it looks)

3. Can you redo silicone on acrylic tanks the same as glass?

I will be drilling all of them with overflow on the bottom (two 1 1/2 inch PVC as drains. I don't want to pay 100$ each on overflow boxes and they will be frag tanks anyway) apart from the 65 gallon with overflow box as it will be DT

Thanks everyone!

I can offer my opinion on the glass tanks, as that's what I use. I check the silicone by gently scraping with my finger nail. If the silicone comes off easily, I remove all of it (without disassembling the tank) and reseal what I can. Good silicone should not peel at all. Peace of mind for me is worth the elbow grease and extra week of tank prep. Happy Reefing!

RC51 · May 27, 2023

Reefer Matt said:
I can offer my opinion on the glass tanks, as that's what I use. I check the silicone by gently scraping with my finger nail. If the silicone comes off easily, I remove all of it (without disassembling the tank) and reseal what I can. Good silicone should not peel at all. Peace of mind for me is worth the elbow grease and extra week of tank prep. Happy Reefing!

Is just scraping it to check enough?

Yes I may be overthinking it sorry

Why not just redo it cuz why not?

But I'd rather not check the chance of a leaky tank

I've had that once, and lost eight 3080s which was a very expensive and stupid mistake

Reefer Matt · May 27, 2023

clownfish81 said:
Is just scraping it to check enough?

Yes I may be overthinking it sorry
Why not just redo it cuz why not?

But I'd rather not check the chance of a leaky tank

I've had that once, and lost eight 3080s which was a very expensive and stupid mistake

Up to you. Having leaks is always a risk of used tanks. I personally am willing to remove as much of the risk as possible by resealing if necessary. Plastic razor blades work great for removing the old silicone.

RC51 · May 27, 2023

Reefer Matt said:
Up to you. Having leaks is always a risk of used tanks. I personally am willing to remove as much of the risk as possible by resealing if necessary. Plastic razor blades work great for removing the old silicone.

Hm ok thanks!

I'll probably reseal
Or get a friend who does window work to do it for me

I have a box full of scalpels and razors so ya (I promise I'm not weird)
I got them for free from a university along with a bunch of lab equipment

You know anything about that UV part?

Reefer Matt · May 27, 2023

clownfish81 said:
Hm ok thanks!

I'll probably reseal
Or get a friend who does window work to do it for me

I have a box full of scalpels and razors so ya (I promise I'm not weird)
I got them for free from a university along with a bunch of lab equipment

You know anything about that UV part?

Ok. I'm sure there are plenty of reefers here that will tell you it'll be okay not resealing them too. It is really a personal choice. I do recommend at least filling them and let them sit for leak checks either way though. There are plenty of YouTube videos to help out if you decide to reseal them. As far as the acrylic one, I cannot help much, as I don't use acrylic tanks.

RC51 · May 27, 2023

Reefer Matt said:
Ok. I'm sure there are plenty of reefers here that will tell you it'll be okay not resealing them too. It is really a personal choice. I do recommend at least filling them and let them sit for leak checks either way though. There are plenty of YouTube videos to help out if you decide to reseal them. As far as the acrylic one, I cannot help much, as I don't use acrylic tanks.

Ok thanks!

I just want to do the best and safest thing to not get leaks

Thanks for the help

To(meany)Tang · May 27, 2023

clownfish81 said:
Hey humans!

So I recently bought a tank

120x45x45cm 240 liter (65 gallons for the americans )

Acrylic 7.5k ($54)
Two 90x45x45 160 liter (40 gallon)

Glass 2.4k (17$)

Acrylic 6.35k ($46)
It has a wierd UV burn thing on the back glass

60x60x45 160 liter (40 gallon)

Glass 4.8k ($35)

Ok, that was't A tank but multiple, and I may have a problem with buying too many tanks in 1 week
It's not an addiction (yet)

I have a few questions:

1. Should I redo the silicon on these tanks. I would very much NOT have a leak with these used tanks and I'd rather put 100 hours of work and some money in making sure that doesn't happen. The whole apartment is carpet and on the second floor. I will be water testing EVERYTHING for a couple days in the back yard
The 90cm long rim tank is 10 years old
I don't have any experience doing glass work but I'm willing to learn

2. Is that UV burn looking thing ok to use? I'll of course be testing that but I can put another piece of glass or acrylic over it. (That's going to be a frag tank so I don't really care how it looks)

3. Can you redo silicone on acrylic tanks the same as glass?

I will be drilling all of them with overflow on the bottom (two 1 1/2 inch PVC as drains. I don't want to pay 100$ each on overflow boxes and they will be frag tanks anyway) apart from the 65 gallon with overflow box as it will be DT

Thanks everyone!

Hey buddy hope your morning is awesome. I believe acrylic has bonded seams welded down to a molecular level. I've never heard of anyone adding extra silicone layer over that bond but maybe it can be done maybe not. I am a beginner in saltwater as well and I took on the project of buying a 180gal which is (681 liters) for non Americans lol and had to redo the entire seams. Wasn't a hard job at all I say go for it

you'll have the security at heart. My only issue was mother nature drying out my silicone twice as fast so I had to work like a horse and move lol

RC51 · May 27, 2023

To(meany)Tang said:
Hey buddy hope your morning is awesome. I believe acrylic has bonded seams welded down to a molecular level. I've never heard of anyone adding extra silicone layer over that bond but maybe it can be done maybe not. I am a beginner in saltwater as well and I took on the project of buying a 180gal which is (681 liters) for non Americans lol and had to redo the entire seams. Wasn't a hard job at all I say go for it you'll have the security at heart. My only issue was mother nature drying out my silicone twice as fast so I had to work like a horse and move lol

Hm I'll do some more googling

Nice must be nice having a 100+ gallon tank
Must be a nightmare working on a tank that size tho

Thanks for the insight!

To(meany)Tang · May 27, 2023

clownfish81 said:
Hm I'll do some more googling

Nice must be nice having a 100+ gallon tank
Must be a nightmare working on a tank that size tho

Thanks for the insight!

You hit the nail on the head. It has its pros and cons. Lol. Have a great day