Reseal Gone Wrong

[Squishy]

Hi All,

So I made my first attempt at re-sealing my tank that I bought used. I first cleaned all the old silicone out, including any residue left behind, using a vinegar water mix, scubbers and razors. Once all clean I taped off the thickness, being a 210 gallon, I did a 1/2" spacing, then I laid the silicone down, I had a fan going because it was inside, but that seemed to start drying it too quickly, because when I went to smooth the section out with a corner tool, it was pulling and leaving a very rough looking finish, also when I pulled the tape off it left marks in the silicone and pulled up a couple edges.

My question can I apply more silicone over top (it has been a couple days) ? Or would I need to cut out the bad sections and re-apply?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Jesse

 

[Mhart032]

I would cut it out and redo it, Silicon doesn't really stick all that well once dry, you will end up with issues down the road. If it were me thats the route id take.

 

[Jase4224]

I certainly would NOT use vinegar to clean the areas that you will be putting silicone on! Vinegar will just leave an organic residue that silicone won’t stick to. You need to use acetone which removes oils, organics, chemicals and evaporates completely leaving a clean surface

Definitely make sure you have the correct silicone too. Good luck.

 

[Squishy]

I certainly would NOT use vinegar to clean the areas that you will be putting silicone on! Vinegar will just leave an organic residue that silicone won’t stick to. You need to use acetone which removes oils, organics, chemicals and evaporates completely leaving a clean surface

Definitely make sure you have the correct silicone too. Good luck.

I did rinse it out with water very well afterwards, also whiped the corners down with alcohol afterwards...

 

[Jase4224]

I did rinse it out with water very well afterwards, also whiped the corners down with alcohol afterwards...

Ok that makes more sense that you used alcohol. What kind? I would definitely recommend acetone, it’s cheap and peace of mind. It’s superior to metholated spirits too. You need to use a chemical that doesn’t leave any trace..

 

[nereefpat]

Was the tank leaking before, or is this just the silicone in the corners? Did you take the panels apart?

 

[Squishy]

Ok that makes more sense that you used alcohol. What kind? I would definitely recommend acetone, it’s cheap and peace of mind. It’s superior to metholated spirits too. You need to use a chemical that doesn’t leave any trace..

I used a 90% alcohol and verified it was dry and no residue left, as well did a sniff test

 

[Squishy]

Was the tank leaking before, or is this just the silicone in the corners? Did you take the panels apart?

Nope it was a used tank I bought and the silicone looked old especially around the weirs, I thought before i started setting this up I might as well put new stuff in. No I did not seperate the panels just took interior stuff off.

 

[TheHarold]

Nope it was a used tank I bought and the silicone looked old especially around the weirs, I thought before i started setting this up I might as well put new stuff in. No I did not seperate the panels just took interior stuff off.

A re-seal means completely disassembled, taking the glass panels apart and then doing it again.

There is no structural benefit to just cutting out some silicon and reapplying new on top of the old. Fresh silicone will not join to cured. In all honesty, what you did probably reduced the overall strength.

 

[Gabriel Trifa]

You beter try to reseal it again, and do small areas at a time. Do the botom, take the tape off, do one side take the tape off... And so on... Any method u use u have to work Quick

 

[mrlavalamp]

Seconding the being quick thing. I resealed a 120 a couple weeks ago, and that is the hardest part. Second hardest is making the seams look GOOD and not just ok while still doing it fast enough to prevent it from skinning.

In the end I couldn't do mine without a helper, too much ground to cover and the silicone skins REALLY fast it seems.

it is safe to pull the seals from inside a tank as long as you do not touch the seams between the glass.

The only reason to mess with the seams between the glass is if you have a leak, and then that is the only way to actually fix it, IT IS VERY HARD and if you dont do it PERFECT, you will be doing it again soon, so if that's the case just buy a new tank.

90% alcohol will do ok, acetone is better though. MEK is recommended right in momentives instructions.

Anywhere old silicone is under new silicone you might as well have nothing on top of the old. it doesn't stick and as soon as any force is applied to it (brushing barel it with a magnet cleaner) the new silicone peels right off.

ONLY choice is to remove it and do it again, unless you can live with a weak spot (like in a sump that could be easily changed if it started leaking).

 

[Squishy]

A re-seal means completely disassembled, taking the glass panels apart and then doing it again.

There is no structural benefit to just cutting out some silicon and reapplying new on top of the old. Fresh silicone will not join to cured. In all honesty, what you did probably reduced the overall strength.

Sorry I am a little confused, I thought there was nothing wrong with just doing the silicone internally, but now I am nervous !

 

[mrlavalamp]

he is correct in that the interior seal provides very little structural reinforcement. EVEN WHEN NEW THIS IS TRUE.

The primary structural bond of the tank exists ONLY between the panes of glass. My research suggested that this is also usually a silicone ADHESIVE rather than good ol GE silicone 1 which is a sealant

In reality you could leave the interior silicone off and operate the tank with just the silicone between the glass. your risk of leakage and damage over the years goes WAY up with nothing to protect the interior seal. Any defect at all in this seal and leakage is essentially guaranteed though (which is why they dont do this on new tanks).

So the main seal protects against 95% of leaks, and the interior seal protects teh main seal and helps stop those 5% of failure cases.

 

[Squishy]

he is correct in that the interior seal provides very little structural reinforcement. EVEN WHEN NEW THIS IS TRUE.

The primary structural bond of the tank exists ONLY between the panes of glass. My research suggested that this is also usually a silicone ADHESIVE rather than good ol GE silicone 1 which is a sealant

In reality you could leave the interior silicone off and operate the tank with just the silicone between the glass. your risk of leakage and damage over the years goes WAY up with nothing to protect the interior seal. Any defect at all in this seal and leakage is essentially guaranteed though (which is why they dont do this on new tanks).

So the main seal protects against 95% of leaks, and the interior seal protects teh main seal and helps stop those 5% of failure cases.

So being a used tank would the suggestion to be remove all the silicone and redo the glass as well ? Makes me nervous with the size of this

 

[nereefpat]

So being a used tank would the suggestion to be remove all the silicone and redo the glass as well ? Makes me nervous with the size of this

Absolutely not. Just leak test it in the garage before putting it in your living room.

 

[mrlavalamp]

So being a used tank would the suggestion to be remove all the silicone and redo the glass as well ? Makes me nervous with the size of this

I say only replace the interior seal because you say you messed it up when you tried the first time. If the mess up was minor and cosmetic, you could try to leave it. but if the mess up exposes the main seal (the seal between the panes of glass) I would redo the entire interior seal.

Do not mess with the main seal. If it comes to breaking the tank apart and re-building it you are better off just buying a new one and cutting up your old one to make heavy duty quarantines and sumps etc.

I say this after taking 3 trys to do my 120. ASI/Momentive are not cheap, ge 1 is a little less costly, but still a 210 must take 1.5 or 2 tubes each try, maybe more if you are heavy handed.

 

[Squishy]

I say only replace the interior seal because you say you messed it up when you tried the first time. If the mess up was minor and cosmetic, you could try to leave it. but if the mess up exposes the main seal (the seal between the panes of glass) I would redo the entire interior seal.

Do not mess with the main seal. If it comes to breaking the tank apart and re-building it you are better off just buying a new one and cutting up taht tank to make heavy duty quarantines and sumps etc.

I say this after taking 3 trys to do my 120. ASI/Momentive are not cheap, ge 1 is a little less costly, but still a 210 must take 1.5 or 2 tubes each try, maybe more if you are heavy handed.

I am using a Nuflex 333 Aquarium silicone, supposed to be really good, I have a decent source for it locally. And yes it took at least 1.5 - 1.75 tubes .

 

[Squishy]

Well it looks like I will being re-doing the silicone again......dreading it as it took me a long time getting the old stuff out......ahhh well so be it.

 

[Squishy]

A re-seal means completely disassembled, taking the glass panels apart and then doing it again.

There is no structural benefit to just cutting out some silicon and reapplying new on top of the old. Fresh silicone will not join to cured. In all honesty, what you did probably reduced the overall strength.

After all the reading I did ahead of time and all the do it yourself videos. I thought it would be beneficial to replace the inside silicone. Do you honestly think I have reduced the strength of the tank itself? I was very careful not to get into in between the glass seams.

 

[mrlavalamp]

Well it looks like I will being re-doing the silicone again......dreading it as it took me a long time getting the old stuff out......ahhh well so be it.

For what its worth, cleaning it round 2 and 3 for me seemed to go faster.

I think it was easier because the surface was cleaner to start with, but maybe I just got enough practice.

For the re-sealing taking all of 10 minutes, the cleaning and prepping still takes hours lol.