Older Tank... Reseal?

smfoister

smfoister

Member
I'm moving a 90 gallon tank in a couple of weeks, it's been sitting in my fathers house for almost 10 years or so. He's been using the mag-scrub type algae scrubbers on the glass, and the edges of the silicon in the corners are kind of rough because if it. I've seen this same thing on a bunch of tanks in stores and in other displays. The tank has no leaks or anything and it was made by All-Glass, which has always been my choice for quality tanks.

If it's not leaking now, would you bother to reseal it? Maybe run a bead of silicon over top of the existing? I think during the move as long as we keep the tank flat we shouldn't get any busted seals or anything. I'm overly paranoid. My career is in risk analysis...
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
I moved a 125G that had been up about a decade a couple of years ago with the same symptoms. It came with a tube of aquarium silicon, but I didn't bother using it. If it isn't leaking now, it most likely won't spring a leak anytime soon. I just try to be extra careful when scraping near the seals, even on my new tank. The edges of the silicon feathers out really thin, so it doesn't take much to tear it loose from the glass. The bulk of the seal and bond strength is from the center of the seal and tapers off as it spreads, so as long as it holds, it'll never leak.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Re-sealing a tank is tough!

I'm with Pegasus on this one. If it doesn't leak now, then the silicone should still be good.
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
Just to be safe just fill it with saltwater and let it sit for a week or more. If there are any leaks you'll see salt creep on the out side of the tank.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Could just use food coloring and run a napkin around the bottom trim. If you see colors, it means it leaks... Lol
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Doesn't matter from where,... All the silicone would have to be replaced regardless. New silicone can't adhere to old silicone well enough to be leak proof.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I also recently discovered that there are two types of silicone. One is a sealant - like GE1 that a lot of people use for baffles in sumps and various other projects. The other type of silicone is an adhesive - such as momentive RTV silicone which is used to build glass aquariums. If you are goin to reseal a tank, you'll need to use an adhesive and not a sealant.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
snakeblitz33 said:
I also recently discovered that there are two types of silicone. One is a sealant - like GE1 that a lot of people use for baffles in sumps and various other projects. The other type of silicone is an adhesive - such as momentive RTV silicone which is used to build glass aquariums. If you are goin to reseal a tank, you'll need to use an adhesive and not a sealant.
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I didn't know that.

I love this place!
 
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