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This is our 48"L x 14"W x 18"H tank that has been sitting empty for quite a few months. It is an old tank that we have had for many years, When we last tried to refill it we found that it had a leak.

The silicone had started to peel away and after doing some online research, we decided to put together a tank resealing kit so we could remove the front pane of glass, reseal it and put it back together again.

This is the first tank I have ever tried to repair hopefully it will work and others will be able to follow the process.
Here is the process I have used so far ...

Started off by cutting off the silicone from the inside seals of the front pane of glass with a sharp blade.

picture 1
picture 2

We then cut down the side seams

picture 3
picture 4
picture 5

Then cut the seal on the centre brace

picture 6

Followed by the seal along the bottom of the tank. It helps if you have someone to help you when you do this stage to hold the glass steady and to help lift it off once you have finished cutting the seal.

picture 7 cutting the bottom seal
picture 8 glass removed
picture 9 glass front laid flat

We then removed all the old silicone by scraping it off with a razor blade, and cleaned & prepared the surface using mineral turpentine as per the instructions on the silicone tube.
(sorry no pictures of this part...they didn't turn out well enough)

Then it was time to apply the new silicone.
(I apologise for these pictures, they are a bit dark)

picture 10
picture 11
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picture 13

With the new silicone bead freshly laid we reseated the front glass back into its original position and used cloth tape to hold the front glass in place while the silicone cures. I then quickly smoothed off the seal seams with my finger.

picture 14

I can not stress enough how quickly this last step must be done. If not done quick enough the silicone starts to skin and cure before you get a chance to smooth off all of the seams properly. As I found out with the last side - it was begining to skin by the time I was trying to smooth it off. I think i will be able to lay another thin bead over it a little later to finish it off nicely.

I also went over all the old silicone seals on all the other seams and laid down a fresh bead over the top of the old silicone, smoothing it off as I did each seam. I only used about half of one of the three tubes of silicone we bought to do this job.

Now we have to wait for the silicone to fully cure before we can water test the tank. The instructions on the silicone tube say it will be cured fully in about 72 hours but to wait for a week before filling the aquarium with water.

I will update this thread in a week or so with the results of the water test.

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Thanks for the step by step on tank resealing...I've been meaning to go into making my own tanks and your thread makes it seem a lot more possible now.

Good luck with the test a week from now, will be looking forward to read about the results.

All the best,

James

Interesting way of doing it. I always did one seal at a time so I knew the glass was square, don't need the added pressure of trying to get the glass in juuuusst the right place and not messing with the silicone. All in all a good job and you should be rewarded with a leakless tank.

I built a tank using that very same method 15 years ago for a local wildlife park, and a visit last year showed the tank to be still in service as a half filled paludaria for toads, and still very much in one piece.

Ive often found as long as you do a clean job, use a good quality sealant,and put plenty on the interior corners and edges (often more generously than manufacturers do) they last for years and years.

I had a couple of aquaria with black seals in them, and they both gave up in two years. Nothing really beats the good old fashioned clear aquarium sealant.One of the reasons I dont like the way composite paneled tanks are put together are those crappy black rubber seals.

Thanks for all the comments and good wishes.

It has now been a week since the silicone was applied so it is time for the leak test.

It was decided that the styrofoam that had been between the stand and the base of the tank had seen better days and has been replaced. We initially looked for a new sheet of styrofoam but it ended up being cheaper to purchase a foam sheet, commonly sold in the camping section of supermarkets and department stores. It's just a foam sheet about 1/2 inch thick and yellow in colour although I believe that it comes in many colours, this is just what was available in the store I visited.

The tape used to hold the glass in place while the silicone cured was removed and the tank placed on the stand.

The location in the picture is not the final home for this tank, it will probably end up on the other side of this room but we figured that this is closer to the door in case we needed to drain the tank in a hurry.

So we started refilling by filling the tank with a few inches of water to check that the bottom of the tank was going to hold.

starting to fill
checking the bottom

Once confident that there were no immediate leaks from the bottom of the tank, the rest of the tank was filled with water, checking the seals periodically for any leaks during the fill.

tank full

All looks good so far. The front (resealed) glass hasn't come crashing to the floor or anything so I am fairly confident that the repair will hold.

Now we will leave the tank sitting with water in it for a few hours to make absolutely sure that all is good before we drain it again and start making it fish suitable.

G_T

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

Hey GT , Great job, looks like a good result Congrats . Its good to know that this can be done fairly easily .
Thanks for that
Garry

Thanks alot for the step by step process Gone_Troppo.

Well Done & the tank is full to the brim now

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com