Help…? Restoration

[Aiden Graves]

So I have recently picked up a 1993 50 gallon glass aquarium that the trim and bracing had rotted of so when I got home I finished pulling the trim off and discovered an elevated bottom with 12mm glass and a mess of silicone. I am currently stripping away all of the silicone but does anyone have an idea of what I can or should do to this tank to make it structurally sound?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Well, hopefully someone with more experience can chime in to, but it looks to me like there are some bubbles in the silicone between the glass there. If there are, you'd probably want/need to remove literally all of the silicone, clean the glass with reef-safe cleaners, dry the glass, and re-silicone (reseal) it yourself. From there, it should hold just fine, but if you're nervous about it, you could add some bracing (crossbracing, eurobracing, or both). You do need to remove all of the silicone currently there, though, as new silicone doesn't stick to old silicone very well.

 

[Aquavaj]

Gonna need a bottom trim at the minimum because I wouldn't trust all that weight on the edges of the glass. There's the bubbles on that seam too which looks like it could give away at any time. If you're set on reusing it I would recommend taking it completely apart and then reseal. Depending on thickness of the glass for the side you may need a center brace or eurobrace it.

 

[Aiden Graves]

Was definitely planning on completely taking it apart and resealing it… didn’t know which type of brace to use thought about just two side braces and a middle one at minimum.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Having repaired Many Many tanks, Repair one corner at a time and scrape away all the silicone and clean each are with rubbing alcohol and then with a lint free cloth. I am not a fan of silicone and always used All glass aquarium sealant which is Now Aqueon tank sealant.
Apply a generous bead in the corner and smooth out with a wet finger and allow to dry a full 36-48 hours.
Once entire tank is repaired/refurbished, do a 24-36 hour leak test with fresh water and confirm no leaks. As for brace, you can use glass or Lexan to cross brace.