Is this Silicone sealant acceptable ?

[pcg50]

I ordered this Custom built Aquarium recently , and after being fully filled for 4 days i noticed the already existent bubbles increasing .

It seems to me the sealant is going to fail isn't ?

I Think will just redo it myself since the person that made it refused to admit fault . do i need some hinges to keep a 8mm thick plate in place until the silicone dries up ? , can i do the silicone sealing over different ''sessions'' ?

 

[Bj’s Reef]

How big is the tank? I ask because it can be a big job. Yes you will have to reseal whole thing at once. You may want to go to YouTube university and watch a few videos before you start. I would even go as far as to get a used tank to practice on.

 

[pcg50]

How big is the tank? I ask because it can be a big job. Yes you will have to reseal whole thing at once. You may want to go to YouTube university and watch a few videos before you start. I would even go as far as to get a used tank to practice on.

40 gallon tank the larger side plate is 95 x 50 , i am thinking resealing the smaller side plates first , let them harden for an hour or so , then do the larger ones

I watched youtube university already , i will let the tank filled in the garden for a week to make sure after u I reseal

 

[Bj’s Reef]

Yeah that size tank won’t be to hard to do. The last tank I did was a 40 gallon breeder. It was kind of fun. Just take your time and don’t rush the process. However I will encourage you to reseal the whole tank at the same time. Once you are setup to do it. It goes pretty quick. I used painters tape to keep the lines neat and straight. Be sure and post some before and after pictures. By the way welcome to the forum.

 

[Fish Fan]

If this is a new purchase and the builder isn't working with you, have you tried reaching out to your credit card company or whoever you made the payment with? They may be able to help you here.

 

[pcg50]

If this is a new purchase and the builder isn't working with you, have you tried reaching out to your credit card company or whoever you made the payment with? They may be able to help you here.

Well things don't work like that here , anyway thank you guys i wasn't imagining things , i will just redo on my own , and brace the fish tank

 

[UncommonSense]

You want to do the entire aquarium in one silicone application; usually within a 10 minute work time!

Make sure all the sealing surfaces are perfectly clean after scraping 100% of the old silicone away. Use 90%+ isopropyl alcohol specifically; NOT acetone (it leaves a film on the surface if left to dry)!

Do you have a good brand of silicone aquarium sealant picked out already?

How do you plan to brace the aquarium?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I ordered this Custom built Aquarium recently , and after being fully filled for 4 days i noticed the already existent bubbles increasing .

It seems to me the sealant is going to fail isn't ?

I Think will just redo it myself since the person that made it refused to admit fault . do i need some hinges to keep a 8mm thick plate in place until the silicone dries up ? , can i do the silicone sealing over different ''sessions'' ?

Sloppy job but should be fine. If you wish to reseal, I can offer tips as Ive done a few dozen

 

[UncommonSense]

do i need some hinges to keep a 8mm thick plate in place until the silicone dries up ?

Tape worked great on this little tank I built recently— I would use masking tape in the future… there are corner clamps which can be used; but they are a bit clumsy for a smaller aquarium!

 

[pcg50]

You want to do the entire aquarium in one silicone application; usually within a 10 minute work time!

Make sure all the sealing surfaces are perfectly clean after scraping 100% of the old silicone away. Use 90%+ isopropyl alcohol specifically; NOT acetone (it leaves a film on the surface if left to dry)!

Do you have a good brand of silicone aquarium sealant picked out already?

How do you plan to brace the aquarium?

Euro bracing and central bracing , the side plates bowed around 2mm each side , then the silicone started to deteriorate

 

[pcg50]

Sloppy job but should be fine. If you wish to reseal, I can offer tips as Ive done a few dozen

initially it had some air bubbles in it i was like it's probably some flaws in work , but then as i said those started to increase + the 1 to 2mm like of silicone detaching that formed + bowing , looked like a leak threat to me .
this is my first actual fish tank , i had 2 buckets marine ''fish tanks'' for 2months then decided i really like this and went with the big purchase of a fish tank , I had to release everything i caught didn't want to go back to buckets again

 

[UncommonSense]

Euro bracing and central bracing

This will work great!

If the glass is inexpensive, you can also consider eurobracing the bottom of the aquarium; this isn’t necessary though!

Top euro bracing and central brace(s) can be added after the aquarium is rebuilt, and the new silicone sealant is cured.

Bottom euro bracing should ideally be installed while the aquarium is being built, within the short working time of your silicone sealant!

 

[vetteguy53081]

initially it had some air bubbles in it i was like it's probably some flaws in work , but then as i said those started to increase + the 1 to 2mm like of silicone detaching that formed + bowing , looked like a leak threat to me .
this is my first actual fish tank , i had 2 buckets marine ''fish tanks'' for 2months then decided i really like this and went with the big purchase of a fish tank , I had to release everything i caught didn't want to go back to buckets again

Bracing will prevent bow effect and I recommend aquarium sealant such as Aqueon and comes in clear and black

 

[BertS]

I ordered this Custom built Aquarium recently , and after being fully filled for 4 days i noticed the already existent bubbles increasing .

It seems to me the sealant is going to fail isn't ?

I Think will just redo it myself since the person that made it refused to admit fault . do i need some hinges to keep a 8mm thick plate in place until the silicone dries up ? , can i do the silicone sealing over different ''sessions'' ?

Hi there,
I'm new to silicone re-doing the seals and studied many Youtube videos on the subject.
I will start with practicing on a used sump as Bj's Reef suggests.
The best Youtube video's I came across are by Charlie DIYet
He is not doing an aquarium, but his methods and instructions are an example of expertise.

See also:
How to Silicone Corners
Ref. CharieDIYte 2021


Hope this will help,
kind regards, BertS