Large tank reseal

[Fishy888]

With how far 3D printing has came in the past couple years, you might be able to find someone with a printer and piece together a new rim.

I’m not sure if it will help, but try a heat gun to help release that adhesive

I’d be worried that the glass would crack, and that the plastic frame would be melted in the process.

 

[s2minute]

Am I missing something here? Why are we trying to get the plastic frame off?

I've resealed A LOT of tanks. Slice the old silicon out of the inside only, thoroughly clean the glass with alcohol or acetone, and reapply the silicon. There's a couple tricks I ve no ideacould add, but short story is I see no reason to remove the frame, but let me know if/why I'm wrong.

I have no idea. Never resealed an aquarium before. However, I do know it leaked out from the bottom front and in order to do that, the water had to have made it past the silicone sandwiched between the the panes of glass so…

 

[s2minute]

I’d be worried that the glass would crack, and that the plastic frame would be melted in the process.

I was thinking the same thing on the 3D printing. Planet Aquarium said they make SS frames for the tanks now and that they can be special ordered through one of their distributors.

 

[Fish Fan]

I have no idea. Never resealed an aquarium before. However, I do know it leaked out from the bottom front and in order to do that, the water had to have made it past the silicone sandwiched between the the panes of glass so…

Yes, but there is no reason to completely separate the glass panes, if that's your plan. You simply scrap out the inside silicon only, and reapply the bead on the inside of the tank, and you're good to go. Unless there's something I'm missing from your first photo. I'd done that to A LOT of tanks, I've even done other people's tanks. Never have I removed the tank's plastic frame, and never did I separate the glass panes.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Hi folks! Throwing this out there into the think tank 20 years or so I bought a 175 gallon Bow Front new from Oceanic. For all that time it served me without a single issue. RIP Oceanic, you made me a spectacular aquarium!

Last week however, it finally gave up the ghost. Right in front of me it started to leak out the bottom front…. And was quickly worsening. So I rerouted the plumbing and drained it. After I removed it from the stand, I made some calls. A gentleman that makes large public aquariums directed me to a product called DSR-5 silicone remover. This stuff is no joke. With some wooden shims and a few squirts, the bottom frame was off in just a few minutes. The TOP frame was quite a different story.

Apparently, Oceanic doesn’t want you to remove the top frame. For a good reason I imagine. Anyway, they did NOT use silicone to secure the top frame. They used some type of adhesive or glue because so far it barely budged.
I’ve used Mineral Spirits and Rubbing Alcohol so far with no luck. I’ve even used a floor jack and 4x4 wood to put upward pressure and let the weight of the aquarium work against it,( half the weight that is). Next I drilled pilot holes about 3” apart on the top of the frame so I can get the solvents in contact with the glass. Very, very little progress. Now, I’m trying Acetone.

Planet Aquarium makes them wholesale. Some of the people that worked for Oceanic making these aquarium’s now work for them. You can’t get much information on this topic from them. They seem to be a little cryptic about the whole thing. Anyways, I’m attempting to reseal this aquarium vs shelling out 8k + for a new Bowfront setup. Makes sense right? If anyone can help me solve this problem PLEASE chime in! What do I use to dissolve this adhesive they used? Thanks so much!

The oceanic bowfronts had a high glass failure rate on the curved panels. Nice that you got 20 years out of it, but I would not bother resealing. Be happy it did not fail sooner.

 

[RockRash]

Yes, but there is no reason to completely separate the glass panes, if that's your plan. You simply scrap out the inside silicon only, and reapply the bead on the inside of the tank, and you're good to go. Unless there's something I'm missing from your first photo. I'd done that to A LOT of tanks, I've even done other people's tanks. Never have I removed the tank's plastic frame, and never did I separate the glass panes.

I understand what you saying but I cant understand how you get the get the silicone in been the glass if you don't remove the frame? I've never resealed a tank so I guess I just don't get it how can the silicone get in between the glass if it only applied to the inside?

 

[Fish Fan]

I understand what you saying but I cant understand how you get the get the silicone in been the glass if you don't remove the frame? I've never resealed a tank so I guess I just don't get it how can the silicone get in between the glass if it only applied to the inside?

In my experience, there's no reason to reseal the silicon that's between the glass panes. You only need to reseal the bead of silicon that's inside the tank. Completely disassembling the tank is making A LOT of unnecessary work.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Silicone is a polymer that's strength comes from the interlinked chains of molecules that form while it is curing. The problem is that fresh silicone does not bond well to to cured silicone because it can't continue these linked chains, in fact it does not stick well at all.

So just cutting away the surface bead and replacing it may stop the leak, but it will do very little to renew the strength of joints, which lies primarily in the thin layer bound between the panels. The top bead is more about protecting the actual joint that creates the strength.

The concern here is that the seam has failed the whole way through, indicating that the silicone itself has likely been attacked by (choose any or all) bacteria, uv, algae or father time.

So unless you dismantle the entire tank and clean all of the old silicone away, you are placing a band-aid on something that maybe should not be band-aided.

The work to dismantle, clean and re-seal is just not worth the effort here, especially considering the bow front issues to begin with.

If it were me, I would give it away or sell it with the clear conveyance that it is no longer a water safe aquarium. So somebody can use it for a terrarium or reptile enclosure.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'll add, that *if* one wanted to disassemble a tank, an esay way to get through that seam is to get a short piece of wire - a "high E" string for a guitar works great - and wrap each end around a short piece of dowel or broom stick to make handles. Work the wire through the silicon seam using a sawing motion, should separate the panes quickly. Again, just from my experience, what has worked for me in the past.