Red sea reefer 250 reseal

[aspulido]

Hi everyone,
I have a Red Sea aquarium that needs to be resealed, and I’m wondering if anyone here has experience with resealing one of these tanks. What are the best practices to ensure a strong and long-lasting seal? Any specific silicone recommendations or prep tips?

Also, I’m considering adding some kind of reinforcement to the front glass to increase structural integrity. Has anyone done this before, and if so, what methods or materials worked best?

I’d really appreciate any advice or insights. Thanks in advance!

 

[smitten with ocean life]

@Fish Fan , dont you have experience with this?

 

[FUNGI]

I had these made for the top corners for my red sea 525: Clear Acrylic and then siliconed to the inside edges.....

 

[aspulido]

@Fish Fan , dont you have experience with this?

Yes i have

I had these made for the top corners for my red sea 525: Clear Acrylic and then siliconed to the inside edges.....

the X it’s the acrylic right?
I was thinking to make kind of a euro brace but in the bottom of the tank it might help

 

[FUNGI]

The whole thing is clear acrylic. The X is the cut-out for the corner silicon that I didnt want to mess with

 

[s_miles]

How’s your reseal project going?

I am getting ready to reseal my Red Sea 425 XL. I’ve transferred all my fish and coral to a shallow, 50 gallon Rubbermaid agricultural tank. I’m using a 30 gallon sump with my return pump, heater and skimmer. Everyone seems happy after about a week.

What is it that makes so many Red Sea tanks fail? There must be more to it than poor quality silicone. I will say that that what I have removed so far seems very weak, soft and poorly adhering. This is why I decided to reseal the entire tank, instead of fixing the leaky seam.

What is the best silicone for using the injection method?

Red Sea uses what I think they call seam protectors. 1/4 inch or so plastic strips that cover the silicone bead inside. I can see where they might protect the seam from constant abuse from magnetic scrapers, but do they add strength? Should I put them back? Anyone with experience or advice.

I’ve been watching YouTube videos, but haven’t found anything specific to a full Red Sea rebuild. I look forward to hearing how your rebuild went.

I will appreciate any and all advice.

Steve

 

[UncommonSense]

How’s your reseal project going?

I am getting ready to reseal my Red Sea 425 XL. I’ve transferred all my fish and coral to a shallow, 50 gallon Rubbermaid agricultural tank. I’m using a 30 gallon sump with my return pump, heater and skimmer. Everyone seems happy after about a week.

What is it that makes so many Red Sea tanks fail? There must be more to it than poor quality silicone. I will say that that what I have removed so far seems very weak, soft and poorly adhering. This is why I decided to reseal the entire tank, instead of fixing the leaky seam.

What is the best silicone for using the injection method?

Red Sea uses what I think they call seam protectors. 1/4 inch or so plastic strips that cover the silicone bead inside. I can see where they might protect the seam from constant abuse from magnetic scrapers, but do they add strength? Should I put them back? Anyone with experience or advice.

I’ve been watching YouTube videos, but haven’t found anything specific to a full Red Sea rebuild. I look forward to hearing how your rebuild went.

I will appreciate any and all advice.

Steve

I’m contemplating resealing a recently acquired Reefer 450, or possibly just creating a new seal on the interior seam edges of the tank. I’m thinking of using 1/2” triangular glass plate corner (semi) eurobraces, and 1/2”x1/2” right pentagon glass rods of my own manufacture.

(I already reinforced all four corners of my 180g FW system around two months ago; that can be seen in background of first photo, and my build thread!)

Thoughts? Questions? Comments? I’m trying to justify not cutting the tank up for spare project glass!

 

[UncommonSense]

The whole thing is clear acrylic. The X is the cut-out for the corner silicon that I didnt want to mess with

Out of curiosity; did you have any issues achieving a strong structural bond between glass and acrylic with silicone?

 

[Powertool-2010]

Out of curiosity; did you have any issues achieving a strong structural bond between glass and acrylic with silicone?

That was my thought when I saw that it wasn't glass. No amount of willpower can make chemistry work differently.
Your build was done right. I'm fairly impressed. Those glass rod corner bead protector/reinforcement is pretty genius and impressive.

 

[UncommonSense]

That was my thought when I saw that it wasn't glass. No amount of willpower can make chemistry work differently.
Your build was done right. I'm fairly impressed. Those glass rod corner bead protector/reinforcement is pretty genius and impressive.

Thank you! I’m actually prepping to do another round of 24” pentagonal glass rods; this time out of 12mm starphire glass! — I’ll have plenty of extras this time too! (Hint, hint…)