Rimless tank repair help needed.

bratfink

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Hi all,

I have an SC Aquariums 90gal Starfire rimless cube that I haven’t put water in for at least 6 years.

I bought it used, but then moved house and life took over and I never set it up.

fast forward to now. I test filled it and it looked good. So I started setting it up. As I was doing this I noticed the front panel silicon joint was starting to separate near the top.

Had this been a braced tank I probably wouldn’t care, I’d re-silicone the corners and fill it anyway.
But a Rimless I am less confident in.

what I have read suggests I basically need to strip it right back to the panels, build a jig, and completely redo it.

if that’s the case then there will be a tank on the for sale pages soon!

If anyone has experience of repairing a rimless tank and could talk me through the process I’d appreciate it.
@vetteguy53081 you’ve mentioned on other threads you’ve repaired tanks.
 

vetteguy53081

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Hi all,

I have an SC Aquariums 90gal Starfire rimless cube that I haven’t put water in for at least 6 years.

I bought it used, but then moved house and life took over and I never set it up.

fast forward to now. I test filled it and it looked good. So I started setting it up. As I was doing this I noticed the front panel silicon joint was starting to separate near the top.

Had this been a braced tank I probably wouldn’t care, I’d re-silicone the corners and fill it anyway.
But a Rimless I am less confident in.

what I have read suggests I basically need to strip it right back to the panels, build a jig, and completely redo it.

if that’s the case then there will be a tank on the for sale pages soon!

If anyone has experience of repairing a rimless tank and could talk me through the process I’d appreciate it.
@vetteguy53081 you’ve mentioned on other threads you’ve repaired tanks.
Yes I have including rimless. It sounds like you have one area of concern. If so, Jig not needed but tape the outside with painters tape or frog tape.
Take a sharp razor and cut way the silicone on both sides of glass. Then take the razor and scrape away the remaining silicone and using a wet cloth remove all the pieces of silicone, even using a shop vac. The with a different clean cloth, clean area well with rubbing alohol.
Using AQUARIUM SEALANT (either aqueon or Marineland brand)- apply a generous bead into corner. Wet your finger and smooth it out uniformly starting from bottom and and run wet finger to the top.
Once done, allow to dry for at least 24 (i like 36 hours) hours then cold water test for a full 24 hours. If no leak- get ready to restart tank.

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bratfink

bratfink

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I have 1 area I have found a split in, but it makes me wonder if other areas of the silicon could be on the verge of failure.

The question is if I cut away the area of concern and put new silicon in, then what happens at the point where new silicon meets old? I understand they don’t adhere well together. Am I opening up the possibility of pinhole leaks in that joint? And if so am I really looking at having to completely strip down the tank to redo all the silicone?
 

SteveMM62Reef

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You could roughen up the old silicone and see if a new dab will stick to it. to get the silicone from between the glass edges, I used unwaxed dental floss, and a pair of heavy gloves, to protect my hands.
 
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