Silicon recommendation

[alindell]

I picked up a frag tank that needs to be resealed. What type of silicon should I pick up. I was told 100% silicon... Can I get that any home improvement store? Any tips tricks . He told me to use a razor and scrape off the silicon on the edge if the glass and not cut into the silicon that bonds the glass panels together. Then use some painters tape and silicone to replace the old stuff that was cut away.

 

[fishywishy]

I use aqueon and GE silicone. They work pretty good.

what he mentioned is good. Although if the old silicone is really bad I would replace the seam that holds the panels together as well.

 

[ReefQuestCorals]

Here is a good discussion on silicone, I recently read through it as well looking to replace the crap old silicone with black on a tank I just bought

Reef safe silicone....

Am I missing a sticky on DIY resealing a tank? I am working towards re-siliconing a tank and I'm looking to acquire some black reef safe silicone but unable to find a general agreed upon "best" or "safe" What would you guys recommend as the best option?

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Fish Fan]

I picked up a frag tank that needs to be resealed. What type of silicon should I pick up. I was told 100% silicon... Can I get that any home improvement store? Any tips tricks . He told me to use a razor and scrape off the silicon on the edge if the glass and not cut into the silicon that bonds the glass panels together. Then use some painters tape and silicone to replace the old stuff that was cut away.

I have been resealing tanks in just that way for many years, I've done tanks as large as 125 gallons. However, many here at R2R suggest that you need to completely separate the glass panels and basically rebuild the tank from scratch.

For silicon, GE Silicon I (<Roman numeral 1) is completely reef and aquarium safe, found at local hardware stores. Don't use GE Silicon II, which has additional mold inhibitors and is not reef safe.

I've never found black silicon that's aquarium safe at a local hardware store, if you want black, just order aquarium safe black silicon.

 

[alindell]

I have been resealing tanks in just that way for many years, I've done tanks as large as 125 gallons. However, many here at R2R suggest that you need to completely separate the glass panels and basically rebuild the tank from scratch.

For silicon, GE Silicon I (<Roman numeral 1) is completely reef and aquarium safe, found at local hardware stores. Don't use GE Silicon II, which has additional mold inhibitors and is not reef safe.

I've never found black silicon that's aquarium safe at a local hardware store, if you want black, just order aquarium safe black silicon.

I just did a bunch of research on this. I just bought ASI black aquarium safe silicone...I guess all silicone is not reef safe until it cures and basically give a week depending on bead size. Momentive rtv 100 series is the best ASI is good and the GE ones are low grade easy to work with a d most readily available. People said they would only use it on baffles. I went with ASI as it seems to be used by aquarium manufacturers, it's decent quality cheaper than momentive rtv 100 series and has good reviews. Middle of the road and plus I like how it says aquarium safe even though it doesn't really matter.

I'm not going to seperate the panels. I'm going to use a razor, avoid cutting the edge of the old silicone that bonds the glass, scrape away the old stuff along the edge and basically reseal over that edge over the old silicone. It's just a frag tank 4 ft by 2 and only 9 inches high. Anybody got any major complaints with this??

 

[56longroof]

I just did a bunch of research on this. I just bought ASI black aquarium safe silicone...I guess all silicone is not reef safe until it cures and basically give a week depending on bead size. Momentive rtv 100 series is the best ASI is good and the GE ones are low grade easy to work with a d most readily available. People said they would only use it on baffles. I went with ASI as it seems to be used by aquarium manufacturers, it's decent quality cheaper than momentive rtv 100 series and has good reviews. Middle of the road and plus I like how it says aquarium safe even though it doesn't really matter.

I'm not going to seperate the panels. I'm going to use a razor, avoid cutting the edge of the old silicone that bonds the glass, scrape away the old stuff along the edge and basically reseal over that edge over the old silicone. It's just a frag tank 4 ft by 2 and only 9 inches high. Anybody got any major complaints with this??

I resealed a leaking 90 gallon that way. It held together just fine for several years. Was still water tight when I sold it and I never heard any complaints from the new owner.

 

[Fish Fan]

I'm not going to seperate the panels. I'm going to use a razor, avoid cutting the edge of the old silicone that bonds the glass, scrape away the old stuff along the edge and basically reseal over that edge over the old silicone. It's just a frag tank 4 ft by 2 and only 9 inches high. Anybody got any major complaints with this??

I do it like that, and have had no complaints, but again, many advise otherwise, so please decide for yourself. I too use the blue painter's tape, it goes along way to making a nice looking seam, assuming, like me, you're not a pro at caulking things. It's really important to get all the old silicon out, and clean the glass with a solvent like acetone or at least isopropyl alcohol.

I'll add that I've only tried this on standard, rimmed tanks, your milage may vary if you have a different tank.

I just did a bunch of research on this. I just bought ASI black aquarium safe silicone...I guess all silicone is not reef safe until it cures and basically give a week depending on bead size. Momentive rtv 100 series is the best ASI is good and the GE ones are low grade easy to work with a d most readily available. People said they would only use it on baffles. I went with ASI as it seems to be used by aquarium manufacturers, it's decent quality cheaper than momentive rtv 100 series and has good reviews. Middle of the road and plus I like how it says aquarium safe even though it doesn't really matter.

The ASI is good stuff, I've used that. I've never used the Momentive, but many here do talk about it. The GE is likely third down the list, but I have used it several times in the past, and no complaints here, except that it is only available in clear, not black, which I much prefer.

 

[Fish Fan]

I resealed a leaking 90 gallon that way. It held together just fine for several years. Was still water tight when I sold it and I never heard any complaints from the new owner.

I did a 125 for a local farm/garden/pet store near me (I am friendly with the old manager), it's still holding 7 years later. GE silicon I too.

But again, a lot of people here at R2R will advise otherwise :)

 

[56longroof]

I did a 125 for a local farm/garden/pet store near me (I am friendly with the old manager), it's still holding 7 years later. GE silicon I too.

But again, a lot of people here at R2R will advise otherwise :)

I've found alot of people here tend to be overly cautious about certain things. No disrespect intended.

 

[Fish Fan]

I've found alot of people here tend to be overly cautious about certain things. No disrespect intended.

For sure!

EDIT: I don't think even half of them have ever tried to reseal a tank either.

 

[56longroof]

For sure!

EDIT: I don't think even half of them have ever tried to reseal a tank either.

Mine was a emergency situation. I just filled the tank and heard dripping water. I drained it cut the old out and sealed it. That was long before internet forums telling me I did it wrong. LOL

 

[Fish Fan]

Mine was a emergency situation. I just filled the tank and heard dripping water. I drained it cut the old out and sealed it. That was long before internet forums telling me I did it wrong. LOL

Right! I had heard like 30 or 40 years ago from a pet store manager that about every 10 years you want to reseal a tank just out of caution. I went decades believing this was the right thing to do, and so that's what I did. Only now recently am I seeing where members here at R2R suggest that you have to pull the whole tank apart and basically rebuild it. They argue that the real strength comes from the silicon in-between the glass. I think they are dismissing how much silicon overlaps the seam, and adds to its integrity, I believe (I'm not an engineer).

You know how I know that most of them have never tried this? Because by all accounts taking the plastic rims off of standard tanks is an absolute bear, and often results in broken glass. In my humble estimation, there is no reason to dismantle a tank like this, just reseal the inside.

Again, this may be different for non-rimmed tanks.