Tank reseal

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I recently had my tank resealed. After the reseal I did a leak test and it was holding water fine. However today when moving it to its final spot, I noticed that one part of the corner overflow is “wobbly”. The silicone is still attached firmly to the glass but there is some play with the plastic corner overflow panel. Is this ok? I assume the pressure from the water will push it tight again the glass. I’ll attach a video but it is hard to see.

 

[KrisReef]

If you are worried about an overflow leak, put a standpipe into the bulkhead to prevent full tank flowing into the sump during an extended power outage.

Silicone for sealing tanks doesn't bond to acrylic and is prone to leaks at overflows. A leaky overflow can still function to skim the surface water into the sump, but a safety stand pipe is highly recommended in these situations.

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

If you are worried about an overflow leak, put a standpipe into the bulkhead to prevent full tank flowing into the sump during an extended power outage.

Silicone for sealing tanks doesn't bond to acrylic and is prone to leaks at overflows. A leaky overflow can still function to skim the surface water into the sump, but a safety stand pipe is highly recommended in these situations.

I’m new to overflows and sumps. Is that what this is?

 

[UncommonSense]

Oh yikes… whoever did this “reseal” was definitely in a hurry…

that overflow isn’t actually bonded to the tank wall, there’s a just a flap of silicone bridging the cut end of the overflow panel and sticking to the face of it instead…

silicone does stick to acrylic, just not nearly as well as it does to glass! (It also sticks terribly to old, cured silicone…) I hope whoever did the work thoroughly cleaned the old silicone off, and used solvents to clean and scrub the glass for an extended period of time?

safety stand pipe is highly recommended in these situations.

This is OP’s only line of defense in the event of a power outage; that means the standpipe should be cemented into the subsequent bulkhead fitting, not friction fit per-usual!

 

[KrisReef]

I’m new to overflows and sumps. Is that what this is?

That's a standpipe, should keep the water in the tank especially if it is solvent welded together, but even a press fit PVC pipe can work to keep the water in the tank when the overflow is seeping.

@BeanAnimal - What's your take on this standpipe design?

 

[KrisReef]

Oh yikes… whoever did this “reseal” was definitely in a hurry…

that overflow isn’t actually bonded to the tank wall, there’s a just a flap of silicone bridging the cut end of the overflow panel and sticking to the face of it instead…

silicone does stick to acrylic, just not nearly as well as it does to glass! (It also sticks terribly to old, cured silicone…) I hope whoever did the work thoroughly cleaned the old silicone off, and used solvents to clean and scrub the glass for an extended period of time?





This is OP’s only line of defense in the event of a power outage; that means the standpipe should be cemented into the subsequent bulkhead fitting, not friction fit per-usual!

I have actually had good results with only friction fits, but glue is the safest way. If the bottom fitting and pipe are threaded, a little teflon tape can reduce any seepage to minor occasional drips, so that the evaporation from the sump would prevent an overflow leak during a prolonged power outtage.

Glue helps keep the tank restful!

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

Oh yikes… whoever did this “reseal” was definitely in a hurry…

that overflow isn’t actually bonded to the tank wall, there’s a just a flap of silicone bridging the cut end of the overflow panel and sticking to the face of it instead…

silicone does stick to acrylic, just not nearly as well as it does to glass! (It also sticks terribly to old, cured silicone…) I hope whoever did the work thoroughly cleaned the old silicone off, and used solvents to clean and scrub the glass for an extended period of time?

safety stand pipe is highly recommended in these situations.

This is OP’s only line of defense in the event of a power outage; that means the standpipe should be cemented into the subsequent bulkhead fitting, not friction fit per-usual!

I removed the silicone myself but I did not doing the resealing. I spent a whole week removing it with a razor blade, a specific silicone removing tool, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol. If I were to make the person come re do it, would the whole tank need resealed or just the corner overflow?

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

Oh yikes… whoever did this “reseal” was definitely in a hurry…

that overflow isn’t actually bonded to the tank wall, there’s a just a flap of silicone bridging the cut end of the overflow panel and sticking to the face of it instead…

silicone does stick to acrylic, just not nearly as well as it does to glass! (It also sticks terribly to old, cured silicone…) I hope whoever did the work thoroughly cleaned the old silicone off, and used solvents to clean and scrub the glass for an extended period of time?





This is OP’s only line of defense in the event of a power outage; that means the standpipe should be cemented into the subsequent bulkhead fitting, not friction fit per-usual!

I have actually had good results with only friction fits, but glue is the safest way. If the bottom fitting and pipe are threaded, a little teflon tape can reduce any seepage to minor occasional drips, so that the evaporation from the sump would prevent an overflow leak during a prolonged power outtage.

Glue helps keep the tank restful!

What kind of glue should I use? Just standard primer and cement?

 

[KrisReef]

I removed the silicone myself but I did not doing the resealing. I spent a whole week removing it with a razor blade, a specific silicone removing tool, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol. If I were to make the person come re do it, would the whole tank need resealed or just the corner overflow?

The tank should be fine (it;s glass!). The overflow is going to be difficult to seal in place with silicone. Tank builders use something else (or extra), add solvent into the silicone, I don't recall the specifics but to do it right "glass aquarium 100% silicone sealant" doesn't stick properly to acrylic.

 

[UncommonSense]

I removed the silicone myself but I did not doing the resealing. I spent a whole week removing it with a razor blade, a specific silicone removing tool, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol. If I were to make the person come re do it, would the whole tank need resealed or just the corner overflow?

Probably just the corner overflow… I think the better bet would be just siliconing on a strip of acrylic or glass on the other side of that joint, inside the overflow box; this will give the joint something solid to press against, and prevent the need to fully cut out the overflow/dealing with trying to bond new silicone to cured silicone at the bottom seams…

Hopefully this tank is rimmed, and is not showing visible signs of structural glass:glass silicone seam peeling? — replacing the interior silicone bead over each glass seam doesn’t do much for the tank’s ability to hold itself together!

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I removed the silicone myself but I did not doing the resealing. I spent a whole week removing it with a razor blade, a specific silicone removing tool, acetone, and isopropyl alcohol. If I were to make the person come re do it, would the whole tank need resealed or just the corner overflow?

Probably just the corner overflow… I think the better bet would be just siliconing on a strip of acrylic or glass on the other side of that joint, inside the overflow box; this will give the joint something solid to press against, and prevent the need to fully cut out the overflow/dealing with trying to bond new silicone to cured silicone at the bottom seams…

Hopefully this tank is rimmed, and is not showing visible signs of structural glass:glass silicone seam peeling? — replacing the interior silicone bead over each glass seam doesn’t do much for the tank’s ability to hold itself together!

It is rimmed. Overall the tanks silicone looked fine except on the Internal vertical corners. It was almost non existent but still held water. LFS recommended a reseal just to be safe. I bought it used. Would I just put a piece of glass flush against the back of the box and then run silicone up each side of it?

 

[UncommonSense]

except on the Internal vertical corners. It was almost non existent but still held water. LFS recommended a reseal just to be safe.

Can I see a photo or two of this “almost nonexistent” silicone?

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

except on the Internal vertical corners. It was almost non existent but still held water. LFS recommended a reseal just to be safe.

Can I see a photo or two of this “almost nonexistent” silicone?

I think this is the only one I still have.

 

[UncommonSense]

I think this is the only one I still have.

Oh! I’m referring to the silicone between the glass panes, as is viewed through the glass!

Front view of structural glass:glass silicone seam:

Rear view of same structural glass:glass seam, as viewed through the tank’s short side pane at a steep angle:

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I think this is the only one I still have.

Oh! I’m referring to the silicone between the glass panes, as is viewed through the glass!

Front view of structural glass:glass silicone seam:

Rear view of same structural glass:glass seam, as viewed through the tank’s short side pane at a steep angle:

Oh. That silicone looks fine I think. I can snap a picture of it though

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

I think this is the only one I still have.

Oh! I’m referring to the silicone between the glass panes, as is viewed through the glass!

Front view of structural glass:glass silicone seam:

Rear view of same structural glass:glass seam, as viewed through the tank’s short side pane at a steep angle:

Camera isn’t the best so hopefully those show well enough.

 

[UncommonSense]

Camera isn’t the best so hopefully those show well enough.

Ah, these do look solid! Okay, so this is essentially just a cosmetic reseal, plus overflow box!

Would I just put a piece of glass flush against the back of the box and then run silicone up each side of it?

I’ve had my best luck scuffing acrylic up via sandpaper where silicone is going to contact it, giving it more surface area, and irregularities for the silicone to mechanically stick to… there are also specialized silicone primers designed to improve silicone’s adhesion to plastics of various sorts!

In your case, probably a bead of silicone laid vertically up that overflow’s floppy joint on the overflow interior (after scuffing acrylic and cleaning up/surface prepping), then laying your thin glass (or prepped acrylic) strip down into the silicone bead, using the strip itself as a flat surface to extrude the silicone out across it… (silicone traps air very well, you want to use it like a fluid to extrude all the air between parts being bonded from the center-out to get bubble-free seams!)

I’m new to overflows and sumps. Is that what this is?

This is a fairly common “Durso standpipe” design… the inlet is submerged in the overflow box, and air is allowed in via the top, usually metered by a valve… this one has been modified with holes drilled in the side, likely in a futile attempt to get it to run silent!

On that note, this particular single-drain design is relatively outdated, and has been more or less abandoned on new tanks for the inherent noise/lack of redundancy against overflows in favor of dual (Herbie) or triple (BeanAnimal) drain systems!

— because your tank likely has a second hole in that overflow box for water to be pumped back in from the sump, you can actually convert this to a near-silent running dual drain overflow, with the water being returned from the sump plumbed up over the tank rim, if you so-choose!

 

[AquaSixAquaticsReef]

Camera isn’t the best so hopefully those show well enough.

Ah, these do look solid! Okay, so this is essentially just a cosmetic reseal, plus overflow box!

Would I just put a piece of glass flush against the back of the box and then run silicone up each side of it?

I’ve had my best luck scuffing acrylic up via sandpaper where silicone is going to contact it, giving it more surface area, and irregularities for the silicone to mechanically stick to… there are also specialized silicone primers designed to improve silicone’s adhesion to plastics of various sorts!

In your case, probably a bead of silicone laid vertically up that overflow’s floppy joint on the overflow interior (after scuffing acrylic and cleaning up/surface prepping), then laying your thin glass (or prepped acrylic) strip down into the silicone bead, using the strip itself as a flat surface to extrude the silicone out across it… (silicone traps air very well, you want to use it like a fluid to extrude all the air between parts being bonded from the center-out to get bubble-free seams!)

I’m new to overflows and sumps. Is that what this is?

This is a fairly common “Durso standpipe” design… the inlet is submerged in the overflow box, and air is allowed in via the top, usually metered by a valve… this one has been modified with holes drilled in the side, likely in a futile attempt to get it to run silent!

On that note, this particular single-drain design is relatively outdated, and has been more or less abandoned on new tanks for the inherent noise/lack of redundancy against overflows in favor of dual (Herbie) or triple (BeanAnimal) drain systems!

— because your tank likely has a second hole in that overflow box for water to be pumped back in from the sump, you can actually convert this to a near-silent running dual drain overflow, with the water being returned from the sump plumbed up over the tank rim, if you so-choose!

I just bought the kit from my LFS for this one. Thought it was rather expensive at $80. Especially if it’s outdated. Do you have any picture examples of how it would be plumbed over? Kinda like a canister filter?

 

[UncommonSense]

I just bought the kit from my LFS for this one. Thought it was rather expensive at $80. Especially if it’s outdated. Do you have any picture examples of how it would be plumbed over? Kinda like a canister filter?

Well, you could run it like that to start and see how you like it! — you at least got bulkheads with the kit, even if they’re not fantastic ones!

To plumb over the rim, it is indeed a lot like a canister filter’s outlet!

Then the two in-tank holes and their subsequent bulkhead fittings get pieces of pipe as their standpipes, nothing fancy there! (A main, and an emergency drain; two different lengths!)

(The part that makes it silent [a gate valve] is on the main drain plumbing below the tank!)