Tank reseal questions

[MadReefer]

My cousin has a 90g FW tank that sprung a leak at the bottom front.

1) He plans to put silicone over the old where the leak is. I told him to at least remove some silicone a few inches in both directions and place new silicone. I said do not go over the old silicone.
Did I instruct him correctly?

2) The bottom glass is raised 1/4 or 1/2 inch up resting on the plastic frame. He is concerned about the bottom glass leaking or breaking and wants to place a piece of wood that fits directly under the glass, same size as glass. Again, I think its bad idea. It was built this way for a reason. With the weight of the rocks, water and decorations I think the wood wood cause the glass to lift up from the bottom frame causing a major leak/disaster.
Am I correct here?

For those that resealed before any comments or suggestions?

Thanks for reading.
Mark

 

[diana a]

1) He plans to put silicone over the old where the leak is. I told him to at least remove some silicone a few inches in both directions and place new silicone. I said do not go over the old silicone.
Did I instruct him correctly?

yes you did. New silicone will not stick to old silicone

 

[MadReefer]

yes you did. New silicone will not stick to old silicone

Thanks. Any thoughts of wood under the bottom glass.

 

[diana a]

Wood underneath and not attached I don’t see a problem. I won’t glue/silicone glass to wood since temperature, humidity and water can cause different kinds of wood to contract or expand.

 

[MadReefer]

Don't think he was gluing it. Just setting underneath.

 

[DYIguy]

I'd do a complete re seal- cut out all the silicone corner beads with a sheet rock/ window knives, without removing the silicone in between the glass- only in the area of the leak- clean the glass and put a new bead on all the joints- maybe 2-3 tubes of aquarium safe silicone- $25-35- I would rest easier at night- wood is not necessary, but can't hurt

 

[Yates273]

Agree with Dyiguy. If leaking and he attempts to reseal just a portion chances are it may work but chances are it may not work. If the tank is empty it’s as easy as cutting all the silicone out, taping and resealing. Better to do this than set everything up and the tank starts to thrive then bam a leak now you have to take it all down. I did a reseal of a 120 with 1 tube of aquarium silicone. This silicone was awesome but has a quick flash time so you have to work quick. Once it dries it was super strong and I have no worries whatsoever. This is what I used. For the price he should buy 2 just in case. There are plenty of videos online he should watch. One tip if he decides to reseal is once he seals and smooths out with a wet finger immediately remove tape while silicone is still wet if not you will not be able to peel tape up that was trapped under silicone unless you slice with a razor blade

 

[DYIguy]

Agree with Dyiguy. If leaking and he attempts to reseal just a portion chances are it may work but chances are it may not work. If the tank is empty it’s as easy as cutting all the silicone out, taping and resealing. Better to do this than set everything up and the tank starts to thrive then bam a leak now you have to take it all down. I did a reseal of a 120 with 1 tube of aquarium silicone. This silicone was awesome but has a quick flash time so you have to work quick. Once it dries it was super strong and I have no worries whatsoever. This is what I used. For the price he should buy 2 just in case. There are plenty of videos online he should watch. One tip if he decides to reseal is once he seals and smooths out with a wet finger immediately remove tape while silicone is still wet if not you will not be able to peel tape up that was trapped under silicone unless you slice with a razor blade

I think using the silicone you recommend is the way to go for the bottom of the tank- Don't think I'd want to re seal the upper part of the tank with black silicone- would really point out/ show the corners- I'd stick with clear-

 

[Yates273]

Either way as long as you tape off and smooth out you can really make it look nice. All comes down to personal preference. I did a reseal with clear Ge silicone and it turned yellow on me guess that scared me from using clear ever again. I do believe they sell this in clear though if that’s what he opts for

 

[MadReefer]

So remove all silicone on bottom front glass. So would be 4 foot removal and then new silicone.

 

[Yates273]

Personally I would remove all silicone on bottom and upright corners just for piece of mind. Since he would be doing the bottom it’s just another step to cut out the 4 corners. Now you have new silicone around complete tank. Like you told him new silicone WILL NOT stick to old silicone and provide a leakproof seal.sounds more complicated than it is. It is very easy to reseal a tank. Just need to prep really good. Make sure he cleans glass with hydrogen peroxide also

 

[MadReefer]

Thanks everyone. I passed on the info.

 

[MadReefer]

My cousin has decided to have a more knowledgeable person reseal the tank. Does anyone of a store that does this? he lives in Pine Beach area.