HELP! my buddy has a 300g that is bout to pop!

[jdav]

ok so i'll make the story quick.....

my friend bought a used 300g from someone about 2 years ago and set it up about 6 months ago. just last night we realized that the glass braces on the top weren't connected to the back glass. the silicon had quit holding the glass together.. .... when i looked at the front glass of the tankit is starting to get a bow in the front of it . like 2 linear feet of the glass in the middle of the tank id say 2 vertical feet as well, the worst of the bulge probably protrudes 1/4 of an inch in the very top very center.....

how can we fix it? can you fix it after the glass has started to bow like that?

what i was gonna do is just drain the tank remove all the silicon on and around the supports. then glue them back and add another piece of glac to add to the support as little bit.


my only concern is what, if anything is going to happen to that bend when i drain the water and start trying to get the tank square again?

the tank is 8'x2'x3' and i have no idea how long the braces have beeen mia so the glass is pretty thick.....


is there a better way to do it than that

[jdav]

btw, i forgot to say this but tia for any help!

[rustybucket145]

Sounds like you guys are on the right track. Drain the tank pull the rim off and razorblade any silicone. Also probably want some acetone or denatured alcohol handy to clean the glass surfaces to be siliconed. When you drain the tank the bow should dissappear and go back to normal.

Where in ga are you guys located?

[Giovanni]

Before it pops get some of those large wood working clamps to support the tank while you drain it. don't put any real pressure on it just enough to keep it from getting worse. The tank will regain its shape when you drain it. I had this happen to me on a 55 long ago when I set a hot light on the plastic center brace and melted it. DUhOOO

[demc2h]

I had this problem with a 120 and I was able to contact AGA and get a new top frame for my tank. It cost me $40.00 and only about 1 hour of work. After I drained out about half of the water ther tank was straight enough to put the new frame on. 2 years later all is still OK.

[addo]

If the braces are starting to come of that means the silicone is old. Granted silicone ages faster in air than under water but I would still be worried that other seams will start to pop. You might wanna think about regluing the whole tank.

[BeanAnimal]

You can't really re-silicone a whole tank without taking it totally apart. The silicone bead you see in the corners does very little to hold the tank together. It just ensures that that the seams are water tight. The strength of the joint is in the very thin layer of silicone that is sandwiched between the panels.

[clutch]

this happend to my 240 gal oceanic tank i just took a razor knife cleaned real good then used new silicone. cleand glass brace also and the works. I used GE silicone II bathroom stuff. It's been 2 1/2 years and no sign of letting up.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77230210_top_plate_repair.jpg
Wish i didn't install the same brace just for lighting purposes the brace is 24 x 24 so its pretty bigg... my 2 cents GL

[BeanAnimal]

New silicone does not stick to old silicone very well. I suppose because the silicone in the joints provides the strenth, you could leave it undisturbed and just cut off the bead or fillet portion in the corners. If you do a good job placing the new fillet, it will adhere to both panels and form a good watertight seal, leaving the old sandwiched silicone to provide the strength.

[psuedopimp]

be carefull with the new plastic frames...I bought one for my 55gal that was really old, and the new frame was too small. Just a fraction too small.. so close it hurt....

[Lucky Strike]

umm this tank doesnt have a plastic brace. :o

it uses glass (euro?) for the top bracing. you have to drain it, cut the euro bracing out and clean all the old silicone off and resilicone. resiliconing the tank maybe a order.