Can I repair a leaking 55 gal

[dark_lotis]

Hey I was wondering how hard it would be to reseal a 55 gal tank and was wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction?

[firemedic0135]

Yeah just go to Home Depot and grab a tube of "GE silicone I " and start laying down some new beads. I used that stuff to replace a broken panel in a 45g fuge.

[Lawnsharks]

Yes you can repair it providing its leaking from a seal and not from a crack in the glass. Here you go in a very short form.

Get 2 or 3 tubes of GE1 door and window 100% silicon, or the DAP equivalent that lists aquariums as a use, and a caulk gun. Also get a roll of the 1.5inch masking tape, and some acetone, a quart will be plenty. Youll need a bunch of razor blades and a handle to hold them. Switch blades often, once they become dull they do not cut well at all. Personally I have a silicone/caulk removal tool, but you can just use the razors if you want. I also have a silicon application tool that gives you a nice uniform bead in the corners, but you can use tape and your finger to get a professional result also.

Clean the tank very well, and dry it out.

Remove the top trim.

Use the masking tape, and tape the outside corners of the tank, this will hold the tank together while the silicon is off the glass.

Remove all the silicone from the tank using your prefered method..blades or tool or both. Get as much of it out as you can using the tool, and/or blades, then clean the glass with the acetone, be slightly liberal, and it will come very clean. This also prepares the glass for the application of the new silicon.

Take the masking tape and mask off a 1/2 inch wide bead on the corners, and all around the bottom. Your going for the finished product like the image in the right side of this pic.



Prepare the silicone tube, and gun, by cuttin the tip off of the tube untill the resulting opening is about 3/8" and slanted, and insert the tube into the gun. Similar to this picture.



Apply a continuous bead to the aquarium between the tape lines, and smooth it out with your finger or a silicon tool. Carefully remove the tape while the silicone is still wet, if you wait till its dry you will have to run a razor down all the tape lines and cut the silicone, or you run the risk of pulling the fresh silicone off the tank. Your shooting for this shape in the corners.



Now apply silicone all the way around the top of the tank, and reinstall the top trim. Tape the trim down so it wont pull anywhere.

Let it dry a minimum of 24 hours before you put water in it, but 48 hours would be much better.

Done. Hope this helps. This is very quick, so I may have missed some details. There are videos on youtube, just do a search for resealing aquariums, youll find more info.

[dark_lotis]

Thanks guys I will let you know how it turns out when I get to it.