Sealing a used tank

[Chad C.]

I recently purchased a used 125 gallon. The sides have obviously been resealed as they look in good shape and are black vs clear around the bottom. Question is should I redo all the seals or just worry with the bottom?

[DaveO]

I would never trust a used tank. I made that mistake once and won't again. It was a 75 gallon that let loose in the living room of a condo I was renting. The water made it into the neighbors house. UHG. What a mess.

[Scott P.]

On 8/30/2021 at 3:25 PM, Chad C. said:

I recently purchased a used 125 gallon. The sides have obviously been resealed as they look in good shape and are black vs clear around the bottom. Question is should I redo all the seals or just worry with the bottom?

I would redo all of it.

[B1gJ4k3]

I had good luck resealing a 75 gallon that I got for free recently. I completely redid the seals on the bottom and just the corner seals on the corners (rather than completely taking them apart--they seemed solid enough). It held water nicely for a good 3 or 4 months in my garage. My approach was to do as much as I was comfortable with at a time since I was doing it anyway. The beveled edges on the sides made me nervous, so I stayed away from them. Everything else I made sure to completely clean and reseal. Pro tip: these work 1000 times better for removing old silicone than a razor blade: https://www.amazon.com/TILAX-Cleaning-Stripping-Abrasive-Attachment/dp/B07Z4NLJ2Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3PUWU4H24I4C9&dchild=1

Having said that, though, I wouldn't have trusted a tank that big anywhere other than my garage. No matter how good of a job I thought I did, I would always be extra nervous about it leaking. I'm nervous enough about my new tanks leaking after I also had a bran new 75 gallon fail on me...

Edited August 30, 2021 by B1gJ4k3

[aquachris]

On 8/30/2021 at 4:05 PM, B1gJ4k3 said:

Pro tip: these work 1000 times better for removing old silicone than a razor blade: https://www.amazon.com/TILAX-Cleaning-Stripping-Abrasive-Attachment/dp/B07Z4NLJ2Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3PUWU4H24I4C9&dchild=1

This didn't scratch the glass?  I would be nervous on the glass on the inside and accidently rip out the seal between the glass panes. 

I have a 75 to reseal and not looking forward to the time in labor. 

[B1gJ4k3]

@aquachrisNope, didn't scratch the glass. It's not really any different that using a razor blade. The metal is just smaller, more segmented and and moving really fast. It's also worth noting that I did use a razor blade to remove the bulk of the silicone. I just used those for that stubborn film that you can never really seem to get off with a blade alone.

I was careful to keep it out of the seals between the beveled panes in the corners as much as possible, but I was also putting new silicone in there anyway, so I wasn't too concerned about it.

Edited August 30, 2021 by B1gJ4k3
Additional clarification on my use of wire brush

[aquachris]

On 8/30/2021 at 4:46 PM, B1gJ4k3 said:

@aquachrisNope, didn't scratch the glass. It's not really any different that using a razor blade. The metal is just smaller, more segmented and and moving really fast. It's also worth noting that I did use a razor blade to remove the bulk of the silicone. I just used those for that stubborn film that you can never really seem to get off with a blade alone.

I was careful to keep it out of the seals between the beveled panes in the corners as much as possible, but I was also putting new silicone in there anyway, so I wasn't too concerned about it.

May have to give this a whirl (hehe) next time. I have some of those for my Dremel