Big tank/Office build

[jcunningham0295]

Really sucks Steve.  Hang in there, you will succeed and it will be worth it in the end.  Sometimes it just takes time to see it.

[rcombs]

The force is strong in this one 

[olliesshop]

I just re-read the entire thread.  What a great job you've done.  I wish you the best of luck 

[Steve]

Well the battle of the big tank continues. As you guys know I'm forced to attempt resealing this myself again, so after Jon dropped off a great looking fish tonight that he's been holding for me which I planned on putting in this tank, it got me motivated to put the gloves back on and go another round with my old nemesis again.

One thing that was standing in my way was the fact that I not only built the wall in front of the tank when I made it, but I attached the wall and door frame to the stand and the screws for the rock wall are covered by the 3D rocks themselves, so moving the stand would mean risking damage to all the months of work on the entire 3d rock wall it was built into. But in order to do this reseal right I need to be able to move all the way around the tank this time. Standing on a ladder and hanging inside the tank trying to reach the front seal was not an option this time.

So with a few hours work, lots of sweat and a good deal of cursing tonight, I got the door frame and rock wall completely detached from the tank stand now. I was also going to wait to get some help moving all 700lbs of tank/stand but you know how it is when your PO'ed and the adrenaline starts flowing, you can lift a car lol.

My back's a little sore and I am dead tired, but I got the whole tank and stand moved back a good two feet away from the wall now so I can move freely all the way around it. 

Round one of big tank battle "The Rematch"- Go's to STEVE 

[Ron]

Congrats! Being able to move all of the way around the tank will make it a bit more pleasant. I'd also be inclined to take multiple "shifts" to get the job done. That way you don't get tired and rush or become sloppy. The most important job when resealing with silicone is to remove all of the old silicone from the corners while using extreme care to not cut into the silicone between the panes of glass.

[Steve]

Yep my thoughts as well Ron. Moving around the tank is my #1 thing now. Well see how it goes from here.

[Steve]

Gonna try resealing with silicone first, and if that don't work then I'll go that liquid rubber route.

[GrizzlysDad]

Hopefully no damage to the rock wall in the office area...

As for moving that beast by yourself....I know your pain Steve. When I first brought that thing home I unloaded it out of my F-150 all by myself  then moved it around the garage a few times.

[Steve]

Holy cow how in the world did you get it out of a truck by yourself Tony??

[Steve]

Okay here's question, Ron or anyone else that may know this. If I am not mistaken the lower plastic trim on aquariums does nothing for structural support/integrity correct? Reason I ask is because I am messing with the tank right now and I wanted to know exactly where it is leaking from so I can understand why it leaked. Just for my own piece of mind as well as so I can not make the same mistake twice.

So I just filled it up till it leaked a few mins ago. It starts leaking at the halfway full amount. The leak is not from the upright seams it is for sure from the bottom seam and best I can tell the bottom left seam where it meets the side glass. Reason I ask about the lower trim is because I am thinking of maybe cutting the about 1" higeght from the side trim so I can see the seam on that side so I might be able to just fix where it is leaking and not have to redo the whole tank. Then just epoxy the trim piece back on once the leak is fixed. But wanted to make sure before I decided to try that that I was correct in the fact the trim adds no support?

[Ron]

The trim doesn't do much, but I don't like the idea of a tank without it.

The problem with your idea is that silicone doesn't seal to silicone once dry. If you replace a strip, you'll have an increased risk of a leak at both ends of what was replaced. I wouldn't do it. I know it sucks to do the entire thing, but just take it a few hours at a time and in a week you'll have it done. It's like bodywork on a car. The results are largely based on the prep work (and the prep work is a boring, laborious task IMO).

After you remove the interior silicone (don't cut anything between the panes!), I'd use a vacuum of some kind and run it down all the edges. Then get a brand new razor blade and go over it all again to make sure you got it all. Then vacuum again.

On the day of sealing, make sure you have enough silicone to do it all at once - starting over because you ran out would be horrible. I'd run some rubbing alcohol down all the edges to make sure there are no finger oils or dust within 1-2" of all seams. Let it dry and then seal it all, making sure you get enough into the corners from all edges that it dries as one big piece.

[Steve]

I've always read that as well (silicone over old silicone)  but I've also read where some people have had good luck with just fixing a small leak in silicone that is not that old. Since mine was just recently replaced and hasn't had fish or contaminants in it yet I was thinking it might be a candidate to be fixable. Especially since it seems like it has to be just a small pinhole the best I can tell.  I dunno....I still might give it a try at just fixing just the spot and then leak test it for a few weeks to a month before I go any further with setting it up. Just weighing all my options right now so we'll see.

[Steve]

Well decide to just go ahead and remove it all and reseal the whole deal again. Figure better safe than sorry. Hope to have it all cleaned out within a few days with a little luck maybe.

[Steve]

Rod work has kept me slammed for the past few months and haven't had much time to do much else. Finally today I'm shutting down shop from now till December 27th so I can enjoy some relaxation before Christmas. So that means I will have some time to do things for myself finally again which means I will start back scraping and resealing this again probably over the next few days.

 I think this is what......Steve vs Big tank part IV? Starting to feel like a Rocky movie

[Regalblue]

Make sure to let me know about materials...  we still have THAT for you.