steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 (edited) So, I ordered my starfire cube from glasscages despite everything I've heard. I followed the directions and waited a month before putting any water in it. I just did the water test today and............one of the bottom seams is leaking. It's not worth even contacting them because all I could expect is a replacement tank that I'd have to pay shipping for AND I couldn't even get that unless I paid to ship mine back to them AND they determined that it was their fault........I haven't heard that H-E-double hockey sticks is getting any colder, so....... Looks like I'm going to have to cut this thing apart, clean all the edges and re-seal it.......unless there is someone who is experienced in re-sealing that can help me out. Edited February 12, 2009 by steveoutlaw
jason the filter freak February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 good luck man, I have a tube of black aga silicone if you want it.
steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 Author February 12, 2009 I might just take you up on that Jason. Coming to VA anytime soon??? I've got a frag or 2 I could trade you for it.
Kevin Garrison February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 (edited) I've successfully resealed several tanks, completely resealed my 75g, resealed a 55 for a friend. Currently in process of resealing a 54g corner tank and a 120g (migrating the 75 into it afterwards). There were others of various sizes, just never done anything over the 75, but I doubt it would be any different. Edited February 12, 2009 by Kevin Garrison
steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 Author February 12, 2009 So how is it done? Do you attach one piece, let it dry, and then attach another piece? Do you do the silicone in-between the glass, let it dry and then do the corner bead or do you do it all at once? Will new silicone adhere to dry silicone? How long do you have to let it dry before you can water test it? Thanks.
steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 Author February 12, 2009 Thanks George.......that is helpful. The issue I'm running into is that my cube is rimless so I have to get silicone in the area in-between where the glass panes meet. Once I figure out how to best do that, then I can look at doing the corner beads and that link will come in very helpful.
NAGA February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 Steve, just think though .....................your probably going to do a better job than they did.
steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 Author February 12, 2009 Thanks Jeff - I certainly can't do any worse!! This is the type of seal that I'm really worried about doing correctly:
Kevin Garrison February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 So how is it done? Do you attach one piece, let it dry, and then attach another piece? Do you do the silicone in-between the glass, let it dry and then do the corner bead or do you do it all at once? Will new silicone adhere to dry silicone? How long do you have to let it dry before you can water test it? Thanks. Well, in the case of the 75 I cut out and scraped the inside sealant so all the inside surfaces were cleaned. Then I started with the bottom seams and ran a bead along one seam and used a tongue depressor to make a nice seam. You can also get various tools at Lowe's and Home Depot to give it a nice seam. Once you have the bottom seams done, use the same process on the side seams. Mine dried for 24hrs and held water with no leaks and no issues well over a year and a half later. In your situation where a seam is leaking, you may want to cut just that piece of glass out and run a new bead between the panes and then use the inside procedure. If you want a hand, I'll be glad to come down and give you a hand.
jason the filter freak February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 i can mail it to you if you'd like priority would be like $3 I think and we can square up later if needed its just be sitting around for me doing nada
YBeNormal February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 How wide is the gap between the glass panels in that picture? There should be silicone between the panels but that looks like silicone being used to fill a gap caused by a panel cut too short. If so, I wouldn't trust it no matter how much silicone is used!
steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 Author February 12, 2009 Bob - That is one of the Elos tanks........that's how they do all of their rimless tanks. It's the same way with the Solana, but a smaller gap. The gap looks to be about 1/8" on the Elos and about 1/16" on the Solana.
dbartco February 12, 2009 February 12, 2009 all I could expect is a replacement tank that I'd have to pay shipping for AND I couldn't even get that unless I paid to ship mine back to them AND they determined that it was their fault Is that their policy, or what you expect.
steveoutlaw February 12, 2009 Author February 12, 2009 Is that their policy, or what you expect. That's actually their policy.
traveller7 February 14, 2009 February 14, 2009 Sad news bud :( If you are going to reseal the whole thing, go directly to a source of adhesives. Do not use silicone that may have been on a shelf for an extended period of time. Freshness maters. My strategy would change depending on exactly where the leak is located and how the offending panel is located in the construction. If it is a panel set on top of the other three, I would consider removing only that panel set the cushion bead and reset the panel. If you are rebuilding from scratch, consider some quality 90 degree angle clamps to assist with tweaking. A bag of tile spacers might be handy while putting the cushion beads in place depending on whether you have a method of raising and lowering the panels. Best of luck in the procedure.
traveller7 February 14, 2009 February 14, 2009 fwiw: I have used Dow 795 and 999a in the past: http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/sea...MATL&bhcp=1 Purchased by calking tube and case at Kenseal: CHANTILLY KENSEAL CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS CORP TEL: +1 703 263 0730 3933 AVION PARK COURT NORTH CHANTILLY VIRGINIA 20151 map e-mail website: http://www.kenseal.com/custom.cfm?name=usD...y=Northern%20VA
Origami February 14, 2009 February 14, 2009 Steve, I've got no knowledge of this but you may want to check with Glass Cages and see just what kind of sealant they use before putting just anything on. It may not be just your run of the mill silicone sealant....
steveoutlaw February 14, 2009 Author February 14, 2009 I've already taken the entire tank apart and I'm working on getting the old silicone off. That's probably going to take me the entire weekend and lots of razorblades and rubbing alcohol. I'm going to be using the All Glass Aquariums silicone to put it back together, but haven't decided if I'm going to use clear or black. I already have a couple of corner braces to make sure the glass is at a right angle when I re-assemble it. My only question on this is if I need to put it back one joint at a time or if I need to do the whole tank all at once.
Origami February 14, 2009 February 14, 2009 Maybe you've seen this already? http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/aquariumd...yaqdiagram1.htm It looks like it's put together all at once. One pane after the other with multiple (two or three) joints after the first pane is installed.
www.fishnreef.com February 14, 2009 February 14, 2009 (edited) Re-sealing you will need spacers (as pointed out before). You can get thin silicone spacers at HD or Lowes. You can leave these in as the spacers become close to invisible and help setup. Clamp or use duct-tape to hold the glasses together. You don't want to squeeze the silicone out. Trim later with razor blades. Nadir Edited February 14, 2009 by www.fishnreef.com
steveoutlaw February 14, 2009 Author February 14, 2009 Ok, a couple of questions: 1. Will acetone remove traces of existing silicone? 2. They are talking about constructing the tank with the side panes sitting on the bottom......this one was cut with the side panes attaching to the side of the bottom pane. 3. This tank was assembled so I could barely fit a razorblade inbetween the panes of glass. Using spacers will keep the glass further apart. I'm using 1/2" glass for a 60g cube.......how much should I space the glass? 4. How can you leave a spacer in.......won't this weaken the silicone seal in that area? Thanks for the help. Steve
dschflier February 14, 2009 February 14, 2009 wow just following along. I am very curious to see the outcome. Good luck. If this works well, which I hope it does you will actually have gained a lot of knowledge on how to build your own future tank. To bad it happend because of a poorly made tank.
traveller7 February 15, 2009 February 15, 2009 Steve, I imagine the "front" and "back" of the tank overlap both sides and the bottom? If you are constructing the tank solo, you might need to use the same method previously linked but substitute the front or the back as the main component. It would be nice if Glass Cages would advise if they lay the tank on it's back during initial construction. Maybe Glass Cages will even let you borrow a pair of suction cups to ease assembly: http://glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=57 Best of luck. Scott
steveoutlaw February 15, 2009 Author February 15, 2009 The way that this is set up, the front and back pane overlap the bottom pane and the side panes. This being the case, I'm thinking about using the back pane as the main component but having the tank sitting upright once all panes are attached and clamped. I'm still confused about the spacers. If I were to put a spacer in place to keep the panes a certain distance apart, I would imagine that they would have to be removed an silicone put in their place to have a continuous strong seal. Also, I imagine that I need to bead the silicone on the pane of glass and then attach another pane to it rather than get the panes in place and spaced and then shoot silicone inbetween them, right??? David - I hope this works too, because this is definately becoming a pain in the ass.
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