Resealing an aquarium?

[Oliverian]

Ok, so I have a 45 gallon long that has rats in it right now. It hasn't been used for water in a while. The rats have been chewing on the sealant in the corners a bit, and I was wondering if I could ever use it for fish again. The rats are moving to a big wooden cage once it's done, and I wanted to set up the tank again with fish. How should I go about resealing it?

Should it be cleaned with anything special beforehand, like alchohol or something? I don't want anything that might corrode the sealant or weaken it somehow. And is the stuff they sell in the pet store, aquarium sealant, is that any good? Or are there other sealants that work just as well that are cheaper? (the specialised aquarium stuff usually costs more) I heard you can use food grade sealant, but I wasn't sure.

Sorry for so many questions! I'd really like to get this tank up and running, because i'm deprived of fish with my little ten gallon right now.

-TammyR (and yes, I did ask on AllThingsAquatic, but wanted to ask here also)

[tai_pan1]

Silicone sealant. It comes in clear as well as other colors (white, Beige). I used it on the aquariums I've built, works great. Clean the old sealant first, wipe with alcohol and let dry. Then your ready to reseal it.

Good Luck with the fish.

Mike

[Tim and Julie B]

Tammy, next time we visit we will fix it for you:DOr you can bring it up next time you're in town. We redid two 66 gallons, you know the one in our living room:D It's really easy. No problems with leaks either.

julie

In case your withdrawls require fish immediately:

Go to Canadian Tire and buy "Mastercraft" silicone (window and door) in CLEAR The bottle is white with two tone blue labeling and white and yellow writing. Also buy a silicone "gun".

You will also need a special corner scraper (have an employee show you which one is right) to remove ALL of the old sealant from the inside of the tank. An exacto blade is very useful too, push it against the glass and into the corners to loosen it from the sides. DO NOT score the joints between the panes of glass though.

Wipe the areas where the silicone has been removed with rubbing alcohol. There is no need to rinse after because of the immediate evaporation.

To apply the silicone, load it into the application gun, and cut the tip to a diameter of 3/4 cm. Apply in a steady bead to all joints. Using a rounded teaspoon or one of the fancy tools, begin to smooth the silicone, forcing it into the corners. Do this in one stroke for each joint, to produce the best results.

Hope this helps you :DTam:D

[Dragonhood]

Hi Tammy, all you have to do is cut out the old with a razer blade, but don't cut too deep on the corners or you'll brake the seal down the glass edge. Then go to a home depo, home hardware, or somewhere like that and get silicone that is made for aquariums, it's cheeper there than at the pet stores and you'll get much more. Then clean(wipe) the corners out with nailpolish remover ,then again with a dry cloth. Then your all set to reapply your new sealent. Put about an 1/8 inch bead in all the corners then us your finger to smooth the sealent into the corners. Your done!! Just leave the tank to dry 1-2 days then it's good to go . Any other qustions please drop me a line, I'll be glad to help in any way. Good luck John

[Oliverian]

Haha, fish withdrawal. Julie, you redid the living room tank? Nice! Guess I won't have to worry about leaks then.

So this window/door silicone is safe for the fish? I'd wait for you guys to come down but it probably won't be till the fall eh? Unless you can stop by some other time and hang out for a while. You still havn't seen the collection! :D Are you guys working for the summer?

Will it offgass do you think? Like, should I do it in the house or is it going to smell for a while? And do you think i should do the outside of the tank a bit too just to be safe, or is it not necessary?
Thanks everyone for the help.

What kind of a filter do you have on that tank, Ju? I'm thinking i'll just do the UGF thing, since that's what I've always done and it works great. Want to get a bunch of plants going in there too. Start fresh this time, WITHOUT the darn snails! And to think I put them in there on purpose to help clean the tank. :rolleyes:

Thanks.
-TammyR

[Linds]

Originally posted by Oliverian
So this window/door silicone is safe for the fish? I'd wait for you guys to come down but it probably won't be till the fall eh?

Unless it states aquarium-safe somewhere on the tube, it may not be safe for fish. A lot of 100% silicone sealants contain all sorts of additives to resist mold and mildew, and offgas ammonia which can alter the PH levels in water (no good for fish). The kind I use is an all-purpose silicone sealant from Home Hardware. It comes in a big white and aqua-striped tube for $3.99. Only the stuff sold as aquarium sealant is the overpriced crap, but aquarium-safe is just as cheap as the rest.

[Oliverian]

All right, so make sure it says aquarium safe. Tim, Julie, if I can't find aquarium safe stuff, the stuff you mentioned would be fine with no effects on fish or plants? Is aquarium safe stuff as strong as the Window/door stuff, or does it not really matter? Thanks everyone for the answers.

-TammyR

[Linds]

Aquarium-safe silicone is every bit as strong as the other indoor/outdoor sealants, the only difference is it doesn't offgas ammonia once cured or contain any harmful chemicals that prevent mold and mildew. You can get it at any hardware store, just read labels ;)

[Slannesh]

From most of the Aquarium sites i've read any 100% Silicone that does not have any additives will work. Most of them that aren't safe for Aquarium use will say so on the container though not all that ARE safe will explicitly say so either.