Glad you’re on the mend mate, and you can get back to some of the things you love doing. Great news that the fish are all healthy & well. Happy travels.
Look forward to your next update & pics
Look forward to your next update & pics
800g Tank Reseal (for the 2nd time)!
- Thread starter Trouser Cough
- Start date
Completely resealed.
Allowed to cure for @ 3 weeks just in case that helps.
Filled 1/2 way last night.
Woke to a gentle suggestion this morning that I should get my butt out of the rack and clean the downstairs as the tank leaked overnight.
It is now dry and empty again. Tomorrow I will strip it and order more caulk.
The issue?
It's probably two fold. Firstly, I ignored wise counsel and used a battery powered caulking gun that I had never used before. No practice, no experience, no nothing... just dove in. That wasn't my best choice.
Second, I used an adhesive caulk for the first time. No practice, no experience, no nothing... just dove in. That stuff does not act like regular bathroom tub and tile caulk and when I went to remove the masking the caulk would stick to itself and whatever I had applied would assume a different shape as the tape pulled not just away from the material but the caulk stuck to the masking would pull more caulk away from the joint that had just been sealed.
The bead looked pretty rough but when I pulled the masking away it looked worse. A lot worse.
Apparently this has been a practice round.
I'm going to get this right and I'll air in more SCS1200 PDQ.
If you opt to try SCS1200 or any adhesive caulk on your tanks spend a tube's worth practicing first as it's not going to go like the old stuff did. I think next i'll try a stacked nickels welder's look and no masking. Could mean I get to try this a fourth time, eh?
Allowed to cure for @ 3 weeks just in case that helps.
Filled 1/2 way last night.
Woke to a gentle suggestion this morning that I should get my butt out of the rack and clean the downstairs as the tank leaked overnight.
It is now dry and empty again. Tomorrow I will strip it and order more caulk.
The issue?
It's probably two fold. Firstly, I ignored wise counsel and used a battery powered caulking gun that I had never used before. No practice, no experience, no nothing... just dove in. That wasn't my best choice.
Second, I used an adhesive caulk for the first time. No practice, no experience, no nothing... just dove in. That stuff does not act like regular bathroom tub and tile caulk and when I went to remove the masking the caulk would stick to itself and whatever I had applied would assume a different shape as the tape pulled not just away from the material but the caulk stuck to the masking would pull more caulk away from the joint that had just been sealed.
The bead looked pretty rough but when I pulled the masking away it looked worse. A lot worse.
Apparently this has been a practice round.
I'm going to get this right and I'll air in more SCS1200 PDQ.
If you opt to try SCS1200 or any adhesive caulk on your tanks spend a tube's worth practicing first as it's not going to go like the old stuff did. I think next i'll try a stacked nickels welder's look and no masking. Could mean I get to try this a fourth time, eh?
So did you camera break as well??!! Lol
Glad to hear you are actually back at it. I can get excited again.
Glad to hear you are actually back at it. I can get excited again.
If you're just resealing then scs1200 is probably not the best choice. As I've said before on this forum scs1200 is the quickest set, least workable silicone I've ever encountered. Makes no sense for a beginner to try this job alone on a tank this size. It's incredibly strong stuff but if you can't work fast enough it will congeal and harden before you can ever double back to smooth it out. You may be able to pull it off with a skilled helper though.
On a scale of "good enough" to "obsessively scoured surface for the slightest smudge of silicone left on the seams before resealing", how well did you clean the seams? If it's even the slightest bit less than the latter option, go back and do exactly that on your next try.
On a scale of "good enough" to "obsessively scoured surface for the slightest smudge of silicone left on the seams before resealing", how well did you clean the seams? If it's even the slightest bit less than the latter option, go back and do exactly that on your next try.
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Yikes! This is not good news. You, sir, have stick-to-it-iveness in spades. When you were "gently" woken up with the news of this latest problem...were any more bones broken during the process?
Yes, you definitely want the slowest-setting silicone when working alone, and most especially on a large tank...and extra-most-especially when using tape at the the seams. Tape can make for the absolute nicest-looking corner beads, but only if you can remove it neatly and immediately after application of the silicone. If you let the stuff begin to set-up, so it starts pulling itself out of position as you peel the tape...you're doomed.
Have you considered not using tape at all? Just lay the bead down and immediately run over it once with your finger, or maybe one of those commercially-available tools for forming/shaping the bead. It's an art more than a science, but it can produce wonderful results, and if there is a spot or two where the stuff spreads out too far you can always use a straight-edge and razor blade to clean it up afterwards.
I have also seen folks apply the tape carefully beforehand, lay on an excess of silicone, and then allow it to completelly set/cure before carefully using a straight edge and razor to cut along the inside edge of the tape all the way around the whole interior. Then, when you pull off the tape, you remove everything beyond the cut, and have a very thick bead with a sharply delineated edge on both sides. From the inside of the empty tank, it's not particularly attractive...but from the outside it's barely noticeable. Never tried this myself, but theres no denying that it can work, and work well.
Yes, you definitely want the slowest-setting silicone when working alone, and most especially on a large tank...and extra-most-especially when using tape at the the seams. Tape can make for the absolute nicest-looking corner beads, but only if you can remove it neatly and immediately after application of the silicone. If you let the stuff begin to set-up, so it starts pulling itself out of position as you peel the tape...you're doomed.
Have you considered not using tape at all? Just lay the bead down and immediately run over it once with your finger, or maybe one of those commercially-available tools for forming/shaping the bead. It's an art more than a science, but it can produce wonderful results, and if there is a spot or two where the stuff spreads out too far you can always use a straight-edge and razor blade to clean it up afterwards.
I have also seen folks apply the tape carefully beforehand, lay on an excess of silicone, and then allow it to completelly set/cure before carefully using a straight edge and razor to cut along the inside edge of the tape all the way around the whole interior. Then, when you pull off the tape, you remove everything beyond the cut, and have a very thick bead with a sharply delineated edge on both sides. From the inside of the empty tank, it's not particularly attractive...but from the outside it's barely noticeable. Never tried this myself, but theres no denying that it can work, and work well.
Haha! Nooo, it did not break!
This has been a wild ride for the last 6 months. Motorcycle wreck, surgery, bolted back together, flights to the L48 and all while trying to keep my professional obligations flying straight has been a trick. Sometimes too much of a trick.
For example, I thought I'd have pics on my camera of having masked and applied the SCS1200 then I remembered...
I did that after a long day's work and didn't even change out of my work clothes as the night was getting late and I had a flight stateside the next day. I hopped in the tank and went for it. I'd never used a quick curing adhesive caulk before and long story short, a white shirt and black pants were donated to the gods that evening. SCS1200 does not lend itself to an immaculate application and instead gets on a lot of stuff you weren't expecting even if you've done a fair bit of silicone work in the past. To overshare for just a second note that 40' of bead does not go on instantaneously and during my installation I rec'd a call from nature that became more pressing with every foot of bead applied. As soon as I knocked out the tank I noticed that my pants and shirt were done for and some of that stuff was on my hands... but nature is a poor negotiator. I jumped out of the tank, ran upstairs and smeared adhesive silicone on the door knob to the bathroom as I slid to a stop before the oracle.
At that point a very real conundrum became apparent, the details of which I will spare you. That kind of caulk does get everywhere though.
So no pics of the masking and prep work.
Backfromthedead
asked about how well I cleaned the seams. I cleaned them like an electrical engineer with OCD. All surfaces razor shaved, anything left was hit w/ a heat gun and shaved again then any possible residue was removed w/ acetone. When the acetone had dried I cleaned the glass once more, this time w/ H2O2 and then all trim lines were masked.My bead was irregular in part because I had never used a battery powered caulking gun before that night. It was also true that I'd never applied an adhesive caulk and had I known how different it is I'd have blown a tube for practice. SCS1200 sets extremely quickly. Too quickly for a 40' bead of caulk to be applied and then shaped. Even just pulling the masking away presented new and unexpected problems. I thought I'd apply this to look like a welder's stacked nickels and instead it turned out looking like something my dog might leave in the yard.
When you pull the masking any caulk that had adhered to the tape would be sticky enough that it would pull at the balance of the caulk that was stuck exactly where you wanted it. Didn't much matter though as you're already done and the tape can't stay in the tank.
I pulled.
My nostrils were on fire and the caulk job was looking worse w/ each foot of tape removed but whatever the mistake was; it had already been made.
As you look down the length of the bead you can see where removal of the masking had pulled at the bead and made it irregular. It all looked reasonably symmetrical prior to pulling the tape. This was a point where strong language came into play.
What you see here is that the bead pulled away in some places such that it looked like it *might* still work but it was not a sure deal. Not even close.
I'm not a fan of SCS1200 for larger tanks. I'll use up what I've got left for some smaller tanks (I tear down and refurbish old stainless steel framed aquariums when I find them). I think I'll go back to GE Silicone 1 although their 7 year mold free comment on the tube makes me a little scared. I do know how to apply that stuff and know I can have it turn out looking good.
SCS1200 though... I know a couple ways to apply it that don't work well at all.
As a self preservation tool I've opted to go nearly deaf to certain tones. Works great on days like that.
I may try that maskless idea, too. I've got one of the little shaping tools but usually just use a finger dipped in water or sometimes rubbing alcohol if it's around a sink, etc.. Not on this stuff though!
Spent much of the day in the tank. All SCS1200 stripped out and I have 15 fresh tubes of GE Silicone 1 ready to rock.
I have a pair of +3.0 diopter readers that I'll use for detail cleaning tomorrow and with a little luck I'll have that bad girl sealed Sunday night.
Or not!
Either way it's game on and this ordeal will be in the rear view mirror soon!!
I have a pair of +3.0 diopter readers that I'll use for detail cleaning tomorrow and with a little luck I'll have that bad girl sealed Sunday night.
Or not!
Either way it's game on and this ordeal will be in the rear view mirror soon!!
I typically leave as much of the old silicone behind that sits between the panes as a cushion whenever I rehab a tank. Glass on glass seems like a terrible idea in a Zone 4 seismic area. None inside the tank, just the surface space between panes so they don't touch. The SCS1200 even adhered to some of that old caulk and yarded a bit of that cushion out.
Yeah, the guy who resealed my 310gal a few years ago specialized in large tanks. He had made his own tools to separate the glass just enough to clean out and allow fresh silicone to enter. Seemed to be a PITA but worth the US$70 odd he charged to do it.
He also reinforced it with glass rods and said it was necessary due to earthquakes. Learnt that day that for certain projects there was no such thing as too much silicone.
You are off to a great start. Looking neat and tidy to boot.
He also reinforced it with glass rods and said it was necessary due to earthquakes. Learnt that day that for certain projects there was no such thing as too much silicone.
You are off to a great start. Looking neat and tidy to boot.
Okay... not as much progress as I had hoped but it's progress all the same.
The cushion between the panes has some moisture in it and after all the work req'd to get to this point I'll be dipped if I'm going to risk a seal failure due to having rushed the prep. From the pic it probably looks exactly like it did in the prior evening's pic but I did have mein heinder in there for several hours w/ an inspection light, a set of +3.0 diopter readers (I can't see virus at this level but almost), another ton of razor blades, a fan, momma's Kirby vac, and more stuff like that. I found some plastic razor blades at the hdwe store today and thought they might flex differently and maybe better when removing silicone from glass. Save your money; they're junk.
I'll run the fan at full tilt boogie all night and for another day or two if I have to.
Tomorrow I'll climb in w/ the inspection light again and gawk at panes. I'll clean all of the inside and all of the outside of the glass just because and then I'll see if the moisture is completely gone. If it is I'll mask off the tank and wait one more day JIC.
With a little luck my fish will be back in that tank in a few more days.
I'd bet a nickel those Peacocks will be bad company for the initial few days. It's a good thing that Giraffe's apparently taste bad and the black arowana is a big boy.
The fan you see is aimed directly at the moisture in the crack between panes.
The cushion between the panes has some moisture in it and after all the work req'd to get to this point I'll be dipped if I'm going to risk a seal failure due to having rushed the prep. From the pic it probably looks exactly like it did in the prior evening's pic but I did have mein heinder in there for several hours w/ an inspection light, a set of +3.0 diopter readers (I can't see virus at this level but almost), another ton of razor blades, a fan, momma's Kirby vac, and more stuff like that. I found some plastic razor blades at the hdwe store today and thought they might flex differently and maybe better when removing silicone from glass. Save your money; they're junk.
I'll run the fan at full tilt boogie all night and for another day or two if I have to.
Tomorrow I'll climb in w/ the inspection light again and gawk at panes. I'll clean all of the inside and all of the outside of the glass just because and then I'll see if the moisture is completely gone. If it is I'll mask off the tank and wait one more day JIC.
With a little luck my fish will be back in that tank in a few more days.
I'd bet a nickel those Peacocks will be bad company for the initial few days. It's a good thing that Giraffe's apparently taste bad and the black arowana is a big boy.
The fan you see is aimed directly at the moisture in the crack between panes.
