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?
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.
