Can I fix this?

[zekni]

Hey guys, bought a 130 or 140 gal off craigslist --approx 72"x18"x22 or 24", can't remember exactly. Was used for turtles, did not see it hold water. I always reseal the tanks I buy used.
Resealed, filled it up, let stand for three days in the garage, add fish fresh out of the mail.. and two hours later not only is it leakings, but gushing. Not from the silicone (okay, that too) but the front piece of glass has completely seperated from the side panel of glass. Yes, the fish are okay.
How would I go about fixing this? Marine apoxy and a couple clamps, then reseal again?
It's possible the tank was not on completely level ground, causing some kind of stress or torque on the seams, but if that wasn't the case, how dubious should I be of the other edges? It is on a really solid steel stand, not the cheapo metal stands you usually see... so I doubt uneven garage floor would have caused the stand to flex causing torque(it's not like it rocked) , but stranger things have happened. There was cardboard between stand and tank.

I did a not so very thorough search but couldn't find a thread pertaining.. but does anyone recall a step by step with pictures thread, perhaps..?

 

[mike b]

I would completely remove the front panel and remove all silicone from all edges that will make contact with each other then clean all the edges with acetone hopefully you have a large flat surface to lay the tank on its back then re silicone everything duct tape the glass about every 4 to 6 inches all the way around Id wait at least 48hrs before trying to refill then Id only fill in increments waiting a couple of hrs in between Id also go without the cardboard and make sure the stand and tank are absolutely level Ive seen pics where stands werent level and glass panes cracked all the way across the front due to the stress you got lucky the glass just pulled away HTH Mike

 

[zekni]

Is there not some other sort of glue that holds the actual glass pieces together, then silicone on the inside holds it water tight, or am I mistaken?
What typically holds the trim on?

 

[Gervahlt]

Since you're using silicone, I'll assume this IS a glass tank. That being the assumption, silicone is the ONLY thing that holds the tank together. If you're worried about not only the front panel, but all the joins, you can simply take it all apart and re-build it from scratch.

If you decide to do this, there are plenty of videos and how-to guides out there for you to watch. The basic gist is to use a razor blade to separate each piece of glass, then use the razor and acetone to completely get all edges clean. There should be no silicone, dirt, residue, or film on any of the glass at this point. Now, once it's all completely dry and clean, simply put it back together. You'll need to do it all in one shot, including the smoothing of the silicone bead, so it does help to have an assistant. As you put each side up, use duct tape to hold it to the bottom and all adjoining sides. Let it cure for at least 72 hours, then test fill it on a level surface.

That's all there really is to it. Again, watch the how-to videos that are available out on the net for this and you'll see that it's not rocket science.

 

[Pharaoh]

Yep. You will need to take the tank apart and completely reseal it.