This is truly one of those things things that practice will def help. Most of us wont need to do this very often if at all. Great vid and play by play with the steps involved.
did this with a 50 gallon tank that was given to me, had been in a garage stored for probably 30 years. Pulled out old silicone and it started coming out in chunks between the panels. Turned it into a terrarium and gave it to a guy who has snakes after that.
For real joshie. You couldnt have put this vid out at a better time. I just got 2 30 gallon tanks for 40$ that is a heck of a deal in my area. Fish keeping isnt common in my area. Anyway. One have worse looking silicone than that and they had fish and water in it idk how it didnt leak or crack. I cleaned them both with vingar water and baking soda. Then scraped them. Then cleaned them again with baking soada and vingar water. Then let it dry then scraped that fine hard to get film. I wouldnt have bothered with that and my tank would have failed. I'm using silicone 1 window and door 100% silicone. You guys save more fish than you know.
Long time viewer! Great what you guy's do for fish. But this video kinda got under my skin. You guy's we're once beginners in the hobby. How did your first tank reseal turn out? I'm just saying don't go so fast to criticize and kinda down talk the person that resealed that tank. It could of been a lover of the hobby who did a first time reseal without alot of research. With that being said, you did a decent video of resealing a tank. Could of had someone recording you while doing the whole process. But that's me just criticizing!!!!!😜
Dammit Josh, where were you when I threw out my 30 gallon after springing a leak? Lol (It's cool, the fish survived and were upgraded to a 55 gallon) But this is great, I see aquariums being thrown out quite often, time to start a collection
I just got a new 75 gallon tank and was wondering, since the reviews were about leakage, would i be able to just throw a large bead of silicone with the existing seal?
I appreciate the effort to make the video and the active commentary. New silicone typically does not bond to already-cured silicone, hence the importance to remove all old silicone residue. Silicone begins to skin in ~10 minutes so if any tooling is desired, 10 minutes should be the planned time frame to work within. A 1/8” silicone bead cures within 24 hours but reseals are never 1/8” beads so a longer cure time is warranted. I cure for 1-3 weeks. Anticipate and avoid an expected vapor of acetic acid during cure time. I would also mention the need to use aquarium-safe branded silicone, which have 0.2% or less D4 (Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane) by weight. A popular GE Silicone I mistakenly but commonly used to reseal tanks contains 1-5% D4, which is 5-25 times as much D4 as the aquarium-safe-branded silicones contain. Studies on D4 have shown extremely low quantities (we are talking μg / liter) can limit growth, reproduction, and decrease health in fish and it isn't good for us either. It also bioaccumulates. D4 accumulation is like lead or arsenic in drinking water, you do not notice the effect immediately, but eventually….
always check whit a light after it dries for two days ,if there are are anny sillicone parts that u havent proparly sealed ur tank ,if u put ur water in after a day the preasure of the water can open that crack even more and if u aplied the sillicone to thick the sillicone onntop apears to be hard but after a few millimeters its still soft .hope that helps the 3 days back to 2 days set to go saves u a day.and even maybe a alot of water damage. greetings from the netherlands love u guys and your fish ofcourse .
Nice video, was very informative. Josh have you ever used a credit card as a tool to help shape the silicone. The corner of the card is the perfect shape for them.
Thanks Josh...you scraped mostly old silicone.... thanks for the instrunctional video...I need to reseal a tank and after watching your video I understand it better...I was worried I would just the seam between the glass pieces..now I know how not to...
Good info on how to do the removal of old bad silicon but I think it would be better if u did a tripod and film what ur doing, you have to remember new silicon won't bond to old so u have to get it all cleaned off. You dont have to get in between the glass because the new silicon will bond to the glass and seal it back up. The silicon in between the glass holds the glass together so ur tank doesn't blow out
Hey man Nice video. I'm curious what your thoughts on resealing a 225 gallon as I just had mine start leaking out of the bottom back seam 8 months after purchasing it from a employee at bigals, he had it up and running for one full year. I came home it was drained to 3/4th level with a pretty steady leak in the back bottom of the tank. I would love to just reseal it n get my fish back out of this temp 55 gallon and into thr home again, have you ever sealed something that big and had success with it? Thanks for any help as I really could use any i can get at this point.
I wish I had watched this before doing my 55 but its holding up so far lol. There was a baked on haze from it being an old salt water tank and I never really got it clear with razor blades or steel wool. Any suggestions? Or is it permanent
How official is the 3 day rule? I always test fill new tanks in my garage but I just leave them filled for a couple weeks. Maybe I'm paranoid lol. But the last few I havent been in a rush to use either.
Did you guys use your finger with spit on it or did you use a checking tool? Depending on the job I usually just use my finger but I'm doing HVAC not tank sealing lol.
Got a aqaion 60gal with a slow leak.. picked up super cheap whole ensemble..customer return for leaking.m still not done a fix on it as I personally seen bottom seals fail on this set and plenty of people have found the same defect on this very set. Debating rebuilding the tank something I know how to do but suck at.. or doing the resealing.. I be ok of it still has a slow leak but as a customer came in with a vid the whole bottom failed .. one side.. lucky he was home .. but was a common problem with this tank it seems.. 50 dollar tank still boxed stand glass hold and light.. sigh
I just resealed mine today the only problem I had was when I was done with The spreading of the silicone I want to go peel off my tape and I was already dry and I’ve got messed up seems any ideas on how to fix it or any ideas how to do it better if need to be resealed
Four inches of substrate..it was an experiment I started...14 years ago? Heavily planted on top of the fish..not an option since there is actual soil in there.
@@matthewjbauer1990 it ended up moving everything into my old and empty reeftank. Much trouble arose from that, lost some fish, and its still not where I want it. The leaky 55 is sitting in another room, empty for the most part.
How long does aquariums usually last for before you have to reseal? I'm getting 3 this weekend for free because the person is moving and can't take them. There about 11 years old. Any thoughts thanks
This is a great video, but I was so not ready for the actual silicone part and didn't have that super fancy foot they use so it got everywhere and I Kinda had to do it with my fingers. I still have somewhat nice layer of sillicone on them I am peeling off. So today I have to take that shitty razor again and clean that shit up.
PSA, do not reseal a leaking tank, pull the tank fully apart as the structural seam is ruined You can use wire wheels to remove silicone residue on edges of glass You need hundreds of razorblade, i used 20 on a 55 gallon
@@1PITIFULDUDE Im guessing your new to rebuilding tanks, yeah because i cut the glass apart, skimmed off the silicone and used a wire wheel to remove the rest of the residue. If your just using blades and acetone you will need heaps of them and even then you may want 1000grit sand paper to sand and see if there is any silicone left where you removed the internal seal Noticeable leaks of more than 3ml a day requires the tank to be disassembled and rebuilt, if water can seep through a hole at a trickling rate the structural seam is severely damaged, you can drain it, after putting new silicone in the leak sandwhich it with a brace with a leather face to avoid pressure point on glass and cure it and fill it without fish just before the RTV process is finished fill the tank to force pressure into the gap drain it and finish curing
Perfect timing. I'm resealing my 100gal tank this weekend
Thank You Josh, I got a pair of 55's that need new seals and your video gave me the inspiration to reseal them
Great step by step instructions. I resealed my 125 gallon after watching this video, following OFR's steps. Happy to say no leaks thus far 🤞.
instaBlaster.
Did your seal hold up??
@@AspenCorbett Yes it did, no leaks whatsoever!
Very informative but casual, all in all a great vid.
Great tutorial!
Thank you, Josh.
nice video and welcome back from vacation hope you had a good time
What did you guys use to spread the silicone before it cured? You didn't show or mention that. Thanks
This is truly one of those things things that practice will def help. Most of us wont need to do this very often if at all. Great vid and play by play with the steps involved.
Nice job guys....we just got done fixing an old tank up too....I always use the alcohol too....good tip....do it right or do it twice....👍
Great job Josh! You explained it well! I remember a tank I had that leaked. I threw it away. That was wayyyy before RUclips! LOL
Love these “how to” vids! OFR...to 100,000 subs! Let’s go peeps!
OH THAT INTRO!!! Hell yeah!! Bah badada ba badada ba badada!!!! 🤘🤘🤘🤘
Acetone works even better then rubbing alcohol, not as cheap but cleans much better. Great video BTW
josh wondering how the new fish you pick up last week are doing
If the silicone looks like it has begun to separate from the seams(the middle of the glasses) how would you go about it?
Hi from Denver love the videos one of my favorites
Great video!! I found it very educational an informative! 👍👍 Keep up the great work!
did this with a 50 gallon tank that was given to me, had been in a garage stored for probably 30 years. Pulled out old silicone and it started coming out in chunks between the panels. Turned it into a terrarium and gave it to a guy who has snakes after that.
Awesome. Bring on the fixer-upper Craigslist tanks! I'm ready!
Shame you missed out the smoothing out off the silicone, did you use a tool, or use your finger.
Finger
Good video....very helpful....was waiting for Rich to silocon Josh to the tank......he still owes you Josh lol
For real joshie. You couldnt have put this vid out at a better time. I just got 2 30 gallon tanks for 40$ that is a heck of a deal in my area. Fish keeping isnt common in my area. Anyway. One have worse looking silicone than that and they had fish and water in it idk how it didnt leak or crack. I cleaned them both with vingar water and baking soda. Then scraped them. Then cleaned them again with baking soada and vingar water. Then let it dry then scraped that fine hard to get film. I wouldnt have bothered with that and my tank would have failed. I'm using silicone 1 window and door 100% silicone. You guys save more fish than you know.
Long time viewer! Great what you guy's do for fish. But this video kinda got under my skin. You guy's we're once beginners in the hobby. How did your first tank reseal turn out? I'm just saying don't go so fast to criticize and kinda down talk the person that resealed that tank. It could of been a lover of the hobby who did a first time reseal without alot of research. With that being said, you did a decent video of resealing a tank. Could of had someone recording you while doing the whole process. But that's me just criticizing!!!!!😜
Dammit Josh, where were you when I threw out my 30 gallon after springing a leak? Lol (It's cool, the fish survived and were upgraded to a 55 gallon) But this is great, I see aquariums being thrown out quite often, time to start a collection
Going to re seal my 90 this weekend after watching this
You guys should get joey down there from king of diy I don’t think he’s been down your way but I could be wrong lol
Not a bad outcome for an assistant with a gimpy wing using the wrong hand part of the time!! Lol
Great instructions! Thx
I just got a new 75 gallon tank and was wondering, since the reviews were about leakage, would i be able to just throw a large bead of silicone with the existing seal?
Afraid not. The new stuff cannot adhere to the cured (old) silicone
I appreciate the effort to make the video and the active commentary. New silicone typically does not bond to already-cured silicone, hence the importance to remove all old silicone residue. Silicone begins to skin in ~10 minutes so if any tooling is desired, 10 minutes should be the planned time frame to work within. A 1/8” silicone bead cures within 24 hours but reseals are never 1/8” beads so a longer cure time is warranted. I cure for 1-3 weeks. Anticipate and avoid an expected vapor of acetic acid during cure time.
I would also mention the need to use aquarium-safe branded silicone, which have 0.2% or less D4 (Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane) by weight. A popular GE Silicone I mistakenly but commonly used to reseal tanks contains 1-5% D4, which is 5-25 times as much D4 as the aquarium-safe-branded silicones contain. Studies on D4 have shown extremely low quantities (we are talking μg / liter) can limit growth, reproduction, and decrease health in fish and it isn't good for us either. It also bioaccumulates. D4 accumulation is like lead or arsenic in drinking water, you do not notice the effect immediately, but eventually….
Very educational! Great vid!
always check whit a light after it dries for two days ,if there are are anny sillicone parts that u havent proparly sealed ur tank ,if u put ur water in after a day the preasure of the water can open that crack even more and if u aplied the sillicone to thick the sillicone onntop apears to be hard but after a few millimeters its still soft .hope that helps the 3 days back to 2 days set to go saves u a day.and even maybe a alot of water damage.
greetings from the netherlands love u guys and your fish ofcourse .
Looks great josh!
Nice video, was very informative. Josh have you ever used a credit card as a tool to help shape the silicone. The corner of the card is the perfect shape for them.
Josh you did it ..thanks you so much 😎
Great tutorial. Thanks guys xxxxx
Great tutorial . very helpful.
Thanks Josh...you scraped mostly old silicone.... thanks for the instrunctional video...I need to reseal a tank and after watching your video I understand it better...I was worried I would just the seam between the glass pieces..now I know how not to...
they have other you tube videos on how to silicon fish tanks check a few out before you do your tank.
@@wowdad3055 yes I have been...this is the 4th one that I have seen...
Were did you get the black silicone?
i want to buy a standard size 125 gal tank.. How thick should i expect the glass to be in inches for it to be considerd safe ?
Thank you for this
Good info on how to do the removal of old bad silicon but I think it would be better if u did a tripod and film what ur doing, you have to remember new silicon won't bond to old so u have to get it all cleaned off. You dont have to get in between the glass because the new silicon will bond to the glass and seal it back up. The silicon in between the glass holds the glass together so ur tank doesn't blow out
Hey man Nice video. I'm curious what your thoughts on resealing a 225 gallon as I just had mine start leaking out of the bottom back seam 8 months after purchasing it from a employee at bigals, he had it up and running for one full year. I came home it was drained to 3/4th level with a pretty steady leak in the back bottom of the tank. I would love to just reseal it n get my fish back out of this temp 55 gallon and into thr home again, have you ever sealed something that big and had success with it? Thanks for any help as I really could use any i can get at this point.
Redo it
Legendary Mullet 👍
I wish I had watched this before doing my 55 but its holding up so far lol. There was a baked on haze from it being an old salt water tank and I never really got it clear with razor blades or steel wool. Any suggestions? Or is it permanent
How official is the 3 day rule? I always test fill new tanks in my garage but I just leave them filled for a couple weeks. Maybe I'm paranoid lol. But the last few I havent been in a rush to use either.
Do you guys have any fish that need a home?
Big rich for president
Did you guys use your finger with spit on it or did you use a checking tool? Depending on the job I usually just use my finger but I'm doing HVAC not tank sealing lol.
Nice tutorial 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I actually had to reseal one of my tanks a few days ago without a caulking gun...not the easiest job, but turned out ok :)
As long that it hold water in, and sometimes you need to improvise good job.
much easier if you buy a decent caulking gun.........comes out better too
Got a aqaion 60gal with a slow leak.. picked up super cheap whole ensemble..customer return for leaking.m still not done a fix on it as I personally seen bottom seals fail on this set and plenty of people have found the same defect on this very set. Debating rebuilding the tank something I know how to do but suck at.. or doing the resealing.. I be ok of it still has a slow leak but as a customer came in with a vid the whole bottom failed .. one side.. lucky he was home .. but was a common problem with this tank it seems.. 50 dollar tank still boxed stand glass hold and light.. sigh
I just resealed mine today the only problem I had was when I was done with The spreading of the silicone I want to go peel off my tape and I was already dry and I’ve got messed up seems any ideas on how to fix it or any ideas how to do it better if need to be resealed
Use painters tape next time.
The type of tape dont matter. You have to remove the tape right away before the Silicone can set up and get hard
Only one of my corners is leaking. Can i just fix the one side or do i have to do the whole thing
Whole thing
Do the whole thing. It's a pain in the ass but you will get itn
Should have put the tank on the ground lol much easier to get into
Big Rich has killer hair
Now..how do you do it with a tank you cannot completely drain? Just developed a pin hole in my last aquarium and cant relocate everything.
Tubs, vanilla pools , kiddie pools , water tubs ect
Four inches of substrate..it was an experiment I started...14 years ago? Heavily planted on top of the fish..not an option since there is actual soil in there.
@@SMDoktorPepper Did you come up with a solution?
@@matthewjbauer1990 it ended up moving everything into my old and empty reeftank. Much trouble arose from that, lost some fish, and its still not where I want it. The leaky 55 is sitting in another room, empty for the most part.
@@SMDoktorPepper PETCO ? PETSMART ? IF YOU HAVE A LEAKING TANK HEAD TO THE BIG 📦 BOX !! VERY HAPPY TO GET A NEW TANK FOR 1/2 PRICE
I have already gouged the corners out on my tank a few days ago. I plan on resealing my tank. Will it be ok to reseal even though I did it wrong?
Ohio Fish Rescue
Thanks. That I will do.
clean all the surfaces that you are going to silicon with alcohol well before silicon wait 3 days before water testing.
haha, Big Rich just can't stay off the videos ;p
Yeah seriously, you see the tour of his house? The place radiates "creative ambition", I don't think he likes to sit still very often, lol
So you're not even gonna show us how you got those clean edges
How long does aquariums usually last for before you have to reseal? I'm getting 3 this weekend for free because the person is moving and can't take them. There about 11 years old. Any thoughts thanks
Ohio Fish Rescue thanks
i would silicon them to be safe since they are not brand new tanks.
How was Vegas
Does the alcohol evaporate or do you need to wash out thoroughly before adding "fish safe water'
Waiting for "how to make a stand" video.
Great idea, can't wait
Yay 100👍 🙌
Awesome
Those blades also fit in box knifes
I've had my tank for 17 year's never leaked I think it to time reseal if it needs or not.
I think I would leave it as is if you've never had any issues with it. As the old saying goes " Don't fix what ain't broke"
This is a great video, but I was so not ready for the actual silicone part and didn't have that super fancy foot they use so it got everywhere and I Kinda had to do it with my fingers. I still have somewhat nice layer of sillicone on them I am peeling off. So today I have to take that shitty razor again and clean that shit up.
PSA, do not reseal a leaking tank, pull the tank fully apart as the structural seam is ruined
You can use wire wheels to remove silicone residue on edges of glass
You need hundreds of razorblade, i used 20 on a 55 gallon
He needs hundreds of razor blades...but you only needed 20? 🤣
@@1PITIFULDUDE Im guessing your new to rebuilding tanks, yeah because i cut the glass apart, skimmed off the silicone and used a wire wheel to remove the rest of the residue. If your just using blades and acetone you will need heaps of them and even then you may want 1000grit sand paper to sand and see if there is any silicone left where you removed the internal seal
Noticeable leaks of more than 3ml a day requires the tank to be disassembled and rebuilt, if water can seep through a hole at a trickling rate the structural seam is severely damaged, you can drain it, after putting new silicone in the leak sandwhich it with a brace with a leather face to avoid pressure point on glass and cure it and fill it without fish just before the RTV process is finished fill the tank to force pressure into the gap drain it and finish curing
You can’t put a Joey and a big rich in the same tank or they will fight to the death just like bettas.
👍👍👍
Number 1👌👌👌👌👌
Iknow which fish that was but he like that flashy blade. He was all what are you doing with that bud. Can I eat that its pretty!!! Lmao.
I took the top off . FRICK
Am i cooked Ohio Fish Rescue?
what choices do i have? im not throwing away this tank
Can run rimless but won't last as long
1st