$50 craiglist 225 tank/cabinet/canopy DIY refurbish
- Thread starter CWO4GUNNER
- Start date
Well the inside of the tank is clean and the seams are all free of silicone including silicone residue. When I thought I was finished I decided to polish the inside glass with HD rubbing compound again which has red color that only seems to stick to silicone. So you guessed it I was able to see all the silicone smudge residue I had missed and in the corners and becasue I could see them it was easy to remove with a razor.
So now all 27 feet of the corners are pristine and ready for an alcohol wipe and silicone tomorrow using a tablespoon for the bottom (fat bead) and teaspoon for the corners (small bead).
Originally I was going to leave the corners alone becasue neither my 60, 2-80's, nor my 120 tanks have any inside silicone except for the bottom and top perimeter as they converge all 5 panel joints it makes sense, but the corners should only need the seam seal between the panels to stop any leaks. In fact I read somewhere that placing silicone in the vertical corners only makes it harder to locate a leak becasue water that would normally squirt out from a pinhole at the exact location will instead migrate along the inside added silicone seam and weep so detecting the location is made impossible for an otherwise easy fix.
Even though I know my seams are good in the corners, Im going to go ahead and silicone them with a small bead using a teaspoon so that it will not be so visible taking away that clean look that un-siliconed corners have.
"Jaykit-Awesome work. Crazy amount of work! Wow." I just wanted to make it clear that becasue most of the work was done outside and in the garage, daytime temperatures (100-112) have keep my work on the tank and stand limited to 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon and even then on a leisurely basis, so don't get the idea that this takes that much time. I'm sure if I had an air conditioned work shop, the entire tank work would have taken only 4 days tops so far and with experiences and help as little as 2 day, its not that much work just a learning curve and no room for mistakes.
There are a lot of steps I should have and could have combined like when I installed the bottom I should have been prepared to also silicone the inside seams in one shot, but that is where experiences comes in something I now have. But every step has been a first for me, as will be siliconing and spooning the 27 feet of inside seams tomorrow morning all within 5 minutes before they skin, for the first time. :nilly:
So now all 27 feet of the corners are pristine and ready for an alcohol wipe and silicone tomorrow using a tablespoon for the bottom (fat bead) and teaspoon for the corners (small bead).
Originally I was going to leave the corners alone becasue neither my 60, 2-80's, nor my 120 tanks have any inside silicone except for the bottom and top perimeter as they converge all 5 panel joints it makes sense, but the corners should only need the seam seal between the panels to stop any leaks. In fact I read somewhere that placing silicone in the vertical corners only makes it harder to locate a leak becasue water that would normally squirt out from a pinhole at the exact location will instead migrate along the inside added silicone seam and weep so detecting the location is made impossible for an otherwise easy fix.
Even though I know my seams are good in the corners, Im going to go ahead and silicone them with a small bead using a teaspoon so that it will not be so visible taking away that clean look that un-siliconed corners have.
"Jaykit-Awesome work. Crazy amount of work! Wow." I just wanted to make it clear that becasue most of the work was done outside and in the garage, daytime temperatures (100-112) have keep my work on the tank and stand limited to 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon and even then on a leisurely basis, so don't get the idea that this takes that much time. I'm sure if I had an air conditioned work shop, the entire tank work would have taken only 4 days tops so far and with experiences and help as little as 2 day, its not that much work just a learning curve and no room for mistakes.
There are a lot of steps I should have and could have combined like when I installed the bottom I should have been prepared to also silicone the inside seams in one shot, but that is where experiences comes in something I now have. But every step has been a first for me, as will be siliconing and spooning the 27 feet of inside seams tomorrow morning all within 5 minutes before they skin, for the first time. :nilly:
coming along nicely....i think that AC.com should declare the day you fill it with water an informal holiday and no one has to go to work!
Well with the TV news on in the garage the background chatter actually helps me considerate as oppose to dead silence. Nervous but with a faithful assurance I got my 3 silicone tubes ready and glad I did as I used every bit of three 10oz tubes of GE silicone I. Realizing that silicone is not that hard to trim off and clean from flat surfaces (as opposed to corners/edges), I decided to cut the tube nozzles to their maximum size for a maximum size spoon bead.
The spoon worked better then I expected but required pivot control to determine a small bead or thick bead. Excess silicone would pile up behind the spoon which was better then fingers which just plow through. Also the spoon seems to create a pressure seam piling up excess at one end while compressing a bead at the trailing end pulling the spoon backward as I go. Im glad I decided to do a 4 foot line, spoon it and then continue connecting ends which did not skin as I went along, rather then trying to lay down one huge 27 foot bead and then try and spoon it with it starting to skin and lump up.
The only problem is I over did it and although tape might have worked, 30 to 72 inchs of wet tape might have got tangles and messy anyway. After curing I will use tape on the outside as a reference to trin the edges after curing with a razor scraper. Since there are no corners or edges involved, I thing makeing nice strait trimed edges will be as easy as cutting a pizza.
One thing for sure withthose large seams, water will have a difficult time getting trough, I hope.
CLEAN AND READY FOR SILICONE
AFTER THUMB SIZE BEADS AND TABLESPOONING SILICONE
BOTTOM & VERTICAL CORNERS
The spoon worked better then I expected but required pivot control to determine a small bead or thick bead. Excess silicone would pile up behind the spoon which was better then fingers which just plow through. Also the spoon seems to create a pressure seam piling up excess at one end while compressing a bead at the trailing end pulling the spoon backward as I go. Im glad I decided to do a 4 foot line, spoon it and then continue connecting ends which did not skin as I went along, rather then trying to lay down one huge 27 foot bead and then try and spoon it with it starting to skin and lump up.
The only problem is I over did it and although tape might have worked, 30 to 72 inchs of wet tape might have got tangles and messy anyway. After curing I will use tape on the outside as a reference to trin the edges after curing with a razor scraper. Since there are no corners or edges involved, I thing makeing nice strait trimed edges will be as easy as cutting a pizza.
One thing for sure withthose large seams, water will have a difficult time getting trough, I hope.
CLEAN AND READY FOR SILICONE
AFTER THUMB SIZE BEADS AND TABLESPOONING SILICONE
BOTTOM & VERTICAL CORNERS
Yes the water test will be the biggest challenge with the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat LOL (a professional sports slogan). But that is what learning is all about, no pain no gain.
I will be letting this thing cure for at least 3 days because of the thick seams 1/4 inch thick. Im not too worried about it not curing as I have the AZ sun on my side and we still have a few 105+ temperature days left with only 10% humidity.
My next major posting should have the finished stand outside balanced, padded and the aquarium on top with 25% water inside or 50 gallons increasing 25% for 7 days of testing.
Great work gunner.
I always wait seven days for the silicone to cure before adding any water but i don't have 105f temperatures where i live.
I always wait seven days for the silicone to cure before adding any water but i don't have 105f temperatures where i live.
