Craigslist buy: My 100G tank brace broken, sealant questionable, NEED INSIGHT 32 PICS

[Digital]

Ok so I was looking for a new tank for my 10" albino oscar, who is currently suffering from HITH due to poor water conditions. I made a foolish mistake by thinking since 90G is good for 2, then 45G is fine for 1. Wrong.

Bio load was too much, but this is obvious.

Now onto my story. I was looking on craigslist almost bought a 125$ with tank and stand for 350$ but it was 2 hrs away, I wasn't gonna do that.

Then earlier today I gave another look and in my city, I found a 75G with tank and stand for 100$. I call the guy, he said he is in my city, and lives literally less than a half mile from me. Great.

So I go to pickup the 75G. Everything looks cool. Of course it was outside and lighting wasnt the best, but me and a friend looked over the tank and the stand pretty well...

But when I get it home, this tank is not a 75G. It did look a little big.....turns out it's a 100G, 60x18x20.

It does have some issues that I'm concerned about as I don't want to flood my living room with water and kill my fish... so I bring my issues here hopefully you guys and gals can help.

Onto the photos! 32 to be exact!

You can see my O in the background, he should become massive in the 100G.

I wanted to see if it held water like the guy said. He said he used it with the brace broken. But I noticed it starting to bulge, so I took out the water.

This made me a little worried. Enough to stop the setup and cleaning process. When it wasn't full, it was together, but when it was about 80% it was like that.

Onto the sealant pics!

I continue on in a sec...

 

[Digital]

I will show you what I believe to be the air bubbles in the sealant....

Joint pictures

Will it work? Or new stand?

This is on the inside rear of the stand, I'm thinking it happened cause of the screw that he put in.

Farther away shot than the 2nd. Only two are like that. I have heard no creaking or anything of that matter, have had a few friends check it out, they say it seems structurally sound to them.

That's all for now. I am looking to go get either acrylic and or plexiglass tomorrow and fix that brace first thing. But my other issue is the joints and the sealant...


I got everything, tank, glass tops, and stand for 100$.

Yeah, I know it's a lil project but I believe it's doable. :help:

Thank you!

 

[Mrhfield]

Yeah defiantly doable. I had a tank that separated at the seam and i cut away the old sealant and resealed it. I tested it outdoors in case of a leak, and it worked. Now maybe with a hundred gallon might want to be sure and have maybe a glass company look into but i think you can do it. There are plenty of sites that teach you how to repair bad seals and glass even. Just search in google for aquarium tank repair.
As for the brace I have seen threads in this forum about products that act as braces. you might want to search in here for it.
For the stand i think its so so, BUT i am not right in front of it. I can see though the wood has separated at the joints on the base. For me that would raise a red flag. The crack on the inside stand was not created by that screw. The screw is in a knot of the wood. Screws will split wood at the point of the screw. To be safe and sound i would try to do some repair work to the stand. First i would try to draw up the crack with a brace. Maybe a 1x2 and some screws. Then for the base i would put some screws in the base to draw up the corners. If you really want to be safe then get some 2x4s or possibly 4x4s and make some extra braces in the stand. Make sure its level and i have seen some people put foam in between stand and tank. But i don't know what kind or where to get it. I hope this helps you remember if you don't feel comfortable doing things i would hire a pro to get the job done. Good luck and keep us posted.
Yeah and another thing what did that guy have in the tank an iguana?

 

[Mrhfield]

Brace problem may be solved here. http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=43

 

[Rbishop]

Definitely an interior reseal job. And patching the the brace with some similar material or replacing the whole upper frame.

 

[OldMan47]

The reseal is a must as rbishop said. The brace repair is also a must as others have said. I can't tell about the stand because I can't see where that cracked piece of wood fits into the stand. If it is a large crack in a structural piece, I would replace it with a good piece of wood. If it is a small cosmetic crack, you just need to decide if you can stand to look at it. I can't tell which it is or even how big it is from the pictures. The bad corner joints need looking at. What you need to decide, with the tank removed from the stand, is whether you are looking at trim that is just loose and should be cleaned and re-attached properly or you are looking at the edge of a piece of structural material that is coming apart. If it is a structural issue and the cracked wood is structural, start looking at possibly taking it apart, replacing the one piece, cleaning everything up so it fits well and reassembling. I know its sounding like a lot of work but if you are afraid to turn your back on the stand when there is a tank on it, the work will be well worth it.

 

[Digital]

*yawn* yep I got a job on my hands. I'll remove the tank and take more pics of the stand. Where would I be able to get a new upper frame if my brace doesn't seem to work? I have searched for AGA 100G frame and to little avail.

 

[Digital]

Going to start stripping the inner sealant now.

 

[Notophthalmus]

You can make a new upper frame from 1X2 lumber; just cut a broad enough groove to accept the glass and a bit of silicone. The foam that was mentioned earlier is used for insulation in houses; a 4' X 8' X 1/2" sheet will run you about $11 at a home improvement store. It helps prevent torsion in the tank, and so protects the seams from popping.

 

[Digital]

You can make a new upper frame from 1X2 lumber; just cut a broad enough groove to accept the glass and a bit of silicone. The foam that was mentioned earlier is used for insulation in houses; a 4' X 8' X 1/2" sheet will run you about $11 at a home improvement store. It helps prevent torsion in the tank, and so protects the seams from popping.

I definately will be picking that up. Is it pink in color? Just need to know exactly what to ask for.