lmsmith Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 I took out a centre divider in my tank and decided to touch up the silicone as it's an old tank. My bf kindly offered to do it for me. I went to check up on him, and turns out he's used silicone with mould repellant in it. I've decided to cut my losses and rebuild the whole tank; the silicone was a bit tatty anyway. I found this great topic about building tanks, does anyone have any other tips? This is my first time actually building a whole tank and I'm terrified! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 http://aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_a ... hp?aid=107 I used that, and completely cocked up the reseal. It's a good guide and would have worked perfectly if I wasn't so incompetent. MY TIPS: The thinner the bead of silicone the better, it's incredibly hard to get a thick bead to work properly. Have a large glass of Isopropyl alcohol for dipping and smoothing. When you're smoothing, re-dip your finger every 6 inches, or else it'll grab your finger and gouge a big hole in the soft silicone. Use the rubber gloves, it's impossible to get silicone off your [my] hairy fingers! LOTS of rags to wipe your hands on, I had a big sheet of cardboard to wipe my fingers on - it worked good :]. LOTS of masking, it'll save you lots of time if you mask the entire inside of the tank with newspaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 its pretty easy.. use a gun if you can (not the bullet kind :lol: that would break the glass).. makes life that little bit easier... keep a sharp blade on hand just be careful not to scratch the glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted March 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 So I redid the tank today. Getting the old silicone off was a pain in the butt, the really old stuff was fine, but the newer-old stuff was a real struggle to get off. Putting it together was surprisingly easy, I used the other end of the pointy bits you put on the end of the silicone tube to smooth the bead of silicone. It worked really well, and it's all nice and smooth. I'm going to fill it tomorrow or Sunday to see if it holds water, then I can leave it to sit for a few days to fully cure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrie Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 silicone takes 1 day per mm of joint to cure leave it for a week if you can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.