I rescued a couple of aquatic turtles over the weekend and they came with this monster.....
(http://ballaquatics.com/ba-wp/wp-content/uploads/55-gallon-reseal-001.jpg)
55 gallon NO center brace, 1/4" thick glass. This baby weights a ton! It's a leaker and someone tried to reseal it without removing the old silicone.
(http://ballaquatics.com/ba-wp/wp-content/uploads/55-gallon-reseal-002.jpg)
If it cleans up nice I might leave the top trim off and go for that Amano frame-less look. LOL
Got the top frame off without breaking it and even though it's got lots of silicone smeared everywhere it's coming off pretty easy. Should be able to strip it and reseal tomorrow afternoon.
Dennis
Nice tanks, those old 55's....I had one and Scott has it now....heavy as hell, but solid as a rock...for some reason the glass will clean up better than the newer tanks do, when crusty looking....dimensions should be a little different that std 55's now days too...taller?? and shorter/narrower??????
Have fun...pics of the finished tank would be nice too...
That's a fine old tank. What kind of silicone are you going to use. There's one called "motive" in it name that I hear is the best. You can get it an Grainer's or some place like that that we don't have here down south.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 10, 2014, 07:58:58 PM
What kind of silicone are you going to use.
Probably my old standard GE Silicone 1. Need to stop by Lowes to get some aluminum flashing and some odds & ends for some LED light projects so I might look and see if they have any of that Loctite that Jon mentioned.
I've had great success with GE Silicone 1 so I'm not really inclined to change. Besides, it fits well with my other bad habits like over-stocking and using that toxic rain water. If I had listened to all the Internet Parrots telling me you can't do what I've been doing for years, I'd have given up fish keeping years ago. LOL
Dennis
I wasn't getting on your ass, Mr. Spock. I just asked about the silicone because I've had this 120 beast in the middle of my fish room floor that I've tried 3 times on with GE 1 and failed each time. I keep being too afraid to try again so I thought I'd ask. I'm going to go with the "motive" stuff that I'll have to order. I have broken tanks down to parts and stuck them back together, but this 120 in the middle of what I consider my living room has put the fear in me. I can't let it beat me when I build myself up to take it on for the FOURTH, FOURTH
FOURTH time :-[
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 10, 2014, 08:27:14 PM
I wasn't getting on your ass, Mr. Spock. I just asked about the silicone because I've had this 120 beast in the middle of my fish room floor that I've tried 3 times on with GE 1 and failed each time. I keep being too afraid to try again so I thought I'd ask. I'm going to go with the "motive" stuff that I'll have to order. I have broken tanks down to parts and stuck them back together, but this 120 in the middle of what I consider my living room has put the fear in me. I can't let it beat me when I build myself up to take it on for the FOURTH, FOURTH
FOURTH time :-[
Well. there's always the 'fifth' time.......your honor, I refuse to answer on grounds that this tank will incriminate me.......... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 10, 2014, 08:27:14 PM
I wasn't getting on your ass, Mr. Spock.
I didn't think you were, at least I didn't take it that way. I didn't mean to come off as being gruff on my end either. I've always marched to my own drummer, and when I find something that works well for me, I tend to stick with it. Maybe that other stuff is better, maybe it's all made by the same folks and just packaged differently for different companies..... I tend not to make recommendations just because different folks have different results.
Dennis
I'm the same as you Dennis. I do what works for me. I do things that are considered wrong, too. If it works, why change?
There will not be a 5th time for my 120. I will remove the end panel, clean everything squeaky clean, check all the glass surfaces with a square, and use the fancy silicone. If it fails me again and I'll let my lfs find a reptile person for it. It's better to do that than take the sledge to it.
Do you wipe your glass down with Acetone Liz? That's what I use to get it super clean and it dries quickly and completely.
Dennis
I razor blade it, then vaccum up everything, then acetone. I got another broken 120 when I got this one and I replaced the side panel and it's been fine for over a year and a half. I know how to do the job correctly. I've never checked the sides of the glass with a square, though. I know that if I can find the root of the problem with this big bad bear I can tame it.
That's the same way I do mine too. There must be something else happening here. I'd definitely check both sides and the bottom for square and a good solid fit. When I'm rebuilding, I press the edges together tight enough that there is very little silicone left between the sheets of glass. If any of the three sides is out-of-square the fit would be somewhat less than optimal.....
Dennis
QuoteI've had great success with GE Silicone 1 so I'm not really inclined to change. Besides, it fits well with my other bad habits like over-stocking and using that toxic rain water. If I had listened to all the Internet Parrots telling me you can't do what I've been doing for years, I'd have given up fish keeping years ago. LOL
I love it!
What a great attitude!
Well, all striped and resealed. One of the ends was not looking too good and the seam was starting to come apart, so I removed the silicone from the bad joint and sealed it too. The glass is so thick that I couldn't get the silicone to go completely through the joint, so I had to work silicone in from the outside like you would pack wheel bearings with grease. LOL
This old girl has seen a lot of rough duty. Once I was done with the reseal, I started doing some general clean-up on the outside and she's kinda beat up. I've still got high hopes for her though..... I guess time will tell.
As I was going over the tank I though how cool it would be to know the history and started to think of all the fish that have called her home over the years.
Dennis
Are you going to name her? I'm fond of my 25 year old truck in the same way you're fond of this tank. I named my truck.
I might just do that Liz. I'll have to procure a name worthy of the tough old gal.
Dennis
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 11, 2014, 06:08:22 PM
Are you going to name her? I'm fond of my 25 year old truck in the same way you're fond of this tank. I named my truck.
Quote from: BallAquatics on November 11, 2014, 08:24:29 PM
I might just do that Liz. I'll have to procure a name worthy of the tough old gal.
Dennis
A tank called 'Wanda'...... ;D ???
Well here's today's photo.....
(http://ballaquatics.com/ba-wp/wp-content/uploads/55-gallon-reseal-003.jpg)
Resealed, cured and holding water! The old girl is cleaning up very nice just like you said Jon. She's full of warm water from the water softener. Just a little bit of hazing in a few spots that I'm hoping this water helps to dissolve.
A little more TLC and some DIY LED lights and she'll be all set!
Dennis
By Jove !!!! I believe he's aced it....that looks superb, Dennis.....dang nice. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
She's a beauty, Dennis? Name her Marilyn. What did you do about hard water stains on the outside of the glass. I've used everything on some of my long standing hard water stains but NOTHING WORKS
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 12, 2014, 05:08:40 PM
What did you do about hard water stains on the outside of the glass.
I razor blade off what I can then hit it with CLR. Back to the razor blade / CLR until I've got all I can get. This old girl was really crusty, but cleaned up really well.
Dennis
Quote from: BallAquatics on November 12, 2014, 07:02:45 PM
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 12, 2014, 05:08:40 PM
What did you do about hard water stains on the outside of the glass.
I razor blade off what I can then hit it with CLR. Back to the razor blade / CLR until I've got all I can get. This old girl was really crusty, but cleaned up really well.
Dennis
Pretty much what I've done too, Dennis....the 'dollar' stores sell a CLR 'ready to use' in a spray bottle for a buck....single edge blade....fresh green pads...and go...remembering to flush a lot helps too...
Quote from: Mugwump on November 12, 2014, 07:06:27 PM
...remembering to flush a lot helps too...
Yea, you can almost see that scale suck-up the CLR and soften up for the next razor blade attack LOL
Dennis
Thank you, thank you, thank you. The dollar store of all places. Something so valuable for cheap. Who'd have guessed?
Its the little tricks that are often the best.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on November 12, 2014, 07:13:14 PM
Thank you, thank you, thank you. The dollar store of all places. Something so valuable for cheap. Who'd have guessed?
It's not called 'CLR' tho...but is a generic 'knock-off'...it's in a yellow plastic bottle here....
Nice job Dennis. The elbow grease paid off.
You did a good job, It cleaned up nicely.
Thanks Pauline & Scott.
Dennis