# Tank Reno



## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Hi guys

I thought I would share my tank renovation since I was a bit bored during the late night.

A few days ago I picked up this 40g breeder from DaFishMan and thought I would clean it up and reseal it to make it new again. This is my first attempt at it and I've learned quite a few things. Always sad to see something like this go to waste so I figure make it new again and who knows...someone might be able to use it in the future 

I'll be posting the pics from another sight so they might be a bit big but the new format for pictures on the forums limits the size of the pics.

What the tank use to look like









































If you look at the seam on the corner it's no more than 1/8" thick. I have no idea how this thing actually stayed together for so long.









All the silicone removed. I tried to get everything possible to make a nice clean surface for the new silicone to attach to.









Here the complete inside has been cleaned with baking soda, then water and vinegar, then rubbing alcohol. The outside is still dirty since I wouldn't be touching it until after the inside dried.









Marked off and ready to receive the new silicone









Silicone is on the inside and now putting the braces back on. The old silicone didn't really hold on very well so I scuffed up the braces a bit to help ensure the bonding process.

















I'll take a few more pics tomorrow when I finish cleaning it and do a water test. Tomorrow will be the 48 hour mark and, fingers crossed, hopefully will hold water.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

anyone notice the big gash on my finger? Yeah...that was from my miter saw when I was trying to cut a piece of plastic for my frag rag. The piece of plastic broke and shot out at my finger

The things we do for our pets.


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## TypeZERO (Jul 20, 2007)

Noice work!


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

I was gonna ask... Ouch!



altcharacter said:


> anyone notice the big gash on my finger? Yeah...that was from my miter saw when I was trying to cut a piece of plastic for my frag rag. The piece of plastic broke and shot out at my finger
> 
> The things we do for our pets.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Pictures of the almost finished product.
I still have to clean it up a little but this is pretty much done. Two days of light work (mostly waiting for silicone to dry) and $9.50 in materials


























Thanks for looking!!


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

Good job MR american


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

Sweet, nice job.


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## loachman (Jan 21, 2012)

good to see you save it from the junk heap and make it useable again. Going to reseal of tank of my own, hope I can do as good a job as you did


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks for the comments guys! It was pretty fun to do and I can't wait to do the next one. I did commercial tile installation for quite a few years so I know my way around caulking and silicone.


[Warning Adult Joke Below]

This is me calling Home Depot (real story):

Home Depot worker: Hello this is the paint department what can I help you with.
me: Yeah, I need to redo my bathtub in my bathroom and I need to buy some caulking but I just wanted to know if you had the right color for it
HD worker: Well sir what are you looking for?
me: Well I think we either need Black Caulk or White Caulk
HD worker: We have both of those
me: Well what do you prefer...Black caulk or White caulk?
HD worker: That's up to you sir
me: Ok, I think we'll go with the black....does it come in different sizes?
HD worker: yep we have a few different sizes
me: How big is the biggest black caulk you have? Like is it to big for both my hands?
HD worker: um......
me: Well I'll come down and we can figure it out. Thanks for your help with all this caulk talk.


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## boun (Feb 16, 2012)

Great work! This is inspiring me to work on an old 90g that has been sitting in my garage for six months


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