okay im thinking of getting back into the nano-reef again, i want to do a aga 30long, but i want to take off the ugly top and bottom. has anyone here done this and i want to resilicone it in black, i can get the tank brand new for $30.00. If anyone has done this could they post up pics. Especially pics of resesiliconing in black, thanks.

Re-doing the silicone is not difficult. Just tape it off, apply the sillicone, smooth and then pull the tape. This makes for a nice clean job. You need to smooth and pull the tape before the silicone skins so you have to work quickly.

IRT taking off the top and bottom trim, the key is to go slow and be careful! It is very easy to break the tank. Wear gloves as the top and bottom edges are generally not polished and are like a razor.

I find the easiest way is to dremel the top until I see the glass and then do that all around. After that is done, make several vertical slits (careful not to touch the glass) through the trim. Run a razor blade under the perimeter all the way around several times unitl you feel like you have hit the underside of the top of the trim and then start to pry gently.

Also, when re-doing the silicone, be prepared to scrape alot. All the old silicone has to come off for a good re-seal. Buy a 100 pack of razors and a 12 pack of beer. Put on some music and go to it. If you have a cd changer, use it. You will be there a while. Be patient and take your time.

-Prof

would i have to make braces, since im taking the rims off?

You could probably get by without them on a 30 long. At the most maybe one in the middle. I personally wouldn't remove the trim at all.

-Prof

I think I saw a thread here recently discussing the importance of having silicone between the edge of one pane and the face of the other (at a 90 degree joint) What I took from the debate was that it was important to have a thin layer of silicone between the two pieces of glass, not just a bead filling the corner. I think that a big part of the reason that deeper tanks (more water pressure at the bottom) use thicker glass is because the thicker glass provides greater surface area on the edge of the pane, which increases the holding power (but only if there is silicone in that gap).

So I don't recommend just taping and filling the corner with silicone, I think you should lay a bead before assembling the pieces, and sandwich the silicone, allowing the excess to be squeezed out when you assemble and tape the panes. Then fill the corner as described by Professor.

I should say that I have no experience doing this, but I understand the physics involved, and while having no silicone in that gap may work fine in practice, I am confident that having it there will significantly increase the strength of the corner.

He is talking about re-sealing an already built tank, not building one from scratch. As such, it will already have silicone between the panes of glass.

-Prof

Isn't that a 4 foot long tank ?

I wouldn't even consider de-rimming that tank. The glass WILL break.

Think about it like this, if you a re going to remove and re-apply silicone, why wouldn't you save yourself the trouble of removing it? Go to a local glass shop and have them cut the glass for you, just make your own tank from scratch.

There are two sizes of 30, the standard and breeder and both 3 feet. The 33 long is 4 feet.

I would say 1/4" is good for the 3 foot sizes, but go with 3/8 for the 4 foot if you don't intend to use a centre brace

The big bonus of DIY is that you could make it any dimension you want.