[kaisa]

a few months ago my dividers i had siliconed in my tank broke off... i want to resilicone them in but is it nessisary to remove the old silicone first or will it work if I just put fresh silicone over top the old stuff??

 

[fkshiu]

Nope. Won't work very well. You have to completely remove to old silicone and make sure that the surface is entirely clean for maximum adhesion. This is why re-sealing old tanks is such a big pain.

 

[kaisa]

thank you time to buy some razor blades.

 

[Buddiechrist]

Razor blades won't be enough, it'll get like 99%, but you will want alcohol or acetone, to clean the remainder of it.

 

[kaisa]

wow it really need to be THAT clean? so i'll scrap as much off with the blades as possible then go over with rubbing alcohol or acetone to get all the residue off? will that be harmful to my fish?

 

[kaisa]

nevermind i think its easier to just buy a new tank- it's only a 10g

 

[kaisa]

Just another question before I do the new tank.... Is there such thing as too much silicone? when I did the old tank I put ALOT on...way to much I think.

Do you only need a little bit for it to work best? trying to figure out why my old dividers came undone so easily..

 

[EvolutionAquarium]

You only need a small amount. If you did't clean the glass like mention before, the the silicone will not stick properly. You must use a solvent like alcohol or acetone to clean out the pores of the glass, because it's the pores that the silicone grips into.

 

[kaisa]

even if its brand new I need to clean with a solvent???

 

[Buddiechrist]

Yes, as there could be dust or left over residue from something that could prevent the silicone from bonding. Also its not like it takes alot of time just a few seconds of wipping each piece of glass. Also after you silicone (min 28 hours) you will need want to get some cloth rags and soak them with water to clean off any residue from the silicone, then I would suggest filling the tank with water and letting it soak for 24 hours, and then another quick wip of a clean water soaked rag, and it should be fine.

It may sound like alot of work but its better to be safe than sorry.