How to cut/trim the silicone?

MuscleFish · 03/09/2019, 11:35 AM

I bought the tank. It's almost new, but the previous owner put there an extra silicone for safety I guess. He did that ugly. I need to trim it a little and clean the glass from ugly extra silicone.

I have a plastic tool to trim the silicone, but not sure if it'll work.

Maybe razor blade can help, now hard is scratch the glass with it?

Any recommendation?

Thanks

mcgyvr · 03/09/2019, 02:16 PM

A sharp blade (razor blade) can easily cut/remove silicone and its quite difficult to scratch the glass with it too..

billdogg · 03/11/2019, 11:59 AM

what mcgyvr said.

If you are going to the trouble to begin with, I'd take away all of the inner silicone out. Be very careful to avoid the seals between the panes of glass. Those are the actual structural seams that hold the tank together. The stuff on the inside is there only to make the corners easier to clean and to protect the structural silicone. You will need to remove all traces and make sure the glass is spotless beofore re-applying. Mask on either side carefully, run the bead, smooth it out, and remove the tape before it starts to set to keep the edges crisp.

MuscleFish · 03/12/2019, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdogg

what mcgyvr said.

If you are going to the trouble to begin with, I'd take away all of the inner silicone out. Be very careful to avoid the seals between the panes of glass. Those are the actual structural seams that hold the tank together. The stuff on the inside is there only to make the corners easier to clean and to protect the structural silicone. You will need to remove all traces and make sure the glass is spotless beofore re-applying. Mask on either side carefully, run the bead, smooth it out, and remove the tape before it starts to set to keep the edges crisp.

Sounds too complicated. I'll try just to trim it a little.

ReefsandGeeks · 03/13/2019, 08:09 AM

Can you post a pic of the silicone? I redid the silicone on my 150 gallon tank when I got it as billdogg sugested. Cleaning off all of the inner silicon did take a while on the fairly large tank, but recaulking was very fast. I guess it needs to be fast as the caulking starts to skin over quickly when applying. If you're a handy person, it's not bad to do. If you're not...I wouldn't try it. lots of videos on youtube if you want to see if its something you want to try.

As far as trimming away, as long as you don't get close to the caulking between the glass panels you would be fine. Use new razer blades to trim away the excess silicon.

billdogg · 03/13/2019, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuscleFish

Sounds too complicated. I'll try just to trim it a little.

It's not really all that difficult. More of an elbow grease sort of thing. Trying to just trim it back will almost certainly end up looking worse. And remember - once you fill it with water you are stuck with what you have.

Do it right the first time - it's almost always easier than doing it over.

MuscleFish · 03/13/2019, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdogg

You will need to remove all traces and make sure the glass is spotless before re-applying.

Do I really need to re-apply it? Originally there were only "structural seams".
If the new layer of silicone that I need to remove is attached to "structural seams" and will damage it if I'll try to remove new silicone?

MuscleFish · 03/13/2019, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devastator007

Can you post a pic of the silicone? I redid the silicone on my 150 gallon tank when I got it as billdogg sugested. Cleaning off all of the inner silicon did take a while on the fairly large tank, but recaulking was very fast. I guess it needs to be fast as the caulking starts to skin over quickly when applying. If you're a handy person, it's not bad to do. If you're not...I wouldn't try it. lots of videos on youtube if you want to see if its something you want to try.

As far as trimming away, as long as you don't get close to the caulking between the glass panels you would be fine. Use new razer blades to trim away the excess silicon.

I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

MuscleFish · 03/13/2019, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billdogg

It's not really all that difficult. More of an elbow grease sort of thing. Trying to just trim it back will almost certainly end up looking worse. And remember - once you fill it with water you are stuck with what you have.

Do it right the first time - it's almost always easier than doing it over.

Is there any video of that?

Thanks

MuscleFish · 03/14/2019, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

A sharp blade (razor blade) can easily cut/remove silicone and its quite difficult to scratch the glass with it too..

This one is OK?
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sta...ack/1000102690

mcgyvr · 03/14/2019, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MuscleFish

This one is OK?
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/sta...ack/1000102690

Yup...thats a razor blade.

MuscleFish · 03/15/2019, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Yup...thats a razor blade.

Thanks

When I'll remove the silicone, do I need to replace it? Originally tank has only silicone between the glass, nothing in the corner.

PCguy21 · 03/16/2019, 06:38 AM

There are two place silicone is... Between the glass panels itself... The seams.. and The inner silicone which runs around all the sides bottom ect.

The seams hold the glass together. The inner seals you can touch keep water in the tank.

To remove the inner seals you need a pack of razor blades like a 1p pack.. they dull out quicklu. You need rubbing alcohol and some rags and a vacuum and some masking tape.

Take the blade and scrape all thr inner seals out.. push thr blade number and run it down and do that to both side of the silicone and itll peal off like a bannan.. then take the blade and lay it flat and go back and forth to make sure you clean every spec of silicone off.. do this for the entire tank inside.

Thrn when its all gone. . Vacuume and take a rag and rubbing alcohol and clean the glasz where the silicone was.. Then tape it and get some aquarium silicone on amazon thr caulking tubes from aqueon.. and lay a thick bead down and use your finger to may a nice line spread it out.. take the tape off and let it dry for 3 or 4 days.

Go on youtube and google and research how to do this.

Its hard to explain in writing.. go watch some videos.

Its hard resealing a tank. Just dont touch the silicone in the seams

PCguy21 · 03/16/2019, 06:42 AM

Sorry i ment to say it isnt hard to reseal a tank.. just do research and do it right the first time lol.. If you do end up doing this.. make sure you poke the inner seal of the silicone tube.. taking the cap off and squeezing the ttigger isnt going to push silicone out if you dont poke the inner seal

You dont know how many stupid people on the amazon reviews who say the tubes are defective and blow up on the bottom.. because they dont poke the inner seal lol

MuscleFish · 03/16/2019, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCguy21

Sorry i ment to say it isnt hard to reseal a tank.. just do research and do it right the first time lol.. If you do end up doing this.. make sure you poke the inner seal of the silicone tube.. taking the cap off and squeezing the ttigger isnt going to push silicone out if you dont poke the inner seal

You dont know how many stupid people on the amazon reviews who say the tubes are defective and blow up on the bottom.. because they dont poke the inner seal lol

So, I can completely remove inner silicone? Without consequences?

billdogg · 03/17/2019, 08:40 AM

The biggest issue you are likely to have is cleaning the algae out of the corners. You will find that a sharp corner is much more difficult to clean than a nice curved one.

Structurally, it shouldn't make any difference, but I'm not an expert. My feeling is that if it was there when it was a new tank then it should probably remain.

ReefsandGeeks · 03/18/2019, 09:46 AM

You should either leave it alone as is, or remove ALL of the inner silicon (not between the panes) and recaulk the whole inner seal all at once as described by PCguy21. As stated, there are a few videos on youtube on how to do this. Silicone is an all or nothing kind of deal, either you don't touch the silicone and live with it as is, or if you think you can do better and want to spend the time to make a better looking seal, than you can scrape it all out and recaulk it yoruself. I did this on my 150 gallon tank and it took me about a week, working a few hours a day scraping silicone and taping for the new. Applying the new stuff took about 15 minutes or so, then a 4 day wait untill it doens't smell like vinegar any more.

If you remove the silicone and do not replace and just use the tank with only the structural silicone between the panes, you are risking easy damage to the silicone and much more likely for tank leaks in the future. You're taking a big risk if you start cutting away a portion of the silicon on the tank.

It's alot harder to do it right or fix a leak after your tank is up and running and has fish/coral in it. Best to do it right if you're going to redo it.

03/09/2019, 11:35 AM	#1
MuscleFish Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 84	How to cut/trim the silicone? I bought the tank. It's almost new, but the previous owner put there an extra silicone for safety I guess. He did that ugly. I need to trim it a little and clean the glass from ugly extra silicone. I have a plastic tool to trim the silicone, but not sure if it'll work. Maybe razor blade can help, now hard is scratch the glass with it? Any recommendation? Thanks

03/09/2019, 02:16 PM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	A sharp blade (razor blade) can easily cut/remove silicone and its quite difficult to scratch the glass with it too.. __________________ Who me?

03/11/2019, 11:59 AM	#3
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	what mcgyvr said. If you are going to the trouble to begin with, I'd take away all of the inner silicone out. Be very careful to avoid the seals between the panes of glass. Those are the actual structural seams that hold the tank together. The stuff on the inside is there only to make the corners easier to clean and to protect the structural silicone. You will need to remove all traces and make sure the glass is spotless beofore re-applying. Mask on either side carefully, run the bead, smooth it out, and remove the tape before it starts to set to keep the edges crisp. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

03/17/2019, 08:40 AM	#16
billdogg Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 10,806	The biggest issue you are likely to have is cleaning the algae out of the corners. You will find that a sharp corner is much more difficult to clean than a nice curved one. Structurally, it shouldn't make any difference, but I'm not an expert. My feeling is that if it was there when it was a new tank then it should probably remain. __________________ I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer

03/13/2019, 08:09 AM	#5
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	Can you post a pic of the silicone? I redid the silicone on my 150 gallon tank when I got it as billdogg sugested. Cleaning off all of the inner silicon did take a while on the fairly large tank, but recaulking was very fast. I guess it needs to be fast as the caulking starts to skin over quickly when applying. If you're a handy person, it's not bad to do. If you're not...I wouldn't try it. lots of videos on youtube if you want to see if its something you want to try. As far as trimming away, as long as you don't get close to the caulking between the glass panels you would be fine. Use new razer blades to trim away the excess silicon.

03/16/2019, 06:38 AM	#13
PCguy21 Registered Member. Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 263	There are two place silicone is... Between the glass panels itself... The seams.. and The inner silicone which runs around all the sides bottom ect. The seams hold the glass together. The inner seals you can touch keep water in the tank. To remove the inner seals you need a pack of razor blades like a 1p pack.. they dull out quicklu. You need rubbing alcohol and some rags and a vacuum and some masking tape. Take the blade and scrape all thr inner seals out.. push thr blade number and run it down and do that to both side of the silicone and itll peal off like a bannan.. then take the blade and lay it flat and go back and forth to make sure you clean every spec of silicone off.. do this for the entire tank inside. Thrn when its all gone. . Vacuume and take a rag and rubbing alcohol and clean the glasz where the silicone was.. Then tape it and get some aquarium silicone on amazon thr caulking tubes from aqueon.. and lay a thick bead down and use your finger to may a nice line spread it out.. take the tape off and let it dry for 3 or 4 days. Go on youtube and google and research how to do this. Its hard to explain in writing.. go watch some videos. Its hard resealing a tank. Just dont touch the silicone in the seams

03/16/2019, 06:42 AM	#14
PCguy21 Registered Member. Join Date: Mar 2019 Posts: 263	Sorry i ment to say it isnt hard to reseal a tank.. just do research and do it right the first time lol.. If you do end up doing this.. make sure you poke the inner seal of the silicone tube.. taking the cap off and squeezing the ttigger isnt going to push silicone out if you dont poke the inner seal You dont know how many stupid people on the amazon reviews who say the tubes are defective and blow up on the bottom.. because they dont poke the inner seal lol

03/18/2019, 09:46 AM	#17
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	You should either leave it alone as is, or remove ALL of the inner silicon (not between the panes) and recaulk the whole inner seal all at once as described by PCguy21. As stated, there are a few videos on youtube on how to do this. Silicone is an all or nothing kind of deal, either you don't touch the silicone and live with it as is, or if you think you can do better and want to spend the time to make a better looking seal, than you can scrape it all out and recaulk it yoruself. I did this on my 150 gallon tank and it took me about a week, working a few hours a day scraping silicone and taping for the new. Applying the new stuff took about 15 minutes or so, then a 4 day wait untill it doens't smell like vinegar any more. If you remove the silicone and do not replace and just use the tank with only the structural silicone between the panes, you are risking easy damage to the silicone and much more likely for tank leaks in the future. You're taking a big risk if you start cutting away a portion of the silicon on the tank. It's alot harder to do it right or fix a leak after your tank is up and running and has fish/coral in it. Best to do it right if you're going to redo it.