# Cleaning Up Silicone - Advice Please



## Tim Harrison (18 May 2015)

I spent a good few hours on Sunday cleaning up the silicone joints on the shallow ahead of a new scape.
I'm pleased with the ADA Cube Garden-esk finish, and the remaining joints look solid, so I've gone right ahead with the water test.
However, I'm still a bit nervous since I've removed all the excess silicone...

Do I need to worry?
So far so good, but do silicone seals fail catastrophically or if it's going to fail will it just spring a leak and give me time to bail before my study floor becomes inundated?
And how long should I leave the water in, so I know it's OK?


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## Iain Sutherland (18 May 2015)

not very helpful as i have no real idea Troi, however when i looked at building a few years ago i read that the strength only comes from the glass to glass joint anyway so excess silicone can be removed.... how trustworthy that is i dont know...
im looking forward to seeing the new scape though buddy 
Did you build this one then?


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## Wallace (18 May 2015)

I've often wondered this myself, I've been toying with the idea of removing all the excess on an old Juwel 54l tank just to make it look a little neater but I've never had the balls to try it. 

I'll keep an eye on how yours survives Troi and dependant on how wet your floor gets I may give it a go 


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## Tim Harrison (18 May 2015)

Iain Sutherland said:


> ...i read that the strength only comes from the glass to glass joint anyway so excess silicone can be removed...



Thanks Iain...when I think about it that makes sense, so I'm more reassured than I was.

Alas...no I didn't build it...it's George's old shallow. He did mention that perhaps I could clean up the joints when he gave it to me, and then Foxfish commented on the size of them when I used it for Primordial so I thought it was about time I did something about them.

Especially since I've decided to go all out with the new scape and get some new kit, so I wanted it to look the part...I've got some ideas forming in my head but nothing firm yet.

The joints were pretty big...


 

Thanks Wallace...bucket and mop at the ready...but hopefully I won't need them...


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## ian_m (18 May 2015)

Troi said:


> So far so good, but do silicone seals fail catastrophically or if it's going to fail will it just spring a leak and give me time to bail before my study floor becomes inundated?


Most of the stories I have read about are slow leaks, both dribble and "wee wees", due to silicone failing.

Source of failures are:
- Poor adhesion to glass due to "dirty glass" eg finger prints.
- Bubbles in silicone acting as a point of weakness.
- Tearing of silicone on upper edges of tank due to placing tank on a not flat surface.

Here is a tank having a wee...
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/discus-tank-sprung-a-leak-help.36553/


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## Iain Sutherland (18 May 2015)

Troi said:


> Especially since I've decided to go all out with the new scape and get some new kit, so I wanted it to look the part...


from the keep it simple dirt tank king.... now your just another high tech gadget sucker like the rest of us 

sounds good though, cant wait, love a good shallow tank especially with emersed growth


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## Tim Harrison (18 May 2015)

Thanks ian, I remember that thread 
The general construction of the tank appears very sound so hopefully none of those will be a problem, especially the latter; it's sitting on an old carry mat at the mo'.


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## Tim Harrison (18 May 2015)

Iain Sutherland said:


> from the keep it simple dirt tank king.... now your just another high tech gadget sucker like the rest of us
> 
> sounds good though, cant wait, love a good shallow tank especially with emersed growth



Haha...the whole high-tech gadget thing crept up on me whilst I wasn't looking and caught me unawares...

Actually, emersed growth is figuring strongly in my ideas at the moment, it's something I've been meaning to have a proper go at for some time now...but that may change...


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## Tim Harrison (19 May 2015)

Bugger!...



It's sprung a leak...
Well that was my initial reaction...but then...I saw cat hair floating in the water, and realised that the furry little bar steward, Scruffy the cat, had been up to his old tricks again (he's very messy, water goes everywhere) and capillary action had done the rest...I hope



Moral of the story is...don't let your cat drink out of your tank if its on a similar type of mat, your stand top may suffer water damage and warp.


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## Wallace (19 May 2015)

Oopsie! 

You nearly had me posting about not doing that to my tank and thanks for guinea pigging etc but then I read the post properly 


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## Tim Harrison (19 May 2015)

Not totally convinced yet..I'll shut the door on it tonight so Scruffy can't get in and see what it's like tomorrow...


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