Silicone mold

I picked up a second hand tank and started sterilising it. It looks like it has some mold in or under the silicone. Tried to scratch it off but it is protected by the silicone. It is mostly at the bottom so it would be under a dark substrate. Does this warrant a strip down and rebuild for safety? What is a reasonable price for a 1.2m x 45 x 45 rebuild in Cape Town?

 

This is a normal occurrence, I don't even bother with mine anymore, I think thats the reason why lots of guys and builders use black silicone.

 

That's the one thing i regret not having done when i had my tanks built.. When i thought about it, it was too late...

 

yeah as said above , nothing you can do. Den Braven silicone seems to be the most resistant frpm black algae forming under it. Black silicone also, when I have seen it used .... forms a 'frame' for the tank and can look awesome.

 

Just as a mater of interest - if you decide to re-do the inside silicone, use a Stanley blade to scrape of as much of the old silicone. If you the use turps, you can soften whatever silicone is left over. use very sparingly, it softens the silicone and you can get back to only the glass . Give it a good clean with soapy water, let it dry TOTALLY, and then start on the re-seal.
The turps works perfectly to dissolve old silicone.
I reckon, if you going to this much trouble, rather just dismantle the entire tank, ( its easy to do, if time consuming) and start from scratch re-building it. Do you know how old the tank is? Anything over 7 odd years, It certainly is worth stripping down and starting fresh. then you know for sure the next 10 years or so your tanks will be perfect !!

 

Thanks for the feedback. I think the tank is quite new based on the condition of the glass, equipment and stand, wood, foam etc. I estimate 2 years. I would love a black silicone tank. Keen to build a sump at some point in the future so I'll pick up some building skills before having a go at a show tank.

 

Whenever I have an empty tank I clean it with unscented bleach. Then I give it a good hose down. if there is any residual bleach it breaks down in water and chlorine anyway which will dissipate out of the water.