Cracked tank

[javatech]

I was drilling my new 75 gal tank and was on the 4th hole and my macaw let out a loud screech and i cracked the tank on the end
now all the other holes are ok and i have a 10X20" sheet of 1/4" glass i could patch it with from the inside , it would go from the top to the bottom and over lap the crack by 5" on each side withe one side all the way in the corner

it's a all glass tank with black plastic rim, i tryed to remove it but they put them on good
i'ed like to replace the glass but i can't seem to be able to get the trim off
any help would be great
jim

 

[coralnut99]

I just cracked a 125 that I got from my nephew for free. It was 1/2" glass and had no center braces. I cracked it when a chip in the corner of the opening for external overflows created a weak point and cracked after the tank had been full for two days. I tried to patch it , by siliconing a 1/4" pane over the crack. It just didn't work. The mistake I made was clamping the pane at the top of the tank first, and then wedging wooden spacers at the bottom of the pane. I just had too much area to cover and couldn't get even pressure over the surface of the patch. The tank leaked with just a few inches of water in it. I can't offer any real advice here other than to say a 75 isn't as expensive to replace as a 125. Also it could cost you almost as much to replace the glass from a glass shop. If the tanks isn't RR, it shouldn't set you back that much. I was extremely lucky that that I was right in the room when the tank blew out. In hindsight, even if I had thought the patching process through, and placed the bottom wedges against the patch first, and then clamped the top, I would have been VERY concerned about the tank's integrity over the longhaul. I'm $235 poorer for the experience, but I'm sure I sleep better becasue of it.

If you're determined to try fixing it, The best advice I can give you for removing the top trim intact is to buy a cheap kitchen knife with a very thin, flexible blade. You can run that between the trim and the glass on the inside and outside of the tank. That should separate most of the silicone, but it'll still be a bear to remove intact. This could be a good case for going to eurobracing.

Best of luck.

 

[ReefMeister2]

Before proceeding any further, I'd ask that you visualize these two different scenarios in your head:

1) Walking into the local fish store and buying the next new tank (possibly larger) that you really wanted in the first place.

or

2) Walking into your house and immediately smelling the stench of 75 gallons of bacteria-laden saltwater and dead livestock strewn about the living room floor.

 

[ReefMeister2]

Mannnn, that post seems pretty harsh now that I read it again, LOL

That's what I get for staying up so late and punching the keyboard in a insomniatically-dillerious state of mind :wildone:

nonetheless, I wanted to give you a "reality check"....
PLEASE do not turn a $200 mistake into a $2,000 mistake!

Now go get that 90 gallon upgrade. It'll fit your stand rather nicely; just a bit taller.

 

[TroyPierce]

I cracked one of the end panels on my 40 gallon sump and decided to replace the entire panel. It was some work getting the glass out but in the long run, it was worth it. I had the local glass shop cut me a 1/4 inch thick pane which cost $9.00 and a tube of aquarium silicone from the LFS for $7. I also drilled my glass before I installed it.

To get the glass out, I ended up breaking it and cleaning up where it was glooed to the front and back with a razor blade. The hardest part was getting the glass out from under the top rim but with a razor and a heat gun, it wasn't too bad.

Like mentioned above, trying to patch it is a recipe for disaster.

 

[coralnut99]

Depending on the span and angle of the crack it can be downright impossible to patch.

Troypierce, I hadn't thought of a heat gun to soften the silicone. great idea. I have to believe that was a heck of a lot easier than razors, knives, etc. First thing that came to mind was fumes? Did you remove the whole top rim that way? If not I'm trying to picture in my mind how you replaced the panel without removing the top rim.

 

[TroyPierce]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7378373#post7378373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by coralnut99
Did you remove the whole top rim that way? If not I'm trying to picture in my mind how you replaced the panel without removing the top rim.

I didn't remove the whole top (although I considered it) by breaking the glass, I removed just the glass on the end panel.

The glass actually goes into a channel in the top but rests on the bottom glass so what I did was first test fit to be sure they cut the glass exactly right, then ran a bead of silicone in the top rim channel and a THIN one on the inside edge of the mating surfaces (front, back and bottom of tank). Then, from inside the tank, I slid the glass into the top channel and pushed the bottom into place.

Wipe the Silicone off the end and let it sit for a while then put a bead around the inside corners.

 

[coralnut99]

OK, thanks, I get the picture now. That glass shop must have done a very precise cutting job.

How did the heat gun do in softening the silicone? Time consuming? Fumes? Messy to clean up?

 

[TroyPierce]

To be honest, I'm not sure how much it contributed to the process but someone suggested and I used it. There wasn't much in the way of fumes as I recall.

The overall process took a couple of hours and I changed out my razor frequently. I used the single sided razors for scraping and a razor knife for cutting the bulk of the silicone.

The time consuming part is up under the rim. There was a lot of silicone up there.

 

[javatech]

I think i'v found a way to fix it and only lose 4 gal space being the crack is in the far corner im going to try to just box of the corner so it will be a five sided tank
the glass is not the problem i can get what ever i want for free , i wook in a AFG glass plant i just want to see if i can make it work this way for others that cant get free glass
wish me luck
05-19-2006 02:20 AM

 

[javatech]

Ok i've started to play with it heres what i have so far all i have to do is paint it black inside the corner and i was even thinking of putting in some of the spray foam in there