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  • #1

    Cracked tank....

    Question for all the DIY experts....

    I have two 75g tanks....both are cracked. One is cracked on the back glass and the other is cracked on the bottom. Initially, the plan was to take the glass from one to fix the other. But if I could fix them both cheap, that would be even better.

    Would it be plausible to apply plexiglass with silicone over the entire piece of cracked glass....or are the tanks too big? With the back glass I could hide the fix with a DIY background.

    If not plexiglass, then replacement glass. I know that would work, but what would replacement glass cost? With a new baby and house I don't really have the extra funds....

    CHEAP is the magical word here.
    A mouth will say anything....:ym_chatterbox:....Take a picture!!!!
    Tags: crack, diy, repair
  • #2
    Re: Cracked tank....

    What you propose with the plexiglass might work but I wouldn't take the chance. That's a lot of weight and pressure against that crack and patch. Good luck if you decide to try it but I wouldn't if it were me.

    Mark
    What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore devine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your only clue.

    Robert Anson Heinlein

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    • #3
      Re: Cracked tank....

      Originally posted by wesleydnunder";p="
      What you propose with the plexiglass might work but I wouldn't take the chance. That's a lot of weight and pressure against that crack and patch. Good luck if you decide to try it but I wouldn't if it were me.

      Mark
      +1

      It's not worth the possible water damage.
      Tanks work in mysterious ways...one day they are fine. Then the next time you're having a helluva day, your behind at work, everything is going wrong...it'll choose to screw up.
      it's just not worth the potential risks.
      Just my two cents.  
      Help support (C)atfish (A)nd (K)ool Pleco's; Houston's premier fish club
      Alexa Rae
      Co-President of CAK
      MAY THE GOD OF YOUR CHOICE BLESS YOU.

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      • #4
        Re: Cracked tank....

        Ok....so no plexiglass.

        I read on another board about a guy using Hardie Panel and water based drylok to fix a 265g.... http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/v...c.php?t=171823

        If it worked, them I believe I may have found a solution to my problem.

        If not, then I suppose it's either buying replacement glass (if it's cheap) or back to the original plan of using the glass from one to fix the other.

        Feed back? Idea's?
        A mouth will say anything....:ym_chatterbox:....Take a picture!!!!

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        • #5
          Re: Cracked tank....

          I am sure that there are people here who will jump in and tell you how much it will cost.
          I would also call a glass / window place who sells glass and ask him how much it would cost for AA x BB size glass in the correct thickness and then get it and install them in each tank.
          I sure that would be the easiest way and by far the cheapest.

          What fish do Jesper have
          180 WC T. Moorii Chilambo +1 Petro trewavasae.
          110           Cyps, WC Xeno Spilopterus Kipili WC/F1/F2 T. sp red Kiku
          58 S. Decorus
          "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." -Margaret Thatcher

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          • #6
            Re: Cracked tank....

            I have successfull covered cracks with silicone and continued to use them for isolation and breeding tanks (on 5, 10 & 15g tanks.)
            I have covered overflow holes with a 4"sq cerimic tile and am using those 2 - 40L tanks still.
            I bought a 20L at the last HAS auction that has a crack in one corner of the bottom and I plan cover it with a small piece of glass before I put it in service.
            After you cover it with gravel, who will ever know.  
            I have replaced the end on a 55g tank successfully,  but  getting the trim off and back on was difficult.
            I don't think I would try to replace the back of a tank unless I got a really good price on the glass.  
            I have a broken 15g that I have saved and I'm planning on useing part of the trim to fix a 40T soon.
            So,  if nothing else, save the trim.  there is always someone who needs it.  
            'Dear Lord,' the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust ...'
            He would have continued but at that moment my very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four-year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

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            • #7
              Re: Cracked tank....

              If you choose to silicone a piece over the crack, don't use plexi - use glass.  Bonding strength to plexi is nothing compared to that of glass. I've done that more than once - successfully most times.  the unsuccessful times were when the crack went to the edge, and water woudl somehow get through the silicone in the corner seal and it would be an extremely slow drip  - slow to the point of a drop every couple of hours.  

              As a reference, it cost 30$ from my local glass shop for a 1/4" thick end panel for a 75.  Like phish says, the hardest part was getting the trim off the top.  I didn't remove the bottom trim, and it took 2 tries for success.  First time I skimped (hoping for a shortcut), and just patched the piece in.  Success came when I cut out ALL the interior extra silicone and resealed the interior at the same time.  Silicone has very poor adhesion to already cured silicone.
              The ultimate oxymoron - Narcolepsy and ADHD.
              Who says you can`t have it all??!!

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              • #8
                Re: Cracked tank....

                agreed.  Plexiglass Does not bond well to glass at all.
                I love my Fahaka "Peter" puffer.

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