Repairing a crack in the base?

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nikirushka

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Jan 28, 2013
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Just got my new tank home, and it's got a crack running end to end in the base :( The seller said it had a crack but that a piece of glass had been put in ont top and sealed, and the tank is actually watertight as it was sat with water in it at his home. It looked fine, looked like there was the second pane in there.

However having got it home, it seems there is no second pane after all - sort of an optical illusion from the sealant line, if that makes sense. So it's just cracked. It's still holding water though - there was a bit left in it that hadn't properly drained for the trip home, and there is none on the duvet I had under it for the journey. This gives me hope!

So, what are my options? Being the bottom pane I figure will help as it'll be supported from underneath by the stand once I've made it. Can I do a repair using the dividing pieces that are in it laid end to end (one roughly 18" x 18", 3 roughly 6" x 18") or would I be best getting a panel to fit the whole base? Any idea on cost of this, and would it also have to be 10mm thick like the main tank?

I'm a bit miffed (and frankly feel a bit stupid), but the tank is here and it was cheap so I'll not dwell on it, just get it fixed if I can :)
 
Z

ZivaD

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Feb 4, 2013
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Any attempt to repair will need to be done using one, single piece of glass of the appropriate size. You don't want a bunch of joints across the bottom - you want one solid piece jointed only at to the side pieces at each of the edges.
 
N

nikirushka

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Jan 28, 2013
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Ah fair enough. I've seen reports of people repairing using enough glass to cover the crack, thought it sounded a bit dubious!

That leads me to three other questions then:

1) (As above) Does the new glass have to be 10mm like the cracked pane?
2) Can I use another material such as perspex/acryclic/polycarbonate? I expect 'no', but if I don't ask, I won't know for sure :) Never had to repair a tank before so this is new to me.
 
TL1000RSquid

TL1000RSquid

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Personally no way I'd ever trust the tank short of replacing the entire pane of glass, seen the results of large tank failure before don't want that in my house.
 
N

nikirushka

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Jan 28, 2013
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Starting to think I'll probably sell it as a reptile/small animal tank then :(

Just another ponder; what if I was to seal another pane inside, make a stand flush to the tank's dimensions, and clad the outside say a couple of inches up the front of the tank? Then I could screw it at frequent intervals around the stand to provide extra support. I've read repeatedly how plywood tanks are supposed to be stronger than glass, so with a nice snug fit would that be feasible?

And my question about the thickness of the pane remains, does it also have to be 10mm if the cracked pane is still the main base piece?
 
Rbishop

Rbishop

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What size tank is this....in most cases your efforts at obtaining repair materials will equal the cost of a new tank...
 
FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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^ I agree.

What size tank is this?

Last thing you need is a Tsunami in your living room.. or as my blonde (and Polish) wife once called it.. TooSami.
 
Brian Anderson

Brian Anderson

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^^haha

Sorry about your luck with the tank:-/ I have a short story that might make you laugh at "our" misfortunes.

Growing up I loved fish tanks. I finally got one when I was around 11 years old. Well I went to the fish store and got my first tank. Along with the tank the fish "specialist" also helped me get on my way with stocking. Needless to say I ended up with some African claw frogs, cichlids, cardinal tetras, and anything else you can guess that didn't belong together. Well that ended in a disaster and the tank failed. I cried myself to sleep and moved on. When I turned 17 I got a job and decided I would figure everything out myself and make this happen. Saved money and got a 125g. Saved more money and got top of the line filtration...heaters...the works. Spent a month setting it up and probably another month picking my stock list. Well the day before I was going to fill it with water and start cycling the tank, my buddies came over to check it out. They quickly got bored and started messing around in my room. The next sentence will clue you in to what happened. My buddy picked up my super awesome nunchakus, authentic with pictures of chuck Norris on them. He started messing around with them while I was watching TV. Next thing I heard was "CRACK" and.......uh oh. Turned around and I had a smashed 6'x2' front pane of glass on my fish tank. Needless to say my second fish tank was halted temporarily, but I trucked on! Patients prevailed and it got fixed and everything worked out. Now I'm 3 tanks deep and need to stop haha. But keep your head up. You've got guys posting in this thread that are very knowledgeable and will steer ya in the right direction if its able to be fixed!! If not, be patient and try again! If you wait, you'll find a great deal on Craigslist.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
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FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Word to self:

Keep super awesome nunchucks AWAY from tank.
 
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