Acrylic Fractures. Help, please :(

o116o

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 8, 2014
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West Coast
I have a 400 gallon inch thick acrylic tank. 96''x30'' It's a show tank in a business, and was pretty scratched up when I bought it. As a result, I let employees write across the front of it for an event we held in October. We used dry erase markers which were also used on a light-up board. Most of the writing came right off leaving no damage behind... however, for some reason, one particular corner left tons of small scratches in the shape of the letters that were written. These scratches didn't show up right away. It took about a month before we noticed them. I have a friend who works at the local fish store who told me they were "microfractures" and that my tank was going to bust in the near future. He has been wrong in the past, and normally I would dismiss such a claim if it were not for the fact that these scratches appeared after the marker was removed. I can't afford a new tank, and I really do not want to have to sell all of my fish. I'm wondering if anyone has anything like this on their tanks, and if they know if these fractures/scratches will get worse over time from the pressure of the water. I will attach a picture of the damage once the store closes and I'm able to take some semi decent pictures. Thank you!
 

rodger

Polypterus
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2008
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Kansas City
I would call a distributor of acrylic and talk with them. Have the content list of the marker handy and see what they say.
Was alcohol involved when this happened?:irked:
 

o116o

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 8, 2014
14
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West Coast
I'm assuming that the pens we used had some kind of alcohol. I called a fish maintenance person (not sure how reliable he really was) and he assured me that it was probably fine. Upon further researched, I learned that these look like "crazing." There are tons of areas on this tank with "crazing." The braces at the top of the tank seem to be fine. Do you guys think this is a viable reason to replace the entire tank?
 

Jag586

Piranha
MFK Member
May 28, 2012
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st clair shores
The fact you can almost make out what you wrote worries me I would assume that it's something in the marker that eroded the glass how strong it now is or isn't idk I wonder if there is a way to almost seal them up kinda like a chip on the windshield of a car or if your gunna have to replace the whole tank....


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o116o

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 8, 2014
14
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0
West Coast
That's what I'm trying to figure it out. Since it's an inch thick, I'm hoping it's not as bad as I initially thought it was. If I can find a way to seal the cracks, I'm going to... I can't afford a new tank at the moment. I was hoping I'd find someone who's run into a similar issue. I'll keep this updated incase another ding-dong needs to learn from my mistakes lol.
 

Jag586

Piranha
MFK Member
May 28, 2012
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st clair shores
Only problem with sealing is your sealing the out side and the acrylic bows out so it's kinda like cutting your knuckle everytime you bend your finger the cut opens up so the bowing out will in time I'm guessing spread open the fractures maybe bracing might help

I mean at very worst case I'll be glad to take it off your hands empty half the water and turn it into a nice turtle tank I'm just here to help you ps did I mention id take for a very cheap price of free yup that's how nice I am lol best of luck hope someone comes up with a way to fix it hate to see such a big great tank go to waste


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