450G 1" glass panel cracked FML need advice
- Thread starter blazin_dragon18
- Start date
Consider driving like 8+ hours and buying a cracked tank of similar size if you can find one. May cost time and gas but people usually sell cracked tanks cheap, so check local classifieds. Absolutely worst case scenario if you find one that would be a couple inches shorter than your current height you can consider buying it as well, won't look pretty but you can either a) hide it with a canopy or b) use it to your advantage with pipe placement or whatever or c) consider it temporary and then take it back off and put a proper sized one next time a cracked one comes back around. Hey better than spending 2g on a new pane of glass or taking a loss on a beauty monster tank right? 3/4" will be easier to find too. Plus you will have extra glass. Hard part is finding what you need and even harder is waiting for it to come up. 2k for a panel of glass jesus christ...
Nobody has put it bluntly so i'm going to before you end up with no tank at all. The best advice i can give you is to slow the pace, stop and think. Not that i mean you are stupid, but lets be honest both mistakes (the heat and the improper measure on the glass) are both down to a lapse in common sense and not thinking before acting, AKA rushing ahead. Sorry but it needed saying, i hope you don't take insult, i am not wanting to make you feel bad (we have all made mistakes). Brow beating over, some advice:
Think about how your going to hold it together while it cures, how thin the silicone joint between the glass should be to maintain a good bond, how much time will you have for adjusting the position of the glass (you have these answers already). Have you used silicone much? It can be rather tricky to get a neat bead free hand, you might even be best to mask the tank off and use some solvents to tidy the bead before it sets. Practice might be advisable first for this on some scrap sheet material, it is a display tank after all and messy silicone is ugly. But before you even get to this, you said the silicon is stiffening up on the rest of the tank, does the entire tank need a re-jointing before you set it up long term? Are you certain? Now is the time if it needs doing (if the bond is brittle [not just stiff] or worse, cracking i would rebuild the tank). Also, does the glass on the tank have polished edges and bevels? If so you probably want the glass to match if budget allows, but be warned, some shops also add radius corners when they polish/bevel thick glass (simplifies the machining process from what i gather) which renders it useless for a tank. I literally cannot buy above 1/2" thickness polished glass here without radius corners.
Once you have determined your method, picture doing it in your head a few times first and consider how it might go wrong in practice. If you encounter a problem that you don't know for sure how to deal with while fitting the sheet, stop and ask, you can always start over (silicone is cheap). I have worked with my hands all my life and will say without hesitation that 'don't rush, take your time and think' is the single best piece of advice i have ever had.
On the plus, you now get to use starphire for the back panel too opposed to having one side without. Consider it a happy accident! Good luck with the repair, i'm sure you'll get it sorted with the proper approach / pace and end up with a stunning tank.
Think about how your going to hold it together while it cures, how thin the silicone joint between the glass should be to maintain a good bond, how much time will you have for adjusting the position of the glass (you have these answers already). Have you used silicone much? It can be rather tricky to get a neat bead free hand, you might even be best to mask the tank off and use some solvents to tidy the bead before it sets. Practice might be advisable first for this on some scrap sheet material, it is a display tank after all and messy silicone is ugly. But before you even get to this, you said the silicon is stiffening up on the rest of the tank, does the entire tank need a re-jointing before you set it up long term? Are you certain? Now is the time if it needs doing (if the bond is brittle [not just stiff] or worse, cracking i would rebuild the tank). Also, does the glass on the tank have polished edges and bevels? If so you probably want the glass to match if budget allows, but be warned, some shops also add radius corners when they polish/bevel thick glass (simplifies the machining process from what i gather) which renders it useless for a tank. I literally cannot buy above 1/2" thickness polished glass here without radius corners.
Once you have determined your method, picture doing it in your head a few times first and consider how it might go wrong in practice. If you encounter a problem that you don't know for sure how to deal with while fitting the sheet, stop and ask, you can always start over (silicone is cheap). I have worked with my hands all my life and will say without hesitation that 'don't rush, take your time and think' is the single best piece of advice i have ever had.
On the plus, you now get to use starphire for the back panel too opposed to having one side without. Consider it a happy accident! Good luck with the repair, i'm sure you'll get it sorted with the proper approach / pace and end up with a stunning tank.
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Like I always tell my students, "slow down you will finish faster."
Now if I could just remember that myself
Now if I could just remember that myself
I understand your point and do agrew but he gets it there is no need to bash anymore... he gets it
can't agree more. I have searched and searched, on all the platforms I can think of. a few pieces of glass on craiglist came close to what I needed, but after a few month of searching, I didn't find it. so glass shop it is, buying it new was the only option for me.
first of all, thank you for your advice. and you are absolutely right about planning ahead instead of rushing into doing. I learned the hard way. I have thought about the whole process and took my time to strip the silicones and look for replacement glasses...etc. check out my updates.
haha, it's easier said than done for sure
thanks man! I blame my own stupidity over and over again, but like Blisco put it, it was a lucky mistake. I learned a lot from trying to replacing this panel, got to know a few very useful contacts and even though the work was very laborious, I enjoyed working with my hands
I just bought a 600g with one inch glass and plan on learning from your mistake and not doing what you did lol
I'm not sure how much you have into this tank but it might honestly be cheaper to start your search for a tank over again and just buy another whole tank. 450 is a pretty large size but I regularly see 220's and 300's, in both glass and acrylic, for sale in my local area for $500-1,000. I would think that if you're willing to expand your search area and make a decent drive you could probably find another large tank cheaper than the $2,200 pane that you were quoted for. It might just take a bit of time for one to pop up but let's face it, this fix will take a bit of time too.
Of course, in the end, it's your tank and your decision. I just thought I would throw that out there.
Very sorry to hear about your luck on this. I hope you get everything worked out well. Keep us posted on the progress.
Of course, in the end, it's your tank and your decision. I just thought I would throw that out there.
Very sorry to hear about your luck on this. I hope you get everything worked out well. Keep us posted on the progress.
He fixed it anything can be fixed with some thought process and hard work like he has done
