Cracked glass on huge tank

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BenG

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 27, 2017
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Hi all, I am looking at buying a tank that is around 540 gallons, at a cheap used price of $300, but it has a crack in the glass in the middle of the bottom pane, i’m not sure that it is tempered because it has overflow boxes and I have yet to ask if it is in fact drilled, verifying if it is tempered or not. The question is: is it worth buying this tank and replacing the bottom pane and how much would it cost?
Thanks
 
It will certainly cost more than the whole tank you're buying. But that's a steal just on the remaining glass. Call a local glass company with the dimensions and thickness of the glass you need replaced. Add to that time, labor, and silicone.
 
Just as a point of clarification you can have a tempered aquarium that is drilled, it just needs to be drilled before it is tempered - most aquarium companies will do it. However when tempered glass breaks it doesn't have a crack going through it - it shatters in 2,000,000 pieces.

As a point of reference, glass cages sells 3/4" sheet glass for $21 / sq ft. The silicone will probably run another $50-$100. So, your total investment will be over $1,000 and the time to re build it.

Cheaper than new for sure, but when you compare to other used options make sure to take all that into account.
 
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agreed, tempered glass does not crack it shatters like crystal, can be drilled after the fact but better be dang good at it. A tank that big is not a novice do it your self, so unless you have rebuilt, NOT RESEALED tanks before and feel confident could be a good deal, other wise you buying some ones trash that will become your trash.
 
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Yoimbrian said:
Just as a point of clarification you can have a tempered aquarium that is drilled, it just needs to be drilled before it is tempered - most aquarium companies will do it. However when tempered glass breaks it doesn't have a crack going through it - it shatters in 2,000,000 pieces.

As a point of reference, glass cages sells 3/4" sheet glass for $21 / sq ft. The silicone will probably run another $50-$100. So, your total investment will be over $1,000 and the time to re build it.

Cheaper than new for sure, but when you compare to other used options make sure to take all that into account.
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Because it is a crack, this means that the glass is in fact just regular glass, so that would lower my cost by about $15 right, still about $100 in silicone, I guess it would be worth it but would tempered glass offer any other structural integrity considering the weight, compared to the regular glass?
 
I have also looked into rebuilding a tank, would a tank this big require a seal like momentive rtv103 and then silicone on the inside of the glass where the panels meet?
 
BenG said:
Because it is a crack, this means that the glass is in fact just regular glass, so that would lower my cost by about $15 right, still about $100 in silicone, I guess it would be worth it but would tempered glass offer any other structural integrity considering the weight, compared to the regular glass?
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Yeah, I realize that tempered glass is stronger in comparison to glass because it does not crack, but shatters when hit in its weakest point. Half baked ideas late at night.
 
Maybe you could replace the bottom pane with a plywood bottom. joey02 joey02 has a build series where he made a 500ish gallon tank using the sides of two 150’s and a plywood bottom. I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t do the same. It still will require a bit of cost in materials because pond armor is not cheap, but you should be able to do it for much less than a glass pane would cost.
 
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