I just recently bought a 220g tank that has a crack done the backglass. The past owner thinks it cracked because the top brace broke (broke at the front glass), but I think there was something pushing on the edge near the stand. Either way I am looking to either replace or repair the back glass. Could I get a piece of glass the same thickness and width as the tank and silicone it to the cracked piece on the inside of the tank and possibly the outside. Or would it be better to just replace it with 1 new piece of glass getting rid of the cracked piece (I am not the greatest at silicone and replacing the panel makes me nervous. I only paid $200 for the tank so buying a new/used tank is not an option as used tanks in my area are $900+
Aquarium repair help
- Thread starter Infernapes
- Start date
-
- Tags
- tank repair
That's kinda why I was leaning towards doing both the inside and outside. I've seen it done on smaller tanks but nothing over 75g.
Fixing it structurally is not the problem. Getting it not to seep at the corners will be the issue. Remove the entire back and remove the interior silicone. Buy lots of razor blades.
Clean everything 5 times with methanol or similar.
Glue on the new back, and then reseal the entire interior.
Be sure to fix the brace.
If you just glue a new back over the old it will seep at the crack, even if you seal it inside and outside.
The whole interior must be scrapped and re-sealed.
Clean everything 5 times with methanol or similar.
Glue on the new back, and then reseal the entire interior.
Be sure to fix the brace.
If you just glue a new back over the old it will seep at the crack, even if you seal it inside and outside.
The whole interior must be scrapped and re-sealed.
I'm gonna add a little more to this, I was planning on putting silicone on the crack (both inside and out) then silicone the whole panel (like you would a floor/wall tile) and then silicone the sides to the overflows, bottom to bottom glass and top to new/repaired brace.
You can do what you described and probably get it to seal.
But replacing the whole panel will be a much nicer repair and will last longer.
I would bite the bullet and replace the panel. I’ve done it many times, it’s not as bad as you think.
But replacing the whole panel will be a much nicer repair and will last longer.
I would bite the bullet and replace the panel. I’ve done it many times, it’s not as bad as you think.
What would be your recommendation for silicone. And an easy way to do it being the tank weights 400 lbs empty.
An aquarium that size is equivalent to almost three bathtubs filled to the top. If you repair it make sure you do it right because that much water can cause thousands of dollars in damage.
On tanks 75 gallons and smaller I use GE1 on tanks over 75 I use RTV108 from Momentive