120 Gallon with Chipped Bottom Glass - Should I Be Worried?

[thall320578]

So I got a 120 gallon tank/stand/canopy with a sump and all for what I thought wa a good deal ($200), and I've been slowly going through the ropes getting it ready to do the final setup; trimming the stand and getting it nice looking, scrapped off old silicone and resealed the entire inner of the tank. The tank is 6 foot wide, 18" deep, and 22" tall, all 1/2 glass, none of it tempered from what I can tell (the bottom is drilled, I figured it must not be tempered if it's drilled ) Now I'm working on fixing the bottom trim that the tank sets on, my last step before actually sitting it on level ground and leak testing it. It was missing a whole 18" side piece, so I figured I'd rip it all off (what was still on it was pretty rough looking) and just re-trim it. As I'm pulling off the last little section near a corner, my heart skipped a beat when a corner chunk of glass came off with the trim, stuck to it with silicone... It's obvious that it's the entire thickness of the 1/2 glass deep towards the inner of the tank, but the chuck came off the bottom glass pane.

Opinions? Can I just fill in the gap with silicone and call it safe? I know there will be no structural benifit with that, but is that missing chunk going to cause an issue? I still have the chunk, would it help to silicone and jam it back in there at all? Or am I looking at replacing the entire bottom pane or junking the whole tank?


Also, here's the "working on it setup", seems to work out well in the garage lol

And the stand it's going on, also stll working on.

Also in a related question... The original trim was a thick plastic corner molding like material, of which I CANNOT find anywhere in town at hardware stores...

Would there be any problems using wood corner molding as trim to replace it? Or is the weight in the end going to split the wood and cause issues?

Thanks all!

 

[monkeybike]

I'd figure out who built it and order a replacement frame. That wood trim isn't a good idea, it will get wet at some point and expand or deteriorate. Tough call on the chip, if it was me I would fill it with silicone and call it a day if you can get a oem replacement frame.

 

[thall320578]

I'd almost venture to say the tank is a home built DIY thing... The trim on both the top and bottom is just 90 degree angled lengths of plastic, with the top being a thinner but wider type, and the bottom being thicker and more sturdy stuff. All just straight lengths with 45 degree cuts at the ends so they butt up in the corners, and siliconed the the edges. Whoever built it at least did have enough since to put a brace in the center that's solidly siliconed between the front and rear pane of glass. I've found the thicker plastic angled stuff on line, but I was just trying to see if I could find something local to take it's place... Any other suggestions that would work? I agree about the wood, not the best choice around water, which is why I brought it up before I even attempted it...

 

[millerkid519]

Yes to the trim and give it a very good coat a sealer or varnish and fill the chip with silicone and you are fine if the seals are good you are good to go. I have had some big chips in tanks and they have went along time without leaking. Throw down some foam in your gage first before you do anything and leak test it

 

[thall320578]

So yes to the wood trim if I lather it with sealer? Think it'll support the weight just fine and not split?

And thank you for seconding about just filling the chip with silicone! If that's all it'll take, then that would be awesome. I was more concerned about the structural regidity of the tank than I am about it leaking there. I can add silicone and stop a leak, I can't add solid glass and make it stronger lol

 

[millerkid519]

It's 1200 pounds so buy the good oak trim

 

[boldtogether]

So I got a 120 gallon tank/stand/canopy with a sump and all for what I thought wa a good deal ($200), and I've been slowly going through the ropes getting it ready to do the final setup; trimming the stand and getting it nice looking, scrapped off old silicone and resealed the entire inner of the tank. The tank is 6 foot wide, 18" deep, and 22" tall, all 1/2 glass, none of it tempered from what I can tell (the bottom is drilled, I figured it must not be tempered if it's drilled ) Now I'm working on fixing the bottom trim that the tank sets on, my last step before actually sitting it on level ground and leak testing it. It was missing a whole 18" side piece, so I figured I'd rip it all off (what was still on it was pretty rough looking) and just re-trim it. As I'm pulling off the last little section near a corner, my heart skipped a beat when a corner chunk of glass came off with the trim, stuck to it with silicone... It's obvious that it's the entire thickness of the 1/2 glass deep towards the inner of the tank, but the chuck came off the bottom glass pane.

Opinions? Can I just fill in the gap with silicone and call it safe? I know there will be no structural benifit with that, but is that missing chunk going to cause an issue? I still have the chunk, would it help to silicone and jam it back in there at all? Or am I looking at replacing the entire bottom pane or junking the whole tank?


Also, here's the "working on it setup", seems to work out well in the garage lol

And the stand it's going on, also stll working on.

Also in a related question... The original trim was a thick plastic corner molding like material, of which I CANNOT find anywhere in town at hardware stores...

Would there be any problems using wood corner molding as trim to replace it? Or is the weight in the end going to split the wood and cause issues?

Thanks all!

I've seen worse. Silicone the hell out of it and get some lexan corner protector from HomeD.

 

[boldtogether]

Just a suggestion. Trim just protects against chipping...
I would, however, protect the bottom glass with something though.

 

[thall320578]

bold, that's exactly what I found here locally, and it's the only kind of stuff I can find here locally at a Lowe's or Home Depot. It's basically what I was looking for (color makes to difference to me, black, clear, purple, yellow, pink, it'll be covered by the trim on the stand in the end when it's done regardless), but I steered clear as a lower base trim because it's WAY too thin to do any good along the bottom in my opinion. Although that's a great idea to place it on the sides as a chip-preventer!

 

[xraycer]

I wouldn't worry about that chip. In regards to the trim, I would skip the wood and get the aluminum ones I've seen at Home Depot.