90 Gallons of Crack......

[JK47]

I was at my LFS "The Wet Spot" in Portland yesterday and saw this tank sitting outside for $20. Twenty dollars....... 90 gallon acrylic with black background and built in overflow/drilled. I couldn't resist upgrading my brackish habitat for my mangroves.

So cheap because it has a massive crack in the top corner that somewhat stretches around the corner. I have searched around on this forum but advise/results are not all that consistant for repairing cracks in acrylic. Since the tank will only be half full (around 10" - 12" of water) and well beneath the crack I am more concerned with making it structurly sound.

1) In your opinion would Weldon #16 and clamps fix this?
2) Should I use a different # of Weldon?
3) Any other advise since this is my first acrylic fix?

The tank:


The overflow, I will be using a 12" Durso style PVC pipe and will be drilling holes near the substrate for water to pull into the overflow since the water level will never reach to top:


The crack:



The crack up close around the corner:




I am not worried if the fix is ugly, I will proly build a conopy that will cover the fix.

 

[HPIZZLE]

steal of a deal.

if things dont work out ill buy it lol. would be a great turtle tank.

 

[Camshaft Ramrod]

It's iffy..

 

[DonVitto123]

get it man i would!

 

[JK47]

get it man i would!

Im my bedroom right now. It was an impulse buy. Now I have to try and fix it.

 

[JK47]

It's iffy..

"Iffy" like it won't work or?? or you wouldn't?? I know you got some advice for me Camshaft!

 

[The1and only]

You would probably be best off cutting the top off the tank below the crack and re bracing it.

 

[Camshaft Ramrod]

That's pretty much all you could do. That crack in the curve makes things tuff. Better to just cut some off the top and rebrace it.

 

[JK47]

That's pretty much all you could do. That crack in the curve makes things tuff. Better to just cut some off the top and rebrace it.

Even though the tank will only be half full? I was a little concerned sealing the crack because I have never done it before, cutting off the top I have even less experience with. Any threads you know of cutting the top of and re-bracing?

I was excited about the height because my mangroves are to the top of the 50G mudskipper tank they are in now and I'm loosing leaves off the top. I really wanted to upgrade the tank and turn the current tank into a wet/dry for it.

 

[protectandserve21]

I read about how they fused acrylic plates at the Georgia aquarium. If it can be done on such a large scale, can it not be done inexpensively on a small scale? Maybe a quick fix for an acrylic fabricator in your area if you have one?