I have a 550 gallon tank which was damaged during a move. As the panes were seperated, the back piece fell and receive two cracks approx 3" in length along the edge where a corner joint would be. Is there anyway to repair this? To replace a sheet of this size is $$$$. Other ideas, thoughts? Thank you for your time in advance.
Crack Repair
- Thread starter fogarty
- Start date
The best repair is to replace the panel.
Since it is the back, you can hide the repair with a background depending where the cracks are. To stop any crack propogation, you will need to drill through the end of the crack with a diamond coated drill. To finish the repair, you will need one or two glass panes for patches. Two patches for each crack are best. They should be at least the thickness of the glass they are patching (in total). If you use one patch, it needs to be the same thickness as the original glass. When using two patches, one goes on the inside and the other on the outside. They should be no thinner than half of the thickness of the original glass.
Since it is the back, you can hide the repair with a background depending where the cracks are. To stop any crack propogation, you will need to drill through the end of the crack with a diamond coated drill. To finish the repair, you will need one or two glass panes for patches. Two patches for each crack are best. They should be at least the thickness of the glass they are patching (in total). If you use one patch, it needs to be the same thickness as the original glass. When using two patches, one goes on the inside and the other on the outside. They should be no thinner than half of the thickness of the original glass.
Thank you for your input. For the outside patch, is there another type of "silicon" that would work better in this application (ie stronger bonding that does not have to be aquarium safe)? Also, when joining two pieces of glass as in a patch, is there any recommended procedures when applying silcon?
Loctite Stick-N-Seal is six times stronger than silicone, it is clear, and it is aquarium safe. You should still add a silicone bead around the inside patch to seal it.
Do you have a link where one can order Stick-N-Seal?????? I can't find it on the Loctite site. I need to reset the centerplate on my 210.
You can get it at Walmart, HD, and Lowes. It is in the adhesive section (typically near or in the paint area).
It will be easier to set the panel before doing the repair since you will be doing both sides. You could do the inside repair prior to the assembly, and then the outside repair after it is together.
It will be easier to set the panel before doing the repair since you will be doing both sides. You could do the inside repair prior to the assembly, and then the outside repair after it is together.
Ace Hardware also has it.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-loctite-and-reg-stik-n-seal-all-purpose-adhesive-01--pi-1793239.html
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-loctite-and-reg-stik-n-seal-all-purpose-adhesive-01--pi-1793239.html
Well just a heads up. DON'T use Stik N Seal to reset a center plate.....you just get to reset it again with sure enough aquarium silicone when Stik N Seal parts.
hi. is your tank glass or acrylic?? i just repaired an 80-90g acrylic tank.. the left panel had cracked open...(in pieces).. i used weld-on16 to glue the pieces back together... then i got 1/4 acrylic to glue on the inside of the tank... and then another piece for the outside...then i added more braces on the inside corners/edges where the new acrylic was added.. i will be test filling in the next couple days....
chompers: do you think my repair is enough for the tank to not leak?? (sorry didnt mean to derail)
chompers: do you think my repair is enough for the tank to not leak?? (sorry didnt mean to derail)