Cracked 400g need Help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Student of Architecture said:
I would never use wood due to the water.

Suggestion 1: Buy a new piece of glass and replace it.

Suggestion 2 (Preferred and probably more affordable): Buy 1/8" 416 stainless or grade 50 steel (standard at most yards, but will need 2 part epoxy paint coat) plate. Have a 1/8" thick x 1-2" wide strip of matching steel welded around the edge. Use industrial grade aqaurium silicone to laminate the steel to the bottom of the tank. This should prevent any separation of the bottom, prevent the crack from growing and keep the whole bottom waterproof/capable of containing water).
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I don't think the steel idea would work very well as steel and glass have a very different rate of thermal expansion/contraction.


krausch said:
Correct me if im wrong, but can't you drill holes at the ends of the crack to prevent it from growing and then silicone a patch to the outside while filling the drilled holes with silicone.

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That is the standard fix for acrylic, but I have never heard of anyone drilling holes at the ends of a crack in glass.

Tearing the whole tank apart to replace the bottom seems like too much work, I would laminate another piece over the bottom - check out craigslist for cheap glass table-tops,you might find the glass you need for next to nothing!
 
Thermal expansion if it is done correctly with the gap between glass and steel is irrelevant. It is in the thousandths of an inch and having a 1/8" gap filled with silicone will let it move as necessary without any problem accounting for the thermal expansion. I have done things similarly with steel frame and glass tank and tanks have been made like this for decades prior to the current way they are done. There is a 2000 one at a lfs I visit occasionally. Glass has only twice the thermal expansion coefficient of steel which at the various temperatures of fish tanks is not enough to make a significant difference as long as steel is not against the glass (separation by gap filled with silicone).
 
Very interesting options to consider for fix. Thanks for all the input :)

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Have a sheet of glass or thick plexi/acrylic cut and silicone it to the bottom. Get a piece of glass/plexi cut just to cover the crack from the bottom and dont worry...it'll hold.
 
Now while I have never tried a repair like this I would think drilling holes at the end of the crack to stop it from spreading and siliconing another piece of glass the same thickness over it on the inside would work just fine. Just like can be done with acrylic. That is of course only if the bottom pane isnt tempered like most glass tank bottoms are, at least all the small ones anyway. Only way to know for sure would be to contact the manufacturer of that tank.

Reason I think its possible is many glass tanks have drilled bottoms for overflows and they do not make the bottom any less strong and still perform no problem. Also alot of glass tanks out there have those overflow holes blocked off with a piece of glass siliconed over them. I myself have a 300 that one whole end was the overflow at one time and before I bought it the glass partition had been removed and pieces of glass were siliconed over the holes to utilize the full 300g capacity and I have never had a problem with it.

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Personally... I would silicone as big of a piece of glass into the bottom as will fit... go with as thick as you can afford and don't be shy with the silicone. Seen it done and have a 300 I did... Cracks in the bottom are not the end of the world and sure don't cost $1000 to fix.... throw in some rocks or sand and you'll never even know it was repaired :headbang2
 
I am 99% positive if you try to drill the glass at the ends of the crack you will make the crack worse as the drill will probably "catch" on the crack and cause it to spread/break-out.

Cheapest option would be to silicone another piece of glass on the base, best looking option is to replace the botttom glass completely. Simplest option is to go back to the seller. By any chance did yo pay by paypal? or credit card? you may then have a way to claim back your money.

If you paid by cold hard cash, that sucks and the seller should be ashamed to call himself a fellow hobbyist let alone a member of this forum.

I hope it works out for you dude.
 
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