So when I moved one of my tanks, the forks on the genie lift put pressure on the glass and caused a small clamshell fracture. Let me see if I can describe it. The front pane of glass extends to the floor and sets in front of the bottom peice of glass (in contrast to the front pane resting on top of the bottom peice of glass). The fracture is maybe 3/4" in size on the very bottom of the front pane but appeared to not be an issue. Well I put water in it recently and sure enough it slowly drips. The fracture, although it looks like it is at the surface of the glass must to the back side. I thought it would leak through the front if anything but it appears it is leaking through the bottom of the tank where the front panel meets the bottom pane. The silicone must have lost its seal here. I think new silicone will fix it as it does not appear that the structural integrity of the glass has been damaged. However, I wouldn't want to set this tank up in the house only to realize that silicone wasnt enough. Any ideas? Someone suggested using the epoxy that is used for fractures on car windows. Can this be used on the inside of the tank?
Glass Repair - HELP!
- Thread starter Tien
- Start date
I wouldn't set it up unless I replaced the bad panes of glass. Even if you covered it with epoxy its still a weak link. Water puts alot of stress on the panes. This is just my opinion. Someone else may come along and say its fine, even then its not them setting it up in their house.
the problem is that it is a $1500 piece of glass. 9'x4'x3/4". Replacing it is not an option at this point. It looks small enough to not have jeopardized the integrity of the glass. I just want to reseal the drip. Silicone will do it at least temporarily. The fracture crushed some of the glass leaving an opening on the forint of the glass about the size of a dime laying down (i.e. Really thin opening). I can pump some resin/epoxy into it to secure the glass. IS just the silicone seal I worry about. It has black silicone between the glass and then standard silicone lining the inside of the tank. I cannot reseal the black silicone unless i take the front glass off entirely (too heavy to do). I can reseal the inside seam though. Between the epoxy and exterior silicone does it sound like this might work?
Well I have spoken with multiple aquarium manufactures. After describing the type of fracture and the fact that it is so small, most agree that re-siliconing the inside of the tank will fix the problem. They also said to put silicone in the fracture if possible. I hope this works. I may not set this tank up in the house. I may keep it in the garage and turn the garage into my fish room lol.