Question About Cracked Top Brace

[volcomstone]

I'm potentially going to purchase an acrylic tank which has a large crack across the top brace. The good thing is that it does not at all reach any of the sides of the tank and does not affect the tank from holding water. There are no leaks whatsoever.

So my question is will I be ok if I decide to do nothing about the crack or do you guys recommend I do something about it? I'm worried that the crack may propagate to the actual sides of the tank. Will having the tank filled with water for some time cause the crack to spread? Anybody have any bad experiences with having a cracked top brace and did not do anything about it? In the end, I'm wondering if I'll be find if I just leave it as is. Please help

 

[big dovii]

From what I've read/found out the crack will spread to the edges just like glass. What I'd do is go get another piece of acrylic, some weld on and sandwich a new brace around the old one. Even if I am wrong its safer to be safe than sorry.

 

[KaiserSousay]

If it was me, I would drill a small hole at each end of the crack. That should stop it from spreading.

 

[volcomstone]

Thanks for the info so far guys! Hoping to get more feedback from people especially who may have faced a similar situation.

Another thing I'm worried about the crack is if it potentially causes the tank to bow more. The 180 gallon tank is made of 3/8" acrylic. I'll try asking the current owner to send me some pics.

Anybody else got any feedback?

 

[sharp tooth]

in the uk i use a plastic weld for acrylic work.

i think you would use something called weld on?

get the thinnest most watery one they make and drip it on the crack, cappillery action will draw the runny glue into the crack and bond the acrylic back together, strong like before.

well thats what ide do. easy to fix aslong as you dont mind it leaveing a mark bacause youll always see the crack.

 

[volcomstone]

Here is a picture of the crack on the top brace. Does this look like anything I should be concerned about?