sealing a cracked piece of glass

[rnocera]

I accidentally broke a 10 gallon the other night and put a couple cracks that run vertically right up the middle of the front/back pane of glass. I was going to toss it, then I thought I should pull the end panes off and have them to use as dividers, then I had the though to try my hand at making a fake rock wall background for it, and using it for something else. It's probably not worth it, because of how cheap 10 gallons are, but if I were to try this and if I decided to use it as a paludarium with a couple inches of water in the bottom, would just rubbing a little silicone over those cracks be enough for this tank to hold a few inches of water? Or should I just put clear tape over it to keep it from chipping, and use it for a dry land terrarium? I figure either way, I may as well try making a background. Better to screw up a broken 10 gallon than the 40 breeder that's waiting for one! I've only ever tried one other background, and I was really disappointed with the way it turned out.

Oh, also- Can anyone recommend an aquarium-safe sealant to use to hold blueboard together, and a sealant that would work to hold blueboard to glass?

Thanks!

 

[Dr Joe]

Use Super glue in the crack, and then silicone the inside to seal it. If you wanted to fill it you would just have to use a piece of glass over the crack and silicone it in place..

I thought silicone would hold blueboard.

Ok now start the background experiments!

Dr Joe

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[CHOMPERS]

You can use the ten gallon tank as drilling practice for when you get the 40g. (Actually breeders are best with sponge filters.)

And is the blueboard going to be submerged or constantly wet? If you are talking about the blueboard that is used for backing plaster, it isn't meant for wet applications. The blueboard will turn to mush. The gypsum inside is the same as standard drywall; only the paper is different.

 

[rnocera]

I'm sorry, I'm talking about blue insulation board. I decided to not worry about the 10 gallon holding any water- I'm going to do the background the same, but I think I'll put in a scorpion or two instead of going with a shallow paludarium.

I tried silicone on it once because I was told silicone works, and it does work fairly well, but the pieces do indeed peel apart. Maybe it won't make a difference once you cover it with whatever you're doing (I'm using a combination of cement/mortar mix, acrylic fortifier over great stuff, sand, and coconut fibers- google "flevopol vivarium" and you'll see what I'm looking at doing) the covering materials will help hold it together well enough, but I'd rather find a glue that will work. In another thread someone said gorilla glue worked great for him. I'll pick up a bottle of that tomorrow, and let you know how it turns out.

Also, I already have the 40 breeder. It's a snake cage. A couple years ago I cracked the back panel trying to scrub it out in the bath tub, and I want to cover that big ugly crack with a rock wall. It currently houses two Everglades rat snakes, although at some point in time I may end up with amphibians in it, or I may end up using it as a paludarium or something, so I want to make sure everything that goes into it is 100% safe for any type of animal I'd put in.