Small Chip on Front Corner Glass (12mm, 3m Tank) Safe?

[LaurentB]

Hi everyone,

My name is Laurent from Paris and this is my first post here on MonsterFishKeepers! Nice to meet you all.

I recently moved to a new place. I used to keep a Tanga cichlids tank, and during the move my tank got a bit scratched/bumped when it rubbed against a kitchen countertop.

Tank specs:

• 3.0 m × 0.7 m × 0.7 m (approx. 1470 L / 388 gal)
• 12 mm glass
• 3 cross braces
• Tank is currently empty

After the move, I noticed a small exterior chip (~4–5 mm) on the front glass corner edge, located about 12 cm (5 inches) above the bottom. The chip is on the outside only, it does not reach the silicone seam, and I don’t see any visible cracks radiating from it.


Photos:


My questions:

1. Is this kind of small corner/edge chip generally safe on a tank this size?
2. Since it’s relatively close to the bottom, should I be worried about structural integrity?
3. Would you recommend any kind of reinforcement, or is monitoring enough?
4. Any specific fill-test procedure or warning signs I should watch for as I slowly fill it?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

 

[Kilograms]

Probably absolutely fine. It looks like just a shell fracture. If you're worried about it, you can silicone a strip of glass onto the seams on the inside that goes from bottom to the to brace bars ( make sure there are no air pockets).

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I have seen tanks holding with chips. I have had tanks without chips fail. So it is a crapshoot in general. A thing is damaged glass is damaged glass. Hard to tell the extent of the damage from photos. Likely hard in person. But another thing is the chip is near the bottom (12 cm). That puts it in the higher-pressure zone of the water column. In short it is a concern. How much concern is hard to determine.

Next question is what will be damaged if the tank lets go? In a basement on a concreter floor with a floor drain no worries if it lets go. In a house or apartment a different story. On carpet a different story. On an upper floor with living space below another story. What do you have to lose? I had a 125 gallon let go and all i lost was the tank as it was in a basement. Had a 55-gallon let go on the upper living room of the same house with hardwood floors and damage.

If in a house which you own is one thing. In an apartment which you rent quite another. Do you have renters' insurance? Can you set the tank up somewhere safe if it leaks and test fill it for a few weeks?

Last thing is a tip for the future. I found some clear heavy plastic outside corners which I glue to the outside corners of my glass tanks. It is meant to go on the outside corners of wallpaper Jobs. I use clear aquarium silicone to glue the strips. So far, only a few decades, no more chips. The stuff I find is one inch wide so I use a straight edge to narrow it down some on smaller tanks.

 

[LaurentB]

Thank you very much for your answers.

The aquarium is in the living room, but overall, if it fails, it’s not a big issue in terms of material damage. There are tiles on the floor, a cheap table in front of it, I’m the owner and insured.

My question is rather: in case it breaks, is there any risk to people?

I think I’ll fill it little by little. If it holds for a few days, can I assume it will hold for a long time, or could it still break for no reason at any time?

Laurent

 

[skjl47]

My question is rather: in case it breaks, is there any risk to people?

Hello; The fact that the edge chipped out a chunk should mean the glass is not tempered. That likely means if it gives away there could be large shards of razor edge glass. So, if the panel gave out all of a sudden, the glass could cut.

When my 125 gallon failed it did so as a crack from the top of the tank to the bottom. Did not shatter. The glass panel stayed in place and just let th water leak out. I caught it before all the water leaked out so saved the fish. Note-That tank had an angle iron frame so such may have kept the glass in place.

As you fill the tank look for any cracks starting to radiate from the chip.

I have run tanks with chips that never failed so far. They have been smaller tanks.

Best thing you can do, in my opinion, is to make sure the tank is level. I start with the stand to make it sit level and check for true. The worst out of level is corner to corner, that creates a twist force. Front to back or side to side out of level not as stressed to the glass.

good luck