Sudden Cracks in Tank??

[Azorek]

I was doing regular tank maintenance when I noticed two cracks, perpendicular and about 7 inches long on the inside panel of my one tank. They hadn't been there a couple days ago... My Oscar sustained a pretty bad head injury a couple nights ago, I heard a loud splashing sound one night, came out next morning to a chunk of scales missing from his head. This had happened before so I wasn't too worried, he heals up fine. But now I'm seeing these cracks in the tank, I ran my fingers over them and my fingernail caught on them so it's definitely an inconsistency in the glass. I tried to take a picture, it couldn't quite focus on the glass so it might be hard to see, they run diagonally and in an arc.
Is there anything I can do, should I be worried, will I need a new tank, and could the fish have done this kind of damage?

 

[skjl47]

Hello; No real suggestion as to what really happened. Perhaps the glass was already pre stressed and it was the proverbial "straw that broke the camels back". Another thought is if it is a large tank the floor or stand may have moved a bit. Some on the forum have reported deformation of floor support structure over time. The fish may have been startled when the tank cracked.
I had a homemade 125 a few decades ago with an angle iron frame. There was an iron cross brace across the top held in place with a screw. Over several years rust formed around the screw head between it and the glass. One day the rust pressed hard enough to crack the entire back panel.
A member posted about dropping a rock onto the bottom of his large tank and breaking it. Do you have large heavy things that may have shifted?

 

[Totalimmortal]

I would drain and replace IMMEDIATELY!

 

[12 Volt Man]

what you are describing sounds more like deep scratches rather than cracks.

the fish could not make two cracks like that banging into it. the glass is much harder than the oscars head (which has some 'give' to it) so it is unlikely that the oscar had anything to do with the tank damage, if in fact it is a crack. even if is, the impact would have left more of a localized crack pattern, similar to what you would see if you took a hammer to the tank.

see if you can get a better pic.

IMO, if these are cracks the tank would have already been leaking from them. glass cracked like that won't hold up for very long with the water pressure on it.

tanks that crack usually start pouring out right away.

I think you may have just scratched the glass while cleaning it.

 

[Azorek]

Thank you for the quick responses and insight... These are the best pictures I could get, do they help at all? They very well may be just surface scratches, they seem superficial for the most part. Do you think I have enough time to budget for a new tank?

 

[12 Volt Man]

look like scratches to me based on the pics.

they will not affect the tank strength as they are surface only.

but if they are really visible and annoying you may want to consider getting a new tank as its impossible to get scratches in glass out.

if they are on the side panel of one of the ends I would just leave them.

but if they are right in the normal viewing area, it might get annoying.

 

[Azorek]

Thank you for your time! I was frantically searching for friends to help me move a huge tank on Superbowl Sunday haha, now I don't feel so worried.

 

[COG Commando]

Yeah, those look like scratches to me as well. I have a few big ones in my 75G from getting sand stuck between the algae scrubber and the glass haha. They're unsightly, but they shouldn't affect the structural integrity of the tank.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; A deep scratch shoul only be felt on one side of the glass. A crack should be felt on bothe sides of the glass and would likely be leaking as others have said. I noted rocks in the pictures. Have they at some point been against the glass?