Tank repair

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IFLAquatics

IFLAquatics

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 25, 2017
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So for all you DIY experts out there, i have a 150 gallon tank im picking up and it was made by the person im getting it from it has a crack like 8-12 inches that takes out a little over a square foot of the back right corner. Now im wondering, if i cut the back glass past the crack and take out a square of it, can i safely replace that section with a piece of 2x12? I would obviously "potable water safe" epoxy the wood but i want to know if that is a feasible way to go about it.
 
I wouldn't recommend you do that. Even with epoxy you will constantly battle the wood expanding and contracting at different rates than the glass, Causing leaks down the road.
The best repair would be to replace that whole pane of glass and reseal the inside of the tank.
If the other seams are okay.
 
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BIG-G said:
I wouldn't recommend you do that. Even with epoxy you will constantly battle the wood expanding and contracting at different rates than the glass, Causing leaks down the road.
The best repair would be to replace that whole pane of glass and reseal the inside of the tank.
If the other seams are okay.
Click to expand...
But what would the difference be as long as i dremeled it out 1/4" to account for the changes, it would be a little different than the plywood tanks with sandwiched glass. Wouldnt that mean that plywood tanks would leak also? Or would i have to sandwich it like a plywood tank too? Idk the dimensions so i dont know how much glass will be but thats my second option. I was hoping to do the plywood and hoped that sufficient depth in the wood to slide the glass into and seal it would make it a feasible permanent fixture to the tank.
 
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IFLAquatics said:
But what would the difference be as long as i dremeled it out 1/4" to account for the changes, it would be a little different than the plywood tanks with sandwiched glass. Wouldnt that mean that plywood tanks would leak also? Or would i have to sandwich it like a plywood tank too? Idk the dimensions so i dont know how much glass will be but thats my second option. I was hoping to do the plywood and hoped that sufficient depth in the wood to slide the glass into and seal it would make it a feasible permanent fixture to the tank.
Click to expand...
The difference would be instead of a plywood tank with a glass viewing panel you would be making a single panel that was part glass part wood. If im reading it correctly.

The idea of sandwiching the crack between glass on both sides as suggested by Duanes would be a better fix. It may even be cheaper than epoxy and wood.

Other than that, I would still recommend replacing the whole pane (for the best and most aesthetically pleasing repair).
 
If you're just siliconing a pane over the crack it would probably be a good idea to drill the end of the crack too, to keep it from expanding.
 
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