I recently got a used 80gal. This is the biggest tank i've owned so far. It has a chip in the lower right corner (see pics). I have filled the aquarium in my garage. It does not leak but i'm wondering if this will be a problem down the road. Also i'd like to know if it's possible to fix this. The chip does not reach the silicon and the interior seems to be intact. The chip goes just past half way through the glass. It extends about an inch across the front of the tank but the further from the corner it goes the shallower the chip is.
Aquarium Chipped, Still Safe?
- Thread starter Price87
- Start date
thats not just chipped but split with a solid crack. if you want to use it, I recommend the following-
get a piece of glass/plexi cut that is about 6 inches tall by 6 inches wide, 1/8-1/4 inch thick, use aquarium sealer and seal this tightly over the crack on the inside. this will spread the water pressure over the whole area in that corner. give it a few days to properly cure. also use a 4 inch by 4 inch piece of the same glass/plexi on the front and fill the gap with sealer.
then turn the tank around and use that part as the back. I would also recommend just painting it black, so no one will know the difference.
this should cost you around $30.
get a piece of glass/plexi cut that is about 6 inches tall by 6 inches wide, 1/8-1/4 inch thick, use aquarium sealer and seal this tightly over the crack on the inside. this will spread the water pressure over the whole area in that corner. give it a few days to properly cure. also use a 4 inch by 4 inch piece of the same glass/plexi on the front and fill the gap with sealer.
then turn the tank around and use that part as the back. I would also recommend just painting it black, so no one will know the difference.
this should cost you around $30.
There is no crack. I know it looks like there is one in the pic but that's just an illusion from the glass & light. That said would your suggestion still apply?
I was thinking of taking out that pane of glass and putting in plywood. Whats your thoughts on this?
I'll grab another pic to show chip better (better light).
I was thinking of taking out that pane of glass and putting in plywood. Whats your thoughts on this?
I'll grab another pic to show chip better (better light).
I would definitely not replace the pane with anything if you want to keep fish in it. the glass otherwise seems solid, and I would still reinforce it the way I suggested.
in theory fiberglass could work if you had access to the right size/shape and had the know-how to do so. I have built around 2 dozen tanks out of various substances, and honestly the best were glass and plexi. I had a nice slate bottom tank I made and one nice tank I made out of a half of a smallish rowboat/dingy, but the construction was utterly insane. Ditto for the beerkeg tank I made. Coating the inside was the hardest part. luckily I had access to an industrial drying oven at the time designed for farm machinery.
in theory fiberglass could work if you had access to the right size/shape and had the know-how to do so. I have built around 2 dozen tanks out of various substances, and honestly the best were glass and plexi. I had a nice slate bottom tank I made and one nice tank I made out of a half of a smallish rowboat/dingy, but the construction was utterly insane. Ditto for the beerkeg tank I made. Coating the inside was the hardest part. luckily I had access to an industrial drying oven at the time designed for farm machinery.
well, first off, most plywood nowadays is chemically treated with formaldehyde and other chmicals that kill your fish.
Second, it is actually extremely rare to see wooden tanks since they invented cheap glass tanks and fiberglass tanks. Wood + water = rot. Even the best varnish in the world would rot and leech chemicals when exposed to water that long. Thats why we don't build bridges out of wood anymore. Bad idea for a tank when glass, plastic, slate, fiberglass, and even stainless steel make far better tank materials. In all my time in fishkeeping I have never seen a tank built out of common plywood.
Third, it would cost more money to properly coat the wood with a non-toxic substance like well-safe plasticote than it would to buy some glass. Heck, if you go to a second hand store you might be able to get the glass from inside old picture frames that is thick enough.
the Tank I made out of Half of a rowboat cost over $3700 to build, most of that plasticote costs. As far as I know it is still in the sitting room of a Florida Hotel's master suite.
Second, it is actually extremely rare to see wooden tanks since they invented cheap glass tanks and fiberglass tanks. Wood + water = rot. Even the best varnish in the world would rot and leech chemicals when exposed to water that long. Thats why we don't build bridges out of wood anymore. Bad idea for a tank when glass, plastic, slate, fiberglass, and even stainless steel make far better tank materials. In all my time in fishkeeping I have never seen a tank built out of common plywood.
Third, it would cost more money to properly coat the wood with a non-toxic substance like well-safe plasticote than it would to buy some glass. Heck, if you go to a second hand store you might be able to get the glass from inside old picture frames that is thick enough.
the Tank I made out of Half of a rowboat cost over $3700 to build, most of that plasticote costs. As far as I know it is still in the sitting room of a Florida Hotel's master suite.
Not to intrude on this posting but I'm quite curious about the rowboat tank you made.
Did you just decide to make this tank or were you commissioned to do so?
Back on topic: I would also recommend against plywood. Like doomhed said wood and water is always a bad combination, with some expensive exceptions. Without having any tank building experience...glass sounds like a cheaper and less labour intensive method of patching your tank.
That is just my two cents....which may not even be worth that much.
Best of luck with whatever you choose to do!
Did you just decide to make this tank or were you commissioned to do so?
Back on topic: I would also recommend against plywood. Like doomhed said wood and water is always a bad combination, with some expensive exceptions. Without having any tank building experience...glass sounds like a cheaper and less labour intensive method of patching your tank.
That is just my two cents....which may not even be worth that much.
Best of luck with whatever you choose to do!