Busted corner on new tank

[dealseer]

Looks “damaged in shipping” to me...... If it was all covered and unseen, or Shipped etc.... hmmmm


If it were me. Cheap me..... I would find a person to 3d print large corner covers/ bottom base. Remove the entire plasic that is there and sink the entire tank into a new molded base and silicone it all on, and throw molded (so preasure is dispersed) corners on the inside as well, and silicone them in.

This post made me sad.

 

[jtl]

I think the tank is salvageable if there are no running cracks. It may not even be necessary to reinforce the inside corner but it wouldn't hurt. You could purchase glass filler online which would help and make it look a little better. I would not worry about a seam blowing out there is a lot of strength in a bottom corner. The concern is developing a crack. I would make what ever repairs you feel comfortable with and do a partial fill and what it carefully for a couple of weeks. It would be a shame to scrap the tank over this . Good Luck.

 

[Lukas75]

I personally would not trust it, but that is from what I've seen in DIY forums where most people use the bare minimum glass thickness, etc. I would first see if insurance will cover it. If insurance does not go to the manufacturer and explain. If the manufacturer won't cover it they may be able to tell you if it is overbuilt enough that, that would not be a big deal. Don't give up!

 

[Jon Fishman]

Anyone know if the "glass repair" stuff that is used for car windshields is tank-safe? Assuming crack development is a concern, this could help.

 

[jtl]

I personally would not trust it, but that is from what I've seen in DIY forums where most people use the bare minimum glass thickness, etc. I would first see if insurance will cover it. If insurance does not go to the manufacturer and explain. If the manufacturer won't cover it they may be able to tell you if it is overbuilt enough that, that would not be a big deal. Don't give up!

I have built a few 100g tanks and I can tell you the glass thickness is important to prevent bowing, leading to a blowout of the entire glass panel.

 

[Mical]

I would check locally a specialty glass company - maybe repair it or try small glass pieces heavily siliconed in that corner then test it. I'd avoid telling company who built it that it was damaged in shipping (Karma has a way of coming around). Don't give up, another one of lifes challenges.

 

[Lukas75]

I have built a few 100g tanks and I can tell you the glass thickness is important to prevent bowing, leading to a blowout of the entire glass panel.

Thank you for pointing that out. My point is that most DIYers will use the minimum glass thickness needed to build the tank (not all). While some manufacturers go overkill on their tanks as added insurance.

 

[xxxtremewv]

Yeah no way ill chance that around my new flooring and other belongings. Thing that sucks more than anything about it is it took 5 of us to baaaaarely get it down there, all to just set it down wrong and have that. No way we’ll be able to get it back upstairs

Anyone know if theres any good companies that sell tanks already drilled for synergy overflows other than SCA? Any recommendations? I heard glasscages make some good tanks. I need to find something pretty quick because i have to be out of my other house soonish and no way im messing with moving that piece of junk tank. This was my big upgrade hah

 

[Mical]

Check these guys out - https://www.fishtanksdirect.com/. I would still check locally about repair, but if you don't want to chance it Fish Tanks Direct are awesome folks to deal with. Also with any large tank have a couple of these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G5K7XL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Katrina71]

Anyone know if the "glass repair" stuff that is used for car windshields is tank-safe? Assuming crack development is a concern, this could help.

I was talking to one of their employees, they say they can do it. I don't really know about long term or even tried and true.

 

[JasonK84]

Yeah no way ill chance that around my new flooring and other belongings. Thing that sucks more than anything about it is it took 5 of us to baaaaarely get it down there, all to just set it down wrong and have that. No way we’ll be able to get it back upstairs

Anyone know if theres any good companies that sell tanks already drilled for synergy overflows other than SCA? Any recommendations? I heard glasscages make some good tanks. I need to find something pretty quick because i have to be out of my other house soonish and no way im messing with moving that piece of junk tank. This was my big upgrade hah

5 people!?!?! WOW!! When I got my 120 last year I called 1 buddy from work to help me move it from my truck to the garage and the same buddy when I was ready to move it in. Granted there was no staircase involved but 5 just sounds like there were too many people in the way and to coordinate with.

How do you even fit 5 people on a staircase while holding a tank?

 

[xxxtremewv]

Well its a very tight and steep staircase and as you get halfway down the stairs you have to start doing kind of a pivot and hand it down to the floor level, so its a really tricky corner. Weight wise, 2 of us could have done it. We work in a coal mine so thats all we do all day is move heavy stuff around. It was the angle and the steepness that was tough.

And i even had a piece of foam down to sit it on, just misjudged where i was at when we set it down.

Going to look into some of the patch options and maybe have a local glass expert look at it and get his opinion. We’ll see how it goes! Th ks for the tips guy!

 

[jtl]

I did a similar thing once when I was building a new tank. I inadvertently set the glass pane on the corner and took a nice chip out of it. I still used it and later filled it with some special glass filler that I got on line. You cure it with a UV light, kind of like what dentists use for fillings. I was careful to do a neat job and it was hardly noticeable. In my personal opinion the seam is not going to be an issues but you could as others have said reinforce the corner with another small piece of glass. The bigger issue is whether or not the glass is fractured as opposed to just chipped. The picture doesn't make it obvious but I would be all over it with a magnifying glass. The likelyhood of it being "cracked" or "fractured" not great but it can happen. The damage probably looks worse than it is but I understand the need to be cautious.

Maybe since it is in the basement you could move it too a spot that does not have a finished floor and slowly fill it to leak test it. Another thing. I think your best bet for a repair if you don't DYI is to find someone who specializes is windshield repairs. Anyway best of luck.

 

[Katrina71]

Please don't let this make you give up.

 

[cmcimino]

I bought a used SCA tank off someone and chipped a corner removing it from my car. Hit is right on the corner of the glass sump I wasn't even going to use. I felt so dumb. I ended up selling the tank as is to someone. Explained the whole situation to them. They took it off my hands and I got most of my money back. Someone may be interested in it, I would try selling it, and scrapping what money you can.

 

[jtl]

I bought a used SCA tank off someone and chipped a corner removing it from my car. Hit is right on the corner of the glass sump I wasn't even going to use. I felt so dumb. I ended up selling the tank as is to someone. Explained the whole situation to them. They took it off my hands and I got most of my money back. Someone may be interested in it, I would try selling it, and scrapping what money you can.

Sounds like getting is out of the basement in one piece is going to be a challenge.

 

[Jason_J]

Perhaps misery loves company.

I did this last week on a 100g custom tank I had made. Finished painting the back and side of the tank and was putting the pallet jack under it to move it closer to its final place. Apparently I had slid the tank just past the edge of the pallet when painting and the pallet jack made contact with the tank before the pallet. Like you, I was extremely frustrated but ultimately decided to order a new tank. While the tank is way overbuilt and might have been fine, it wasn't worth always worrying about it failing. The thought of the loss of life of the inhabitants and potential damage to the house wasn't worth trying to save the price of a new tank (which will likely pale in comparison to the cost of replacing the livestock and fixing the damage to the house).

 

[Katrina71]

Perhaps misery loves company.

I did this last week on a 100g custom tank I had made. Finished painting the back and side of the tank and was putting the pallet jack under it to move it closer to its final place. Apparently I had slid the tank just past the edge of the pallet when painting and the pallet jack made contact with the tank before the pallet. Like you, I was extremely frustrated but ultimately decided to order a new tank. While the tank is way overbuilt and might have been fine, it wasn't worth always worrying about it failing. The thought of the loss of life of the inhabitants and potential damage to the house wasn't worth trying to save the price of a new tank (which will likely pale in comparison to the cost of replacing the livestock and fixing the damage to the house).

Ouch!

 

[jtl]

Perhaps misery loves company.

I did this last week on a 100g custom tank I had made. Finished painting the back and side of the tank and was putting the pallet jack under it to move it closer to its final place. Apparently I had slid the tank just past the edge of the pallet when painting and the pallet jack made contact with the tank before the pallet. Like you, I was extremely frustrated but ultimately decided to order a new tank. While the tank is way overbuilt and might have been fine, it wasn't worth always worrying about it failing. The thought of the loss of life of the inhabitants and potential damage to the house wasn't worth trying to save the price of a new tank (which will likely pale in comparison to the cost of replacing the livestock and fixing the damage to the house).

You made the correct decision on that one. I would never recommend trying to repair that kind of damage.

 

[Jcat2k]

I'm sorry, that really sucks.

Especially since the tank is the most expensive part of this hobby.... lol

Man - I wish that was true! lol