Chip Edge on Glass Tank Repair

[italquam]

I just got a great deal on a 210 gallon Aqueon tank. It has a small chip on the edge of the glass. What is the best way to fill in the small chip....

Please advise?

 

[Cjud7982]

I am not sure if I have ever seen anyone repair a chip in the glass...? are you talking sort of like the safelite autoglass repairs?

 

[italquam]

I am not sure if I have ever seen anyone repair a chip in the glass...? are you talking sort of like the safelite autoglass repairs?

It is on outside panel of tank, saw a video of someone using Bondic to repair a glass chip.

I will post a picture tomorrow

 

[MSB123]

If the chip is large, I would not risk it. You are better off getting a new tank.

 

[Oldsalt]

Photo please.

 

[italquam]

Photo please.

Will post some in the morning

 

[Oldsalt]

Look forward to it. There are ways to repair but the break/chip needs to be within certain parameters and the stresses that the repaired area will be under need to be taken into account.

 

[lapin]

Glass chips can be repaired. The repair will be cosmetic only.

 

[italquam]

Here are some pictures, all the chips seem on surface, none go down to the silicone.

I would appreciate any advice.....thanks

 

[lapin]

Here are some pictures, all the chips seem on surface, none go down to the silicone.I would appreciate any advice.....thanks

The image shows the chips have runners. They dont call them runners for nothing. They might grow and the tank will fail.

 

[italquam]

Ok so just trash it then??

 

[Rover]

Ok so just trash it then??

Yup.

The 'clamshell' cracks that are shown in one photo I have on a 75 gallon that never failed. But the cracks that lapin above pointed out have runners are the bad cracks. You don't want those, as they affect structure. I wouldn't use the tank except for a terrarium or a project to scrap and use the glass.

 

[italquam]

Yup.

The 'clamshell' cracks that are shown in one photo I have on a 75 gallon that never failed. But the cracks that lapin above pointed out have runners are the bad cracks. You don't want those, as they affect structure. I wouldn't use the tank except for a terrarium or a project to scrap and use the glass.

Ok i appreciate the info, will see if anyone wants it for free otherwise i will find a way to throw it away.

 

[Oldsalt]

That looks like a write - off. It's way too risky because those runners will only spread until the whole panel bursts. I take it that the plywood I see is there as a doubler? Unless it's there to highlight the cracks?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe it could be used for a terrarium.

 

[High ICP]

Not in a million years would I fill that with water

Maybe a reptile or amphibian cage

Or break it down. Cut the glass to make sump baffles

 

[BornHandy]

glassgages.com sells glass cut to fit. if you want to save the tank, could be a good excuse to order a new pane of low iron for a more clear front, or a pane with predrilled holes for an awesome overflow box. They also sell new aquarium rims if you damaged one getting it off.

 

[italquam]

glassgages.com sells glass cut to fit. if you want to save the tank, could be a good excuse to order a new pane of low iron for a more clear front, or a pane with predrilled holes for an awesome overflow box. They also sell new aquarium rims if you damaged one getting it off.

Really so I could just get an entire glass pane from them, take the whole tank apart, reassemble with new silicone ??? I have never done it before but might be worth the shot

 

[BornHandy]

Yes. It is an awesome project. I did this exact thing with a perfecto 220. It had been used as a display in a pet store for years, and one day, a customer bumped the corner just right and cracked it! The silicone was in bad shape, the glass was cracked, and it was almost trashed out, but I convinced the owners to let me try and repair it.

They ordered a new "star fire" glass front, 2 of tubes of black silicone, and we made the repair. It looked brand new when we were done, and the black seals really made it look nice in a store with black walls and bright aquariums. As far as I know, that tank was still holding water 10 years later when they closed down.

 

[italquam]

Yes. It is an awesome project. I did this exact thing with a perfecto 220. It had been used as a display in a pet store for years, and one day, a customer bumped the corner just right and cracked it! The silicone was in bad shape, the glass was cracked, and it was almost trashed out, but I convinced the owners to let me try and repair it.

They ordered a new "star fire" glass front, 2 of tubes of black silicone, and we made the repair. It looked brand new when we were done, and the black seals really made it look nice in a store with black walls and bright aquariums. As far as I know, that tank was still holding water 10 years later when they closed down.

So did you take the entire tank apart and rebuild all the panels or just the front panel??

Mine has two megaflow overflows, so how would I handle those, do I take those apart as well and reinstall them as well?

 

[BornHandy]

We did the whole tank. We were concerned about "new silicone" sealing against "old silicone". Honestly, once we had the rims off of the top and bottom, the glass came apart pretty easy.

We cleaned the glass with razor blades (careful not to scratch), then glued it back one panel at a time, holding it in place with tape. We had all 4 sides together the first day. Let that dry for 3 days, then trimmed off the squeeze out from the corners and the outside.

After that, we put painters tape in the corners so that our silicone seal would be uniform, squeezed a bead along the inside corners, smoothed it with my finger, then pulled the tape. It looked like a million bucks!

Lastly, we siliconed the glass braces back in place (we used clear for that), and let it cure for a month.

Glasscages advised 4 weeks because apparently, black silicone cures slower than the clear. At about 4 weeks we noticed that we couldn't smell the silicone any more, so we figured they were spot on!

One thing to know, the glass is not supposed to make contact at the corners. There is supposed to be a tiny space. We used hole punched coke bottle plastic as a spacers at the edges, and one in the middle. They were sandwiched between the glass, but the silicone made them invisible. More advice we got from glassgcages...