Cracked bottom panel any hopes?

[Dom]

This can be fixed. You can buy a replacement pane and seal it into place.You need to be patient and thorough in surface preparation.

 

[Captain Quint]

I'm sorry this happened.

Better then than after cleanup and setup.

Please keep us posted.

 

[southerntnreefer]

Tank found new home with @dantimdad as of yesterday. I bought a Marineland 220 instead.

 

[w2inc]

New silicone won't adhere properly to old silicone, unless you have the whole tank taken apart and resealed you're taking a huge risk of finding it empty one day.

I believed this this to be true in the 80's when I first heard it but I called GE Tech support for recommendations to build or rebuild an aquarium I specifically addressed that issue. The SC1200 does not have an issue sticking to old silicone. I am sure there are other brands that will do fine as well. Possibly formulas have changed, or possibly I was misinformed.

I have built and broken several tanks. A double pane bottom on a tank IMHO is the way to go. My Elos tank has a double pane base with the lower panes in 3 sections and the upper panes in two sections. One set are 1/2" and the other are 3/8"th.

If I had that tank, I would get a panel that is 1/4" to 1/2" smaller than the original base and fit it inside over the top of the broken piece. I would put dots of silicone every 6 inches and use them as a cushion for the new top plate. I would put a fat line of silicone over the cracked area. Then I would run a fat bead around all the corners and place the new panel over the top of the broken one. I would spray it with glass cleaner and tool out the excess silicone with my finger.

IMHO, it will be stronger than a new tank, and it is worth remembering that new tanks break too.

Good luck with whatever you decide. Bummer about the break but the upside is that you know how to deal with a cleanup now.