Cracked tank during drilling... silicone?

[T Carey]

The tanks that I have seen patched that way had the patch on the outside. In one case the crack went from the top to the bottom of the tank. It had been in use that way for years. This was at a fish wholesalers so appearance was not an issue. I would try to obtain a patch piece that is thicker than the tank, but since this crack is small and located near the top of the tank there won't be a lot of stress on it.

 

[Gahngoo]

Hey all,

So I was drilling a couple tanks that I'll be using for filtration purposes, I got to the last hole of the evening and managed to cause a crack in the glass. The tank is a 40 breeder with only one 1" hole in this end for a return from the sump. With the position of the hole and where the crack occurred, I'm thinking of applying silicon over the crack to the inside after applying the bulkhead. What are everyone's thoughts? Should I apply the silicone on the inside before installing the bulkhead so some silicone gets between the glass and gasket? Do I need to apply silicone to the outside? My thinking was if water is getting between the inside silicone and through the crack during tests, I would get another tank and try drilling again. The tank is on cement in my basement fish room so some drips would be ok during tests as I would then replace the tank.

And here's a picture of the tanks on their stands before I drilled them. System recirculates up from the 125-gallon round sump tank holding live rock into the 40 breeder refugium, overflows to the 20 long for my internal skimmer, then back to the sump. Reef, FOWLR, and frag tanks have their own return pumps out of the sump.

Sell it to someone with a snake or lizard. Then start over.

 

[pluikens]

I bought a new replacement tank last Sunday. Tank was drilled far enough from the edge (thanks for the advice, everyone) on Tuesday. I plumbed it with the other tanks on my day off on Wednesday. Gate valves get added next Wednesday.

 

[Erica-Renee]

I have a 75 that is cracked the same way (my sump.. ) But its on the bottom of the side. I cut a piece of glass 2 inches larger then the hole.. Silicone it inside the tank with a very skim coat of 100% silicone then drilled thru the repair and installed bulkhead.. This hole is connected to a reef-flo pump and has been leak free for 4 years...
cracked on the bottom of the end of the tank not side... but still you can patch it.. It will not look great but will be structurally strong...
Being up high you sure can fix it ......

 

[scottedontknow]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I'm quite disappointed with myself. Not about the money because it's not much at all, but about the waste. I've drilled tanks before successfully/properly, I even thought to myself "maybe I should watch some of the youtube videos before starting this" yesterday. I even wasted a bit of time trying to decide where to drill! If I had known the minimum distance to the edge guideline, I would have just measured 1.25" from the edge of the panel and put it there! Ugh, thanks again, everyone!

You could always keep the tank and break it down maybe use then panels to build a new tank! Then at least it isn’t wasted!