Glass Aquarium Chip Repair?

[Daresien]

I recently bought the Innovative Marine EXT 150 gallon tank. The tank is Euro Braced. I have the chip in the front bottom right corner of the tank. I cannot afford to take the company's offer to replace the tank with a small discount so I am looking at options to have it repaired. I filled the aquarium with around 4 inches of water. I saw no leakage and I did not see any expansion of the chip.

I am curious to know if there is a possible DIY fix like filling in the crack with epoxy or something else. I am not worried about the aesthetics of the fix, just would like to make sure that it is structurally sound.

 

[TDEcoral]

I might risk using it as is if the chip was at the top, but there will be a lot of water pressure placed on that spot at the bottom of the tank. If it were my tank I'd replace that pane of glass, but if that's beyond your skill level then you should get a replacement tank. You have to ask yourself if repairing it now is worth the potential water damage if it fails in the future.

 

[HJ99]

I don't want to suggest something that isn't a proven repair but I will share my thoughts as a retired autobody guy. I wouldn't use epoxy. Since I got into this a couple months ago, I have often wondered why urethane sealant isn't used with aquariums. I can attest to the fact it definitely bonds glass to other substrates. All auto glass is glued in with it and the bond is so strong that rear tempered glass is actually designed to be a structural component. It has to be cut out with a special high speed tool that actually gets so hot as to melt it. There is also a process to repair chips in windshields so they don't spread into a crack but that is on a open area. Kind of hard to tell by photos. I'd be tempted to have a glass installer look at it if you know any.

 

[Daresien]

Thanks for the replies!

 

[thewire]

Yea the risk is too much for this. 150g is too much

 

[crstlblu2002]

Any updates on if or how you fixed this tank? I have a friend with the same damage but on the bottom rear of his 100 gal INT Nuvo and we are just trying to brainstorm on how to proceed