Tank Cracked?

[Arcticfirefighter]

Is there a way to tell of your tank is just scratched or if it is actually cracked? Reason I am asking is I found a "line" that goes from the bottom front pane of my 57 Deep Blue up about 3/4 of the way to the top and over to the left side. You have to look at it just right in order to see it but you can definitely feel the line. I can't feel it on the inside of the tank. I tried numerous ways to take a pic; however, it doesn't come out in any of them.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Is the line/scratch uniform.

By that I mean does it Start at one point and end at the other with no breaks in the line and is width of the line also consistent.? And you said you can feel it, that was on the outside?

 

[ca1ore]

Seems odd for a scratch. Do you recall scratching it? Sight unseen, I’d guess crack.

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

Is the line/scratch uniform.

By that I mean does it Start at one point and end at the other with no breaks in the line and is width of the line also consistent.? And you said you can feel it, that was on the outside?

It is fairly uniform; however, on the upper end I can barely make out two parallel lines. Also, after taking out a flashlight and shining it at every possible angle, it appears that each end of the "line" stops about a half inch from the edge of the glass. The more I look at it, it appears superficial to the outermost layer of glass. I just wish there was a way to know for sure.

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

Seems odd for a scratch. Do you recall scratching it? Sight unseen, I’d guess crack.

I don't but I can't say that I didn't either...

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Thing that gives me hesitation is you say the damage goes almost from one edge to the other. But, If that was a crack that long I would expect it to have failed completely by now.

Safety side of me says not to take a chance and move everything to buckets if possible and drain. That is just me though, there is an equal chance it is just a scratch. I would say if you are going to be up all night worried that may answer the question. Without seeing it we can only give advice

How long has the tank been up

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

Thing that gives me hesitation is you say the damage goes almost from one edge to the other. But, If that was a crack that long I would expect it to have failed completely by now.

Safety side of me says not to take a chance and move everything to buckets if possible and drain. That is just me though, there is an equal chance it is just a scratch. I would say if you are going to be up all night worried that may answer the question. Without seeing it we can only give advice

How long has the tank been up

The tank has been up for 2 months now. The reason I am thinking it is a scratch is because you cant see it unless you look at it from the right angle. Also my front glass is 5 laminated layers of glass making it 3/8" thick. I was able to sort of look down the laminated layers because its rimless and I can't see anything but clear to the bottom on all 5 layers.

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

I think I will have my LFS, where I bought the tank, come out tomorrow and give me thier take as well.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Sounds like a scratch, but again cannnot be 100%.

Last point I wanted mention is if it is laminated it is possible for the outer pane to be cracked but not the others.

But let’s hope for years and years of happy reefing with it.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I think I will have my LFS, where I bought the tank, come out tomorrow and give me thier take as well.

Perfect idea. Fingers crossed

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

Thanks for the help, much appreciated!