Aquarium Slate Adhesive and Glass Question

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Telsiph

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
13
Good Morning!

I have recently acquired a 110 gallon tank which proved a fantastic upgrade from my old 35 gallon tank. My fish are quite happy in their new home (as is the cat). I've had it going for about 2 months now and I'm getting ready to start adding more fish but there are a few things I want to take care of before doing so.

Feeling as though my plastic caves were a bit too cheesy for this glorious new abode, I acquired some slate which I'm looking to build caves with after it is properly cleaned (sounds like soaking it overnight with bleach and then scrubbing them should do the trick). This tank however is insanely tall and it is impossible for me to reach the bottom to actually setup the cave, so my idea is to build the cave using an adhesive before placing it into the aquarium. I am aware, however, that there are many adhesives that are not safe for fish in an aquarium, and I've heard a bit of back and forth about recommended brands to use. I'm curious if there is an adhesive that this community recommends that I could order online (amazon would be lovely) to accomplish this.

Second is basically just a general concern I have. I bought this tank used from a local fish store. It has held water fine and seems sturdy, but I can't help but notice a few thin cracks in the glass. These are incredibly thin lines in the glass, almost unnoticeable without looking at it at the right angle (I missed most of them until just recently), but one is just barely deep enough to concern me. The glass is about half an inch thick so it is not even close to getting to the other side, but as there is over 900 pounds of water in this tank I really don't want to take any chances. Is there anything I can/should do to these hairlines to be on the safe side? While on the topic, is there anything that I should do to prolong the life of my tank and minimize risks? I'm on a slab so the floor doesn't need reinforcing (which is the most common advice I see from a Google search), but I'd be in deep trouble if this tank were to start leaking or break.

Finally if anyone has time, I'd love some general suggestions or advice for making this tank look great! I know it needs some plants, but I haven't quite decided on how I'm going to do that yet with such a tall tank. I've uploaded some potato quality photos to an album here if anyone is interested in taking a look

Aquarium - Imgur

I also realize the bubble wand is completely fubared at the moment. I'm going to spend the time correcting that once I place the new caves.

I really appreciate any time you guys are willing to give on answering these questions, thanks!
 
Is the crack high or low in the tank? The higher it is, the less pressure on the glass. I use a RCD / GFCI plugged into the power point just in case the worse should happen.
 
Is it a crack? Or a scratch? Cracks are going to go all the way through the glass.

For making slate caves I used aquarium silicone to hold then together. It worked pretty well, but just pick it up by its base piece.
 
English is hard!

Yes they are just scratches, none of them go all the way through and they are all fairly high up on the tank. This is why I'm not super concerned, but didn't want to rush it if any action should be taken.
 
Should be fine. Lots of scratched tanks out there.

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For safe adhesives, on Amazon type in "silicone adhesive aquarium" and you should see several safe products to use. When in doubt, read the reviews and/or go with the aquarium brand names such as Marineland or Aqueon.
Assembling and curing it outside of the tank is a good idea. You can map out the dimensions of the tank on a piece of cardboard and ahead of time plan where the cave/caves and driftwood will go.
Good luck with this.


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Sounds like a good product to me! I'll do exactly that.
 
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