Scratch on glass seems to be running

[flanque]

Hello,

I found what looked to be a hairline scratch on my aquarium, on one of the main glass panels. I put a small dot on each end about 2-3 weeks ago to see if it was in fact a scratch or a crack that would run.

Well it seems to have run. It's very thin and seems to be only on the outside of the aquarium.

Apart from purchasing a new aquarium, is there anything that can be done to stop it from continuing to run? I know with my car windscreen when I got a crack in there they were able to put some solution in it to stop it from going further, but I suspect with the pressure of the aquarium it be possible.

Anyone got any ideas or thoughts?

 

[JG]

Stress fracture? If so - I would not trust it.

 

[flanque]

Not sure. I think it "ran" the other night when I moved some rock around and rested it on the glass. I've got two options, get a new 3 foot tank for $100, or for $200 buy my buddy's old 2x2x2.5 aquarium with MH, mini reef, cabinet and UV steriliser.

 

[JG]

Glass is wierd stuff - no crystals structure. Tends to be unpredictable. Is the "scratch" in a straight line or is it traveling ?

 

[flanque]

It's definately moving diagionally down. The "scratch" is so fine that you cant feel it with your finger nail. Perhaps its on the inside. I thought I checked this but cannot be sure.

Everything I have read says that I need to effectively replace the tank, which sucks hard as I only moved 3 months ago (probably where the "scratch" originated from).

My fear is that the whole tank will just burst open flooding my dining room and killing my fish. It's about half way up so with any luck if it does go, the fish will be in the bottom half of the tank. That doesn't really help my power head that's high up. I assume that will burn out. Might be worth tutning that off whilst I'm unsure about what's going to happen.

 

[Fluff]

I would replace the tank. Better safe than sorry.

 

[buvaren]

Man that sucks, sorry to hear about the crack in the tank. Look on the positive side though, you will now how a sparkling new tank, without the worries of having a flooded room .

 

[flanque]

Yeah I was fearing that I would have to purchase a whole new tank. It really does suck but the last thing I want is a flooded room - that would be more costly.

What would be great to know is why it cracked or fractured. I certainly have not struck it or anything - perhaps it was inadequate support design?

 

[fishyrican]

Do you know if it is set level? I agree that you should change it. I had a similar stress crack on my 10 gal that started very small (about 1/4") and ran from top to bottom overnight because it was not level. I only lost a few gallons of water, but I was shocked at how far a gallon of water will spread

 

[flanque]

Hi,

Yeah it is level. It's not "perfect" but it's close enough to be within that "margin of error" range.

What's interesting is that I cannot feel the scratch with my finger nail on either side of the glass. It's smooth as without any detectable anomolies.

I would have thought, if it were a crack it would spread pretty quickly due to the pressure of the water?