DIY Tank Repair? (broken bottom glass)

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Thanks Ryan! That came to me when we were designing the house. ** The tank is on its own 20A circuit. And the water is straight well water, no softener, hooked to the RO/DI unit. I had my well water tested at the lab I work (shhhh :wink: ) at and I think that I could actually run it straight and be better because it has lots of calcium.

I also have outlets on the wall above the tank for my lights.


** Funny story, The drop and drain portion of the house slab under the tank was supposed to fit a 30" wide tank. But under the mass confusion of the changes being made to the drawings we got a 30" wide x 9ft dropped portion. When you add walls on either side of the dropped portion BAM the tank needs to be 36" wide.
 
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awe too bad lol was it really a mistake??? ;) i was gonna ask if you had a drain put in for pwc but i guess with the sump you dont need that often ?
 
Well it was a mistake, but I got the benefit of getting a wider tank. The drain is just there for my RODI drain. Also it is flush with the floor under there so if there are any spills I can rinse them out. The drain just goes outside the slab, I will eventually make a small drain field in the backyard for it.
 
Another quick tip. Make sure you put the drain all the way to one end of the drop and drain section. I put mine about 2/3 the way and it ended up being under my sump. That is why I had to raise my sump with that framework so that I could get my drain hose under it.
 
Yeah, I didn't think that I was going to be able to repair that 125g, so I thought I would just use a pre-made sump that is smaller.
 
ItchyF1ng3rs said:
Is this the right silicone to use?

GE Silicone 1
MFG Part # : GE012A 12C

I'm late to this discussion... But the two products I've been told for aquarium use:

GE RTV 108
GE Construction 1200

Both having much stronger glass adhesion than any regular consumer-grade silicone.
 
Love your sump setups, sorry to ask a question on your thread but what hole sizes did you cut to fit the standard 4" socks? I'm designing my new sump and wasn't sure if I should cut a 3.75" or 4"?

Thanks

Tom
 
Hey Tom,

My socks are 7"x17" 200 micron, I cut 6 1/2" diameter holes. Cut cardboard to make a template, then transfer that to your plexiglass.

Hey Batt,

So far so good with the GE 1 holding, I hope it works for years to come !!


Thanks,
Hugh
 
ItchyF1ng3rs said:
Hey Tom,

My socks are 7"x17" 200 micron, I cut 6 1/2" diameter holes. Cut cardboard to make a template, then transfer that to your plexiglass.

Hey Batt,

So far so good with the GE 1 holding, I hope it works for years to come !!

Thanks,
Hugh

Gotcha I'll try 3.5" then, thanks!
 
hi friends
i know this is an old post, but this is a yet frequently asked questions. that's why i preferred to share my experience with you. i had the bottom of my 140 liters aquarium cracked a couple of days ago. i was confused between the two choices (add another piece of glass to cover the crack or completely change the bottom). the bottom is the main part of the aquarium that groups all sides together. This was how i assessed the issue: effort wise, covering the crack with a glass piece from inside the aquarium is a way easier. while time wise it will be the same, as in both cases we will wait the same time to let the silicon dry. so the effort is so cheep to have a rigid aquarium again. Hence i went for changing the bottom. i will tell you simple tricks to make the process of removing the silicon faster and easier.
1- use a cutter to partially cut the silicon gluing all the glass sides together before starting to use a razor blade to completely cut it out.
2- i prefer to break the razor blade to two parts to keep your fingers safe from being cut (you may use a razor blade holder)to simplify the use of razor blade.
3- after cutting the glass sides a part, it's time to remove the silicon from glass plates. as new silicon will not stick to old drying one. I used a "painting knife" to remove the big parts of silicon from both glass faces, then i used the razor blade to clean the remaining silicon parts from the edge and faces of the glass plates. this process will be simpler now.
4- finally you will need to remove the remaining fat traces on the glass. some would recommend to use vinegar. i tried it, but it didn't work well. i will tell you for a magic tool to do this, without using any chemicals. simply use old newspaper pages to clean up the fat traces on the glass.

this will cost you an extra day in repairing your aquarium.

now you have brand new glass plates. start to glue up your aquarium again and wait for a couple of days for silicon to dry.

wish this would be helpful for you all.
 
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