ahhhh!

[hockeydude1510]

I was cleaning a huge rock and i turned around and knocked a big chip of glass off of my 2 day old 40 gal tank. :x I glued the chunk back in and it looks somewhat nice but i am very concerned. will my tank be o.k. to keep water in?

 

[wabyrd]

Where was the glass chipped out of the tank at? Up high, it shouldn't be a big deal, down lower towards the bottom could be a problem.

 

[Allivymar]

And what did you use to glue it?

 

[hockeydude1510]

it was on the front of the tank about a half inch long and 1/8 deep. I glued it with Beacon mULTI gRIP a marine and hardware glue

 

[wabyrd]

How far from the top? How thick is your glass? And finally, how tall is your tank?

(Physics major mode engaging)
Remember, at the bottom, there is a lot of water pressing out on the glass. If your glass is only 3/8 inch thick and you have a 1/8 inch crack, you have only 66% of the material left in that weak spot. Think about the mechanics of it, and although gluing the piece back may make it look nicer (or not), there is still a serious defect in the material that gluing doesn't repair 100%. If it were my tank, and the scratch was at the bottom, I'd seriously consider replacing it. If it were at the top, I'd probably keep it. That's just my $.02 though.

 

[hockeydude1510]

it is in the middle exactly and what would be the best way to repair it

 

[wabyrd]

I'm assuming you mean middle in reference to height, what about in reference to a corner. If it's on the corner, I don't think I'd worry too much about it. If you chipped it out of the middle, I'd be more concerned. Since it's dry, I would look for the strongest epoxy available at the LHS to fix it. Just keep in mind that 40 gallons is a lot of water on a flat surface. When I was in the Army, my roommate dropped a speaker on his 15 gal tank and shattered the front completely out of it. The 15 gallons flooded our room and the room across the hall from us as well as a little ways down the hallway. Took quite a while to clean up, but at least it was on tile. The thought of my 55 or 30 busting on my wood floors makes me sick...
I know it's a pain to replace a tank, but for JUST the glass box, you can pick them up for pretty cheap. To me it's a very minor insurance expense to replace a tank. Even my 55 glass box was only $90. I'd replace mine right away if I had a chip in it just to protect my floors. That's just my opinion though.

 

[hockeydude1510]

thanks, and i did mean right on the corner

 

[wabyrd]

On the corner is not nearly as bad as in the middle. Personally, I'd replace my tank. I know it's a sucky expense, but to me it would be worth it to save my floors. There's just something about putting trust in a weakened piece of glass to hold back 50 gal of water and keep my floors dry...