Aquarium silicone

[Bmtiz92]

I bought a 5 gallon, still new in the box never been opened for really cheap, but got it home and realized there's a small crack in the bottom of the tank. It's probably about 3 inches long, it doesn't go through to the other side. Can I use aquarium silicone to shut it and keep it from busting open or is it too big of a risk? I know you can use it on glass but I'm not sure about plastic. I have it sitting full of water outside right now and so far it's not leaking.

 

[Lt.]

Return it or exchange it, it isn't worth the risk IMHO

 

[Bmtiz92]

Apparently it's actually acrylic, does that make a difference? I can't exchange it, and it's a bit of a drive to return it, so if it CAN be safely fixed I'd like to.

 

[chbix]

Actually the silicon typically bonds better to acrylic as it melts it

 

[tonedogz]

Since its acrylic and the crack is on the bottom you could get a tube of weld-on #16 acrylic cement and glue a piece of acrylic over the crack. I've never heard of silicone melting acrylic but for sure the weld-on will it will fuse one piece to the other and on the bottom no one will see it. You could even weld a piece on both sides for added protection.

 

[tonedogz]

By the way silicone does not stick very well to acrylic so its almost a given it would leak.

 

[chbix]

I'm sorry I meant weld-on no silicone