Small crack

[kdogg85]

Went and looked at a 135g tank. Had tank, stand, 2 ac 500's, and lights for $225. The tank looked great until I looked at a lower corner and noticed a small crack in the back pane of glass. The crack was right at the joint with the side pane and about 3 in up from the bottom. Is this repairable or would it need a new pane. The glass is either 1/2'' or 5/8'' thick.

 

[RaptorBro]

did the crack go through to the other end i know about people repairing it with silicon but not on a bigg tank like that

 

[kdogg85]

No, I'd guess it is about 1/2 way through the glass. More like a very deep scratch. I was thinking a small tank wouldn't be such a big deal, but with 1300 lbs of water trying to push its way out, even a small anything can open up quickly.

 

[melosu58]

I just would not trust the crack. You figure water weighs over 8 lbs a gallon and you multiply that times 135 and that`s alot of weight to stress that crack. JMO

 

[kdogg85]

Well, the crack is only about an inch long and it as at the joint where the back glass meets the side. So a simple cut the silicone and cut the glass would fix it. But, how hard is it to cut glass 1/2'' thick or thicker? If I paid someone to cut it, that would probably put the total tank at around $300 plus. And it does have some fine hazy scratches as well, but they are nothing to polish out. I think I will just pass this up and try again. I want to upgrade my 75g sa cichlid tank like I did my sw tank.

 

[melosu58]

I remember vaguely a thread yrs back about a guy that siliconed a small piece of glass over a crack. Click on the google custom search in my signature and see if you can find it.

 

[kdogg85]

I would be very leary of that. It would cover the crack, but wouldn't the area still be stressed? That's my thinking but I have been known to be wrong.

 

[JohnPaul]

My view on this is simple:

Are you prepared for a catastrophic failure, which would mean losing all the wildlife in your tank as well as the damage that 135 gallons of water would cause if they were dumped on to the floor of whatever room you are planning on putting the tank?

If not...then it's not worth the risk.