FishProfiles.com Message Forums

i was wondering if a crack in the bottom of a tank can be repaired?

its a crack that is 10" in length but starts 2" from the side of the tank and ends uphitting the side of the tank 2" from the back of the tank.

would silicon work?

Is the tank full or was it full when it happened? How did it happen? Since the bottom holds a lot weight being the water, substrate, rocks, and such, siliconing it would not be best the choice. I have heard that people have laid a new piece over the bottom and siliconed it in place, but that is really risky business. It would be best to replace that pane of glass. What size of tank is it? Unless it is a big, custom, or drilled and sump tank I would personnally choose to discard the whole thing as would be costly and time consuming to repair. If you choose to repair you would be best doing it yourself. Most shops or LFS that build tanks would probably end up charging more to fix than it costs to buy brand new. If you do it yourself check to see if you can get new trim for the tank as the plastic trims can be sometime diffucult to find in case of damaging it when tearing apart tank to replace the bottom. Save yourself the time and sell it as a reptile house.

Had that one happen to me once, Best fix:

Get a new piece of glass and make a silicone sandwich.

leave 1/8" off the length and width of the new piece, this lets the silicone set in and form a bond.

Silicone across the old piece, put the new glass in and put a few books on it to give a bit of wieght.

let it dry.

now silicone the seems, let them dry, 72 hrs minimum.

now this is the easy way of "replacing the glass"

Silicone will work for a bit, but not long enough to make your repair time worth it...

Good Luck

BeastKeeper

I would never do a repair on a tank. How old is the tank if it is over 10years forget it as the silicon is starting to break down.


But if you must the best way would be leaving the bottom there then adding a piece over the top from the inside leaving enough splace to add the silicon.

Also I would be trying to find out why it cracked.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Hi,
Dont forget when using silicone in/on aquariums it must be aquarium safe. I believe that some silicones can be poisonous to fish.

Cheers
DASHMAN :88)

Its better to be hated for who you are...
Than loved for who you are not

It's better to change the whole bottom of the tank & not repair it with silicone.



http://www.deathbydyeing.org/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com