Help Crack In The Tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lil.guppy]

Ok right behind the black strip on the top of the aquarium and about another 2 inches down is a hair size crack. I know it cant be a scratch because it starts right under that black stripping thing.
What do I do!

 

[jackri]

Is it leaking? If its glass not sure if there is much you can do other than try and seal it with silicone. Very sucky, sorry!

 

[jackri]

Just thinking if it happens to be acrylic (probably not though) you could use a little weld-on and you really wouldn't be able to tell theres much of a problem there except a small blemish... but guessing its glass.

 

[lil.guppy]

no its in the inside and its glass. I measured it to see if it gets bigger tomorrow. I have some aquarium sealent. Should I empty the water past the crack and put some sealent on it or will that kill anything living in it down the road once its filled back up again

 

[jackri]

If you are going to seal it yes lower the water below the crack and make sure its dry before you add sealant... and make sure the sealant is cured before you fill it back up past the mark.
Any reason you know of why it might have cracked? I feel for you on the cracked tank.

 

[lil.guppy]

I remember bumping slightly into that spot on the top with a large heavy piece of LR. I guess that little bit of bump cause it to do that.

 

[jackri]

While i was setting up my new 90 from my 72 gallon bowfront I had a 5 gallon bucket of substrate I was lowering in the new 90 and dropped it!!
Looked like it cracked all the way through (3 inches long) and you could feel it with a fingernail but was just a deep scratch (thank god). It held water for a half a day and I went and filled the tank... year later still holding water but almost a costly mistake.
How thick is your glass? what size of tank?

 

[lil.guppy]

Its a 46gallon bowfront. The front glass is pretty thick for the size of tank. The crack feels and looks like a scratch but like I said, since it starts under that black strip I dont see how I could have gotten rock up under there.
Anyways, I lowered the water level and Im on my way to get some aquarium seal now.
Wish me luck ya'll

 

[jackri]

Good luck... hopefully just a scratch but better to be safe than sorry and wake up with a leaking tank.

 

[robertmathern]

if it is a crack in the glass there is not much you can do but get another tank. If it is not leaking watch it closely. Could be just a small chip and nothing to worry about. If it get bigger its a crack and will continue to get bigger even if you sealicone it it will get bigger and leak all over your floor.or get big enough and break the tank. So watch very close over the next few weeks if it is still the same size you will be ok. If not your tank is toast I know you dont want to hear it but its the truth.

 

[lil.guppy]

I put some of that aquarium sealent on it and pray for the best..
I cant believe this is happening to me right now.

The problem is that I just noticed it a couple hours ago and I put the rock in last night. I noticed the Hydor #3 makes alot of vibration when its running so it probably just added to it.
So you telling me that if it is a crack there is no way that the sealent is going to work? Or is there a chance that I got it in time?

 

[snakeblitz33]

if you had gotten a little piece of glass and smeared it on the spot with the crack and the extra piece and then sealed it in place - you would have been better off then just putting silicone on it.

 

[slider101]

Silicone is only a sealant, it has no structualness ( if that is a word lol) to it. When glass cracks it is just a waiting game. Temperature is a big factor in glass cracking. Like a windshield in a car but in our aquariums the temp is pretty constant. Colder glass will crack more. Since it is at the top of the tank most of the weight should be off of it not like at the bottom with the pressure of the water pressing down and out. Just be careful around that area and you would probably be fine. Just my opinion!

 

[nwdyr]

I once had a 55gal s/w tank bust a seem with no warning at all! cheap azz tanks! But anyway after that I don't take ANY chances with cracks , I would start thinking about a new tank

Just to be safe, Think of it this way ,the cost of that tank breaking and the damage it would do is ALLOT more then the cost of a new tank

I am soooo sorry for you , that really sucks. Whatever you do I hope for the best for you

 

[natclanwy]

I would be looking for a new tank also, cracks in glass are ticking time bombs they may never crack out the rest of the way or they might do it in the next couple of hours you just never know. I bought a used 55g and didn't realize until I got it home that it had a very small 1/4" long crack along one edge. I filled it with water in my garage to test it and left it for a week and everything looked okay so I drained it and started getting ready to move it into the house. Right before I brought in I filled it again so I could experiment with some rock work (it was going to be a freshwater tank) got all the rock placed the way that I liked it and went to town to get some more supplies. When I got back there was water all over the garage floor and there was a huge crack across the front pane of glass, the crack had spread across the front of the tank and started leaking.

 

[wattsupdoc]

Since you just filled it I take it this tank is new? If so return it and get a replacement. I agree it's a ticking bomb. I would rather see a chip than a crack.

 

[lil.guppy]

Thanks for all ya'lls input so far. As I stated in my earlier post, there still is a possibility of it being a scratch. I did scratch and bump that area with a large peice of rock so i am unsure at the moment. I decided not to put the silicone on it because if it is a scratch I dont want that mess on my tank.
I put a mark at the end of the "crack" to see if it spiders anymore. If it does then I will know that its a crack 100%. So far no movement so I am hopeing that its a scratch.
I guess its the waiting game now

 

[robertmathern]

Originally Posted by lil.guppy
http:///forum/post/2907611
Thanks for all ya'lls input so far. As I stated in my earlier post, there still is a possibility of it being a scratch. I did scratch and bump that area with a large peice of rock so i am unsure at the moment. I decided not to put the silicone on it because if it is a scratch I dont want that mess on my tank.
I put a mark at the end of the "crack" to see if it spiders anymore. If it does then I will know that its a crack 100%. So far no movement so I am hopeing that its a scratch.
I guess its the waiting game now

Thats a good idea. Just mark both sides of the crack/scratch you will notice if it gets bigger

 

[natclanwy]

I would do this somewhere where it doesn't matter if it gets wet like in a garage, the crack on my tank didn't slowly spread it went from 1/4" to 3 feet in an hour.

 

[lil.guppy]

Good news!
I think its a scratch because it has not moved past the mark. Im not out of the water yet because its only been a few hours.