? on a part for tank

nando75

New Member
We have 125 gal saltwater tank and just recently notice that this piece is craking it sits in the center of the tank on the top does anyone khow we can go about fixing this issue. We have attempted to crazy glue back together but it just comes apart again. Any advice would be helpful
thanks

 

sly

Active Member
Hmm... That looks like the center brace on the top part of the tank. Do you have very hot lights above your tank? If you do, then you might want to put a fan there to keep the plastic cool.
I hate to sound alarmist but if that center brace gives, then the structural integrity of your tank could be at risk. I would contact the manufacturer and see what they recommend. You don't want your tank to come crashing down...
 

gmann1139

Active Member
If you can't get help from the manufacturer, you're going to need to glue an extra piece over the crack, to take the stress off that point.
Gluing the crack itself won't help, the glue won't take the strain that point is seeing.
From the side, it would look like this:
______________ <- new
__________ ______________ <- old
You'd want to overlap as much as you can on each side. Try to pull the crack together, and then glue the new piece to the two old pieces. This will minimize the amount of stress on the the glass, as well as the brace.
 

veni vidi vici

Active Member
A new tank trim and brace piece dosent cost much and can be obtained by contacting the tank manufacturer. Its only held on by a few blotches of silicone,so it will come off fairly easy.
 

nitschke65

Member
I've cut a few top trims off of tanks where the "silicone blotcher" has been very generous. The nice part is that, if you have a new trim to install, you can carefully break off pieces of the old one as you go. I have to say that, replacing the trim on a tank that is up and running sounds like a challenge to me. You certainly don't want pieces of plastic or adhesive dropping into the tank.
If the plan is to glue on an additional piece of plastic, I'd suggest removing enough water so that the crack begins to close on its own. Again. you'll have to work carefully to make sure nothing gets in the tank, but you need to clean the surfaces you gluing very well, probably scuff them up with some sandpaper, and I'd suggest using an epoxy product, rather than a superglue. Better to get everything right the first time, than to have to do it again. Good luck!
 

slider101

Member
This is a little more complex but will fix it forever. I like to use fiberglass. If you buy a small fiberglass repair kit at Wally World in the the automotive section you can fix it, brush it on, the take the cloth and wrap it around all the edges and under side. You can do it in small sections but work fast before it sets. Once it dries it will last forever but you would have to remove the top brace to do this. It dries fast and you could have it back on that same day. If you see this part you can sand it smooth and then paint it black again. No one would ever know!
 

bmkj02

Member
Call the MFG for the part or if you cant get it what I did on my tank was get a piece of acrylic and glued it with Weld-On on top of the crack. Didnt look nice but it wasnt bad either and it fixed the problem. Fix it right away before it get worse or your tank can come crashing down and thats a lot of water to be cleaning up plus a lost of live stock
 

valgae

Member
i replaced mine intentionally because it casted a horrible shadow on my tank. i dont think you could do this on yours because it is very close to the main frame. i would get a new frame. drain out as much water out of the tank when you are replacing the trim. is your tank level? the crack could be caused by stress on the glass.
here's a pic of what i did to mine. silicone inbetween the pieces.

 

oceansidefish

Active Member
Plastic Weld from home depot...Best stuff ever invented. Just don't get it in the tank before it dries. I used it to fix my flipping refrigerator with 75 dollar replacement handles that broke again 6 months later. been on strong for a month.
 
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