[Finch_man]

So I was cleaning my 40 gallon breeder tank when I tip the side of the tank so it would stand vertical on its side. I put a little pressure on it and crack the side that was on the bottom. The whole rest of the tank is still good but I need to replace the side that was crack. One problem I have is taking off the top trim of the tank how would I be able to take it off the tank without craking the whole tank. Also how much would it cost me to replace a glass that is 18x16?
Any suggestion would be greatly appreshated.

 

[retoid]

It's going to be a job, you will have to pretty much remove the entire piece that was cracked, scrape off all the rubber seal, and re-seal it with the same stuff.

As far as taking the top plastic trim off... actually I'm not sure how you can get it off, they seem to be glued in the groove and at the corners of the tank to the trim. My suggestion is that you going to have alot more work ahead of you that you'll want. For the time and effort it might be cheaper to go buy a new tank. Or find an used one for cheaper.

 

[Khandurian]

A dremel drill will cut off the old trim. Just cut it off. Most of the times, they put silicone in the trim, then place the glass in the trim. When they do this, it makes it almost impossible to get to the silicone to remove it.

If its a standard tank, you can goto glasscages.com and order new trim for it.

 

[Finch_man]

If I can't fix the side of the tank I am going for a saltwater tank. I'll just do what Khandurian said cut off the trim. But I'll add an acrylic side and add a home make over flow.

 

[Hoppy]

If craigslist covers your area you may be able to find a very good buy on a replacement tank. Most tanks are sold used on craigslist at way less than half the new cost. I got all of the tanks I have had using craigslist, and have been very satisfied.

 

[Finch_man]

Yeah, craigslist.com do cover my area but I haven't seen a good price on a 40 gallon yet.

 

[Rex Grigg]

For some strange reason aquariums on the Portland area Craig's list are way over priced.

 

[All your base]

If I can't fix the side of the tank I am going for a saltwater tank. I'll just do what Khandurian said cut off the trim. But I'll add an acrylic side and add a home make over flow.

It's VERY hard to get a good seal between acrylic and glass. Plain Silicone will certainly not bond to acrylic nearly strongly enough to hold a 40g tank together. I would not suggest doing this - if you want an acrylic tank with built-in overflows, just build acrylic from the ground up.

FWIW, you can replace the pane with a drilled glass pane and do an all-glass built in overflow. I'd trust that much more than a tank built from mixed materials.

 

[Finch_man]

Do you think this would work if I take a acrylic and silicone to the crack side of the tank with out taking the broken side out? Will it hold water?

 

[All your base]

Do you think this would work if I take a acrylic and silicone to the crack side of the tank with out taking the broken side out? Will it hold water?

I wouldn't count on it. At best it would look incredibly ugly! If you want to keep the tank, just rip the trim off, glue in a new glass panel, and slap new trim on top. If it's not worth that effort then give it to someone who has reptiles or some non-water use and start over.

 

[sunmiztres]

I have replaced glass sides a few times and it's very easy, most of the hard part is just removing the old silicone. Glass is also cheaper then acrylic, at least it is here.

here is a good link that will walk you through it.
Making Glass Aquarium Repairs - How To Repair Major Leaks or Replace a Broken Pane of Glass

 

[All your base]

Some notes to add to the instructions at that site:

1) Make sure you get ALL traces of the old silicone off. the new silicone will stick to the glass very well, but it DOESN'T stick to old silicone well at all.

2) I like to run beads twice - once between the panes to glue them together and create the joint, then let that dry. When it's cured, run the fillet inside the corner. This way, when you're running the fillet, the pieces are already bonded and won't squirm around at all.

3) Apply masking tape 1/2" or so from the edges where you are making the joints - this will make cleanup easier. If you do get silicone somewhere on the tank where you didn't want it, IMHO the easiest cleanup is to let it cure and scrape it off with a razor. Trying to wipe it away while wet usually just results in a smudge.

 

[Finch_man]

I took out both of the trim today because I couldn't get the glass out with out taking out the bottom trim. My question, will the tank be strong enough to hold water without the bottom and top trim? My plan was to replace the old trim but had another though of leaveing plan like the ada tank. What silicon should I use if what my tank to look like those ada styles?

 

[OregonFish]

For some strange reason aquariums on the Portland area Craig's list are way over priced.

Not when you find some tanks for free