[poppyseed]

So today, after two weeks of waiting for the seller to ship, on my doorstep was a big old package for me. My heart sank when I picked it up and heard the broken pieces inside shift. It was my $30 (including shipping) 10 gallon metaframe that I won on ebay :'(.

I opened the bubble wrapped aquarium just enough to see that TWO of the glass sides were shattered. I'm very sad. I was excited because the tank was so cheap to begin with and was leak-free, but now I'm afraid I have an expensive project on my hands.

I haven't heard back from the seller yet, but I'm assuming he/she is not going to want me to reship this shattered package back to him. I don't want to throw it out because I don't have the heart. So how do I fix this?

I know I can find somewhere to get glass cut for me (any suggestions on a place that would do this would be great), but I need to know a few things:

Do I need a specific thickness of glass?
Am I going to be able to pick from different clarities, or is that a dream?

Should I look for the tar sealant that was used in these vintage, slate-bottom aquariums? Or should I just do as I've heard before and cover the slate with glass and use silicone all around?

And should I replace the other two sides too? Or am I just being picky about things matching?



and for the sake of my sanity, whyyyyy is nothing ever as easy as it should be in this hobby?

 

[jasonpatterson]

Any glass shop should be able to cut the glass for you. I would match the thickness of the original glass. Check the phone book, odds are good there is someone close by who can do the job. You can probably find a glass shop that will sell you high clarity glass, though perhaps not locally. You can also order it cut online. Unless you seek it out though, you're going to get regular plate glass, and that will likely be perfectly fine for a 10 gallon tank.

I've heard of people using black silicone to preserve the look of the tar without having to deal with it.

If the other two sides are scratched up/crusty, I would replace them while you're at it.

Would this be any fun if it were easy? Oh wait, yeah. It would be fun. Dang.

 

[poppyseed]

Thanks for the reply I'll try looking around for a glass shop and figure it out from there I guess

 

[daffyfish]

I can't help much on the glass info. But, Dow Corning 795 works great in these tanks. It keeps the look more authentic and is very easy to work with. Hope it works out well for you. These are fun tanks. Something different from the norm. FYI - Some people put glass over or under the slate to help insure no leaks.