[sub-80]

Hello There.

Tried building a tank with Crystal Glass 6mm thick with a tempered bottom. The outer dimensions are 60x36.2x35cm.

This is the first time sealing so the sealing is messy to the degree you can see a piece of tape that I was using to make the sealant straight but the tank holds, I filled the tank three times: 1st for 1.5 hours, 2nd for 3 hours and third just to check if there is any leaks after I cut some silicone to make it look less messier.

When I painted the background is when I noticed the scratch, thought were a silicone thread, which I made worse by a razor. The scratch feels deep, a millimeter deep. So should I worry that the scratch will get bigger with time and with the pressure of water on the tank? There are some slight scratches but aren't visible unless a light is directly hitting it.

Please help me, I don't know if I should plant this tank or .... :help:

 

[DogFish]

I doubt anyone can give a 100% answer. It may hold forever or it could take off. If you can catch it with your fingernail it's most likely too deep to polish out.

I have two scratches that deep in my 41gl rimless however that glass is 3/8" thick. My has held water for 10mos.

If it's in the budget you might consider removing it and replacing that pain. Also since you plan on painting, you could substitute smoked glass for that pain.

 

[sub-80]

Hopefully 10 months and holding.
:fingers crossed:

Am planning to make it planted tank for shrimp breeding. Am using a kessil A150W amazon sun, 100w Atman heater 1 and Dolphin HOB filter.
8Kg Fluval shrimp substrate and 2 crystallized rock.
Fear all the above will become obsolete if the aquarium breaks.

 

[Bushkill]

I doubt anyone can give a 100% answer. It may hold forever or it could take off. If you can catch it with your fingernail it's most likely too deep to polish out.

I have two scratches that deep in my 41gl rimless however that glass is 3/8" thick. My has held water for 10mos.

If it's in the budget you might consider removing it and replacing that pain. Also since you plan on painting, you could substitute smoked glass for that pain.

Just a +1 on the first sentence.

From my perspective, the very bottom of the lower scratch in third picture doesn't look promising at all. It looks like it's already telegraphed to the back of the panel. Could hold for a decade, could run edge-to-edge when you fill it the fourth time. A rare occasion when I would recommend doing it over. It would also give you the opportunity to do a better job with the outer beads as well. With tape on either side of those beads and a convex shaping tool, you may gain some peace of mind and some neater outer silicone beads.
The paint dept. of the box stores all carry some form of tool used to shape caulk lines and are dirt cheap and perfect for the job. You can also shape the edge of an old credit card for the same purpose.

 

[Bushkill]

OK, I went back and did the math. In rough numbers it's 1/4" glass and 18+ gallons.

I've never worked with or heard of Crystal Glass, but I'm assuming it's an equivelant of Starphire which is a low-iron glass, which is known to be scratch-prone.

Having said all of the above, my only concern for the scratch would be that it takes a whack of some sort from either a decoration, pump, stone, etc. which would cause it to run edge-to-edge. At that volume I would be less fearful the panel flexing under pressure and bringing on the same result. Think of it this way: when you score one side of glass to cut it, and rap the bottom of the score with the ball end of the cutter it's done with the desired purpose of making the score run and split along its' length.

But again, there are absolutely no rules or timetables for this stuff. Just reasonable precautions.

 

[sub-80]

Taking that into consideration

What do you mean "outer silicone beads"?? There were some excess silicone on the outside when two glasses were attached which I removed with the razor. (Not really sure what you mean)

Might keep this for plantation and build a new one since its difficult to get specific aquatic plants in my country, its a shipment once a month or two months and they are expensive (13 USD for Dwarf Baby Tears on 5x3in mat) and there's no guarantee the plant you want is in the shipment. You can ask a store to order it but it a lot more expensive.

Might build another, have to check my budget first, 10mm (3/8')

 

[Bushkill]

The "Inner Bead" is simply the thin silicone layer between the viewing panes of glass. The "Outer Bead" is the thicker silicone layer than spans the points where the viewing panes meet at the eight inner corners of the tank.

 

[sub-80]

Okay I think I got it.
I removed the paint and the deep scratch has not telegraphed to the back of the glass, there's probably half distance between the lower deep scratch and the other side of the glass.