treesprite August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I drilled my 65 gal tank tonight and it cracked above the 3rd hole. It looks to me that this crack will not affect the integrity of the tank, but I would like to hear what others have to say. The crack has a natural start and end points, so it can't get any bigger. It starts at the top of the drilled hole, 1" below the tank trim; it ends at the top of the tank under the trim. The bulkhead covers the part of the crack below the tank trim. Here's a pic: Tank contents are mostly in a 52 hex (some had to go in the sump), which I plumbed into the 65's system before I did any drilling. The hex footprint is too small, and the local thugs ate up my money, so I really would like to be able to use the 65 a while longer unless something free falls in my lap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 IMO you drilled that hole a little too close to the top of the tank. I usually leave at least 2-3 inches of room from any edge. But now that it happened there is no sense saying "I told you so". If I were you I would look for another tank. I mean I am sure you could get away with using it but the question is...could you really sleep soundly at night knowing the new condition of the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 Done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I would try to replace it but if that is not a possibility I would do two things. First get some superglue, the liquid one and put a bead in the crack. Sometime it works on car windshield stopping the progression of the crack. Two, I would take a permanent marker and paint a line in the glass where the crack ends to see if it grows. If it does you should really consider changing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I done this fix before. Drill a whole into two pieces of square glass or plexi and then use silicone to laminated them, one on each side of your cracked whole. Install the bulkhead and let cure. This would keep the tank glass from flexing at the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 What will the management and the neighbors think if 65 gallons of water come crashing through the floor at 2 in the morning? If it were in a house that you owned, I would say keep it at your own risk. Since you are an apartment dweller, you need to CYA in this instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 10, 2009 Author Share August 10, 2009 Let me preface by saying that I recently cut a lot of glass from 10g & 5g tanks with a glass cutter, which took a considerable amount of practice and broken glass before I could do it well enough to get a straight line. I experimented with curves, angles, and cross-hatching. I believe this gave me a good understanding of the nature of cracks and breaks in glass that is relatively fragile compared to the glass of the 65. My question could be narrowed down to whether or not I am wrong about glass cracks being able to jump air, or reverse direction upon reaching air. - The crack starts at the edge of glass/air, and ends at the edge of glass/air, so unless glass can travel through air or make sharp turns to avoid air, it would be impossible for the crack to affect any other part of the tank - It is above where the water line will be (behind an overflow enclosure) - The hole from which it eminates is the center one, to there are additional air boundaries - Given that it is probably impossible for the crack to extend through air to go vertically down the tank, the worse that could happen should it turn to avoid air, is that it turns not only once but then a second time, making a section of glass above the water line break off = still no flood potential A new tank just got bumped up to the top of the equipment needs list, but thanks to area thugs, along with increasing pressing need to move out of this crime h*hole, my budget is shot. Crazy thugs already tried to make a second go at stealing my tires, but the mechanic put locks on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 No the crack can't jump the hole but if the current crack and hole allow the glass to flex to much it could create a new crack or failure on the other side. The use of an internal overflow box will help some. I would still laminate it as I mentioned earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 How do they fix a little crack in your car windshield? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I agree with coralhind. If you're going to use the tank, go with this. I also agree with nate in that the rule of thumb I was given when drilling my tank was to put a hole around the same hole's width away from the edge. In otherwords, if you're drilling a 1.5 inch hole, drill the hole 1.5 inches from the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3fan8ic August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 I wouldn't use it.. crack can expand over time with salt/water and temp of the house/water etc. It would be peace of mind to just try to sell this explaing the issue and spend little bit and get a new drilled tank. Even if you fix the crack it can still expand. Slicon/glue will just stop the leak not stop the crack from expanding especially with water movement in the tank. just my .02$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 10, 2009 Author Share August 10, 2009 (edited) The hole is the center one, already has holes drilled close on either side of it. I'm going to the auto store to buy a glass repair kit - I used it on a windshield before and it worked very well. I hadn't originally planned on drilling the holes so close, but after the first 2 realized that to have equal distances the 3rd would be too close to the edge of the overflow box. Here's a picture with the bulkheads and overflow. The crack is above the center hole up to the top of the tank (can't see the crack due to the bulkhead being over part of it and there being black trim behind the other part. Just for reference, the overflow box, which is glass, is 20" long and connected to the back and one end of the tank. Edited August 10, 2009 by treesprite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 10, 2009 Author Share August 10, 2009 I wouldn't use it.. crack can expand over time with salt/water and temp of the house/water etc. It would be peace of mind to just try to sell this explaing the issue and spend little bit and get a new drilled tank. Even if you fix the crack it can still expand. Slicon/glue will just stop the leak not stop the crack from expanding especially with water movement in the tank. just my .02$ So are you saying a crack CAN get bigger even though there is air at either end of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 The overflow takes off some of the water pressure plus the horizontal piece will act as a brace to keep the glass from flexing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m3fan8ic August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 So are you saying a crack CAN get bigger even though there is air at either end of it? l know it's not a valid example to use cars windshield but if you or someone happened to noticed that small crack from a rock expands and especially when weather changes from cold to hot or vice versa. I've had to replace mine couple of years ago. I know car's body flexes and wind plays a role as well, but lets be honest what surity will you have after you use the glue especially since the crack is towards the top of the tank where there be some waves, air and light temp? then again nothing can be garunteed and nobody knows the futre; if you feel comfortable going with it by all means do, we are just providing our opinons/suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschflier August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 You are asking for trouble if you decide to keep the tank. Consider it a lesson learned and get another tank. From my experience cracking most often occurs from not using enough water when drilling the hole. I am not sure if this was your situation but always keep a good amount of water in the groove when cutting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 You are asking for trouble if you decide to keep the tank. Consider it a lesson learned and get another tank. +1 (From a guy who had a crack on a drilled bulkhead that did not seem like it was going to spread, then did spread) In my case, I think my problem was overtightening the bulkhead nut though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 You seem to have NO LUCK forrest, why do you think it will start now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE August 10, 2009 Share August 10, 2009 You seem to have NO LUCK forrest, why do you think it will start now? and +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountaineer August 11, 2009 Share August 11, 2009 Could you replace that panel with new glass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 11, 2009 Author Share August 11, 2009 I used a LOT of water. I mounded the puddy mote up really high so that as the water started dripping through it wouldn't run out before I could fill it back up. This was the 5th hole drilled with a cheap drill bit - I think the bit was too worn and that I was drilling too fast. I think the glass is too thick for the resin to get deep enough into the crack, so right now waiting for it to set, it looks like it will not do anything. I have to wait a couple days for the silicone on the overflow box to cure, so I've got time to think some more about what to do. I still believe the tank will not be affected in terms of disaster, but feel like I need to hear specific detailed explanations as to why I should or shouldn't believe it. The 65 isn't in great shape, so I'm not losing much if I lose the tank, but the problem is, I don't have the ability to replace it right at this time. The footprint of the 52 hex is way too small for a reef tank, everything is crammed in, stuff is shadowed and stuff is sitting on the bottom, I had to put some things in the refugium and sump, and I'm afraid my frogspawns are too close to everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k August 11, 2009 Share August 11, 2009 The only person that should convince you to replace the tank is yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 11, 2009 Author Share August 11, 2009 The only person that should convince you to replace the tank is yourself. I was already convinced to replace it before it cracked, in fact I was tempted to buy Dave's 65 because it was/is already drilled and was in much better shape than mine (now for sure!), but the 3/4th" holes are too small and I want a bigger tank. At the time I could have afforded it, but then came along the car thugs and now I'm kind of stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 August 11, 2009 Share August 11, 2009 You seem to have NO LUCK forrest, why do you think it will start now? +2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite August 11, 2009 Author Share August 11, 2009 I may ask the glass shop up the road for an estimate on cutting out the corner of that panel, to see if it would be any less than a used tank + cost of a ton of silicone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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