Chip in glass!!!!!!

[shallowreef]

Well yesterday afternoon was a bad day! Now ever since i got this tank i have been checking it out for any imperfections and until yesterday i've come up with nothing. So i am staring at my tank and i notice what looks like a very very very tiny spot on my tank? I go to look closer and it looks like dirt so i use my nail to try and scratch it off and my nail cathces on it. Before i freaked out though i took the gum i was chewing and pressed it against the glass to see if it was a chip or just something stick out on the glass. so i press it against it and pull it off, the gum filled it so it was deffinately a chip. This about the time where i began to freak out beyond belief. :evil:

Now this is a very, very, very, very tiny chip. I would say that it is about 1/32 wide and about 1/64 deep. In other words if you look at a ball point pen and you see the black dot at the tip of the pen, its about that size. My question is that this chip is on my 210 and i'm sure there is a lot of pressure on those glass panes. Do i have to worry about this getting worse? Is there a chance that it could break because the glass is no longer in its original form? What should i do???

Thanks for all your help,

Nick

 

[shallowreef]

anybody????

 

[Sk8r]

Pressure on a tank wall gets more critical as it nears the center of the pane. It's that pyramid-thing. If the chip is nearer the center, it's more of a problem.

 

[LakeEd]

Shallowreef,

Novus does window chip repairs... perhaps a company similar to theirs could do an in-home repair... that would at least ensure this chip wouldn't turn into a crack for you???

I don't own a Glass Tank... so I'm just tossing out ideas.

 

[shallowreef]

Sk8r,

Its not in the center. Its more towards the left side of the pane.about 3-4 inches from the edge.

LakeEd,

I was thinking about having a windshield repair company coming out and repairing it.

The chip is about as deep as a bad scratch and its not very big so i'm hoping it won't cause any problems.

 

[shallowreef]

Man is this place quiet today!!

Any other tips/suggestions? I am gonna call my LFS at 1 and see what he says.

 

[NaH2O]

shallowreef - I wish I knew the answer about the chip. I have no clue if it could be a potential disaster or not . It doesn't sound like it is a very big chip, but I don't know when the pressure of the water is in the tank, what that would do.

You said it is 3-4 inches from the edge, but is that near the top, bottom, or middle?

Let us know if you have the windshield company come out.

 

[shallowreef]

Its about 3-4 inches from the left side and is about 6-8 inches from the top

Sorry i don't know exactly where it is. After i get back from lunch i'll be able to tell you exactly where it is. The more i think about it the more i start to get nervous. I'm just glad i noticed this before i stocked my tank with everything. No matter how i look at this though it still sucks.

 

[shallowreef]

Okay i got the measurements and i was way off. I don't know why i thought it was so close to the edge. Its about 8 1/4 from the left edge(also the front pane of glass) and just over a foot from the top of the tank.

The pane itself measure 24Lx29H so its pretty close to the middle.

 

[Electrokate]

How long have you had this tank? Is it still under warranty? I would call the manufacturer and ask them if they think it's a problem given it's position and depth. Novel idea using the gum, you could probably do the same with wax and mail it ot them so they could measure it! If Novus messes with it the warranty might be void.

This might actually be nothing. Glass comes with little imperfections from the factory, at least that is how it is in the picture framing business. That's one of the reasons why it costs so much to have a good shop frame your stuff for you (the frame itself and mat are often also messed up... lots of waste material in that business) Your tank is pretty big so I would think the manufacturer would choose a thickness that could withstand minor imperfections and surface damage. Anything that big it's possible it will get damaged in transport and installation in small ways. Sucks to find it now though because you can't put the perfect side forward. Being only an ex picture framer and not a physicist I can't say for sure the glass is safe but it would be pretty hard to break glass that thick.

The amazing thing about the aquarium is that the stress goes in all directions equally and no one area gets the full pressure. If the glass bends then the glass can be stressed and easily broken at the apex, but even then it needs an "event" to set it off. If you had a smaller tank with thinner glass and children who might whack it while playing then definitely you would want to make sure the tank is secure. The guys who made this tank might have already figured small blemishes into the equation. I haven't heard of too many large tanks breaking, but I have seen a lot of damaged ones.

Just my 2 cents Good luck with the manufacturers!
Kate

 

[shallowreef]

Thank you kate. I did email All-Glass and Fosters and Smith and told them both what was happening and i'm waiting to hear back. As far as i know this tank is only three weeks old. It was delivered to my LFS 3 weeks ago where it sat for a week so that my LFS could fit all the plumbing for it. A week later i picked it up and it has sat in a basement for two weeks filled with water with no leaks and no problems till now. I am racking my brain as to how this got here and i can think of nothing. There are no little kids at her house to throw any toys at the tank or anything. I am pretty much the only one who goes down there. I cannot figure out what i could have done to chip the glass. I imagine that it would've had to happen in the transport but that is highly unlikely. If i did do it i would imagine that it would've taken some serious force to chip it and i would've realized it right away.

Nick

 

[Krish]

Nick, I my old 90gal was bought new and I didn't realize it until it was set up that both ends of the tank had a chip on the corners...And not a ballpoint pen chip either! My friend said he would swap it but at that point I wasn't interested in taking it down again so I left it. The tank never gave in so I wouldn't worry too much

 

[shallowreef]

Thanks for the reassurance Krish!

I just got off the phone with my LFS and he says not to worry about it so i trust him because he really knows his stuff. I feel so much better right now. I'm still going to get somebody to come out here and fill the chip in.

1. It will look better

2. i will feel better

3. like LakeEd said it will prevent it from turning into a crack.

So i will be on the phone this weekend getting quotes.

Nick

 

[sryder]

Nick, I my old 90gal was bought new and I didn't realize it until it was set up that both ends of the tank had a chip on the corners...And not a ballpoint pen chip either! My friend said he would swap it but at that point I wasn't interested in taking it down again so I left it. The tank never gave in so I wouldn't worry too much

my 140 has a chip on the back edge where it is siliconed together. tank is nowover 1 1/2 years old and no problems at all.

 

[tankrupt]

hey Shallowreef,bearing in mind that glass is a liquid in time this chip will smooth out somewhat , save your novus money and get a bottle of clear nail polish put a dab on wait a day and slice off the top with sharp razor blade, ive got coral scratches on the inside of my 250 (made me cry) i really worried because the pressure was against the scratch, three years later i cant find them??

 

[pactrop]

I have a chip about the size of your little finger nail and nothing has happened. The tank is over 10yrs old.