okay so i came home today to notice the overflow was cracking, its the back left corner of the tank (300gal, 8ft long) tank had been up for close to 2 years, the support on top the overflow cracked, and the back left corner has started to crack its just below the waterline in the overflow a very very small leak, the only thing i can notice is the foam board is very compressed only in the back corner where the crack is, it looks like to me that the back corner just sank, tank is level and im not sure at this point what i should do?
HELP! Cracking tank
- Thread starter beoks
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
thatguy559
Well-known member
i hate to say it but you need to evacuate all that water out of there before it decides to shatter but to the uneven weight distribution to that back corner. thats a lot of life in there do you have a spare tank?
jrgilles
Well-known member
Its a big tank, so that makes it hard. My fuge is cracked on the side pane, and I just cleaned the outside and put a layer of silicone on it and it doesn't leak, but thats a 20 gal tank, not 300. I know there are some sealers that you can use underwater, but if its cracking and still growing, probably won't solve the issue.
If you emptied it, you could replace the panel, but that would be a huge pain in the butt.
Is it visibly leaking? If not, I'd put some silicone on the outside and see if that does anything. If its leaking and you can drain the overflow section so the crack is dry, then you could do the silicone, let it set 24H, then refil the tank. Maybe try to seal it on the inside too. I know I've read some glues to use, maybe someone will chime in. I know JB Weld has an underwater sealant that you can fix aquarium leaks if you know the location. I think the JB Weld Underwater stuff is sold at Home Depot (but NOT at Lowes.)
Good luck
If you emptied it, you could replace the panel, but that would be a huge pain in the butt.
Is it visibly leaking? If not, I'd put some silicone on the outside and see if that does anything. If its leaking and you can drain the overflow section so the crack is dry, then you could do the silicone, let it set 24H, then refil the tank. Maybe try to seal it on the inside too. I know I've read some glues to use, maybe someone will chime in. I know JB Weld has an underwater sealant that you can fix aquarium leaks if you know the location. I think the JB Weld Underwater stuff is sold at Home Depot (but NOT at Lowes.)
Good luck
jrgilles
Well-known member
Yea, I'd be scared of spot fixing with that much water pressure on the pane. Maybe someone who has dealt with a similar issue will chime in.
Sorry to hear about this
Sorry to hear about this
jrgilles
Well-known member
Oh, is this glass or acrylic? If its acrylic, you might have better luck, since you can try to fuse the side back together
jrgilles
Well-known member
Hmm, might be a way to fuse it. I don't know how though. Hopefully someone will chime in
lvsuckerfish
g funk
best bet is to call jason with clear fab one of the sponsers here. he will be the best bet for a solution. hope everything makes ok
lvsuckerfish
g funk
I didn't search all his threads looking for one but the first post is a email try that.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54030
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54030
lvsuckerfish
g funk
I do have a 100 you can barrow I am all the way down in fed way though.
pm me if you need to use it. it is collecting dust in the garage until I figure out what I want to do with it.
pm me if you need to use it. it is collecting dust in the garage until I figure out what I want to do with it.
thatguy559
Well-known member
okay if its acrylic then what i would do for the back pane is to drill a hole at the end of the crack. to stop it from spreading. then take another piece of acrylic and sandwich it to the back pane 3-4" on each side of the crack.
for the top brace just sandwich a piece on the top hold together with a c-clamp. "until the weldon dries"
this is not going to be very pretty but it will save you from having to buy a whole new tank. use weldon #16.
i had to do this on my acrylic sump (80g) never leaked
hth
for the top brace just sandwich a piece on the top hold together with a c-clamp. "until the weldon dries"
this is not going to be very pretty but it will save you from having to buy a whole new tank. use weldon #16.
i had to do this on my acrylic sump (80g) never leaked
hth
Good luck, I hope it works out. I have an acrylic tank with the overflow box in the back left corner, and it has been slowly seaperating from the tank, but no cracking. However, water, detritus, algae, copeopods ect. are wedged in between the box and tank. Did this happen to your tank before you noticed the cracking?
so i did try and brace it i just took two pieces of and welded the crap out of them on both sides im not 100% confident in it but at least i feel a little better. im gonna go pick up a couple of 40 breeders for holding (always kinda wanted one anyway) im more concerned about the stress on the tank now, its cracked once and i need to figure out why?
I actually have a 300 sitting in my shop with a custom overflow, and drilled for a closed loop. I bought it off another member here a bit ago, but if you make me an offer that covers my cost, time, and gas to get it and deliver it, I could have it at your door tommorow (if Dave comes out to help load it...LOL)(I drove to oregon just south of spokane). I really need the money more than I need yet another tank. I've leak tested all of it, but haven't even cleaned it up yet I even have all new bulkheads for it. I've also gotten a fair bit of practice recently at rebuilding tanks, and we might be able to work out a loaner deal, and see if we can fix your tank up. I have a bunch of scrap acrylic and weld on 3 and 16 kicking around. As long as I have somewhere to sit (I don't walk well) we are good to go.
Last edited:
