# Crack line in Aquarium



## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I just noticed on one of my 10g tank, that i have a quarter circle crack line from top to say a quarter from top. Basically, there seems to be no more room for the crack line to expand. unless it starts going to the other window.

That said, can i just seal it up from the outside without affecting the inside in any way, using silicon, so that water doesnt drip a bit, or should i be very worried and try to change aquarium all togheter as soon as possible. The thing is, this is just my aquaponics system, so the crack wont visually bother me. I just dont know if the screen will shatter all togheter or not, as this has never happened to me before, and it would be alot of effort to transfer all the things from that tank to the new, so if i can just seal from the outside and be done with it, i would be happy.

Pls guide me. Also, for the silicone, which one can i get from home depot?

Thanks in advance


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Buy a new one. Not worth the head aches if it leaks or blows out.
I think its 16.99 at big Al's for a ten gallon.

Silicone will cost 1/4 of what a new ten will cost you.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

hey jackson, the money isnt the issue, its the time and effort i have to spend transfering everything, its gonna take me days!!!


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

but i certainly dont want the tank to explode either, that would be worse


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Exactly money isn't the issue but the horrors of 10 gallons on the floor is.

Take the time and transfer the tank to a new one.


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

Jackson said:


> Exactly money isn't the issue but the horrors of 10 gallons on the floor is.
> 
> Take the time and transfer the tank to a new one.


I couldn't agree with you more. Invest the time and you'll be glad you did.
--
Paul


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Patching a crack of that type is totally possible. I have a 30G than has a patch at the top corner and so far, it's never been an issue. If it were the bottom corner, that would be a different story, but at the top its been fine. This tank was still wet with some gravel remnants in it when I bought it, had been in use for years with the patch in place. Been almost a year in use here too. 

I had another that had half the end wall patched over, with a piece of glass about two thirds the size of the whole end wall. It had quite a bad break at one time, but it also held water just fine. It had been in continuous use that way for years. Only problem was the patch edge on the outside was so sharp I kept cutting myself on it. Then it got smashed by the elevator door and that was the end of that tank.. I was taking it to the glass shop to get a new pane cut for it. Oh well.

Check youtube for Carl's Aquarium video on patching and tank repair. You essentially need another piece of glass or some other smooth sheet material that is as strong, at least a few inches longer and wider than the crack is. For the sake of your hands, smooth off the patch edges or else make sure they are completely covered in silicone. 

Spread silicone all over it, like cake icing, then place it over the crack and smooth it down firmly onto the tank from the outside. Butt one end up to the underside of the top rim, have one edge nicely even with the tank corner. Let some silicone squeeze out at all exposed edges, to cover them, smooth it off on a slant so they don't stand out like lumps. Let some silicone squeeze through the crack if possible, if only to seal those edges from any chance contact by the inhabitants of the tank. Say, a snail crawling over the crack might get cut. So you'd want a smear of silicone over the inside of the crack. Let dry, and it should be good to fill up again, but check Carl's videos, they are quite good and that's where I learned how to reseal a tank from. Worked perfectly.

In fact, it does not have to be glass, if you don't mind the way a solid patch would look. The patch on my 30 is actually made of something that looks very like a shoe sole material. Thick, black, sort of rubber like. With plants and filters in place, it's simply not noticeable, so I am not bothered by it at all.

I suggest masking tape and some paper to stop silicone from getting all over everything else, and a caulking gun makes life much simpler. They are very cheap, not more than five bucks, maybe half that. Not sure, been years since I bought mine. A cartridge of caulk is a much better buy than a plastic squeeze tube, which has only about a third the amount of silicone and is a lot harder to use. You want GE Silicone type I, not the type II, which has fungicides in it. I found mine at Rona.. my local Cantire never has it. Don't know about Home Desperate.


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

You forgot to mention that the patch needs to be done from the inside and not the outside of the tank which means the tank still needs to be drained at least below the size of the patch. 

So you can get a new tank for less than $20 or buy a piece of glass, some masking tape and a tube of silicone and spend an hour trying to patch a half empty tank with no guarantees.

Either way, best of luck to you.
--
Paul


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I've seen it done both from the inside and the outside, as it happens.

Both the tanks I mentioned were patched from the outside, which is why I said what I did about covering the crack edges on the inside of the tank. 

I am no expert, so if this is a wrong way to do it, my apologies, but the patches I referenced were placed from the outside.


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

With such little pressure on the top corner you could just run a bead of silicone over the crack from the inside once you lowered the water below the bottom of the crack. Smooth the silicone a little, wait for 24 hours to dry then fill back up. I did this type of repair to a 90 gallon tank until I could pick up a piece of glass and replace that cracked piece of glass. It held with no problems for two weeks then I made the repair.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Thanks for all the responses, i appreciate it 

I had bought this new from big Al, and its been only a month or two, so I am pretty ticked. I am wandering if it is because I am using a metal stand, with no padding, and thus some vibration caused this, all my other tanks are on wood with a nice layer of padding in between.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

While I appreciate the aggravation factor of having to change everything over, if it was a brand new tank from Als, it should still be under warranty and they should replace it for you free. Als has warranties, and most tanks have good warranties too, for ten or twenty year if not for life, against leakage. A crack leaks, sounds like a warranty problem to me. 

I doubt vibration would cause this. It would have had to be pretty noticeable vibration for some time, I'd think. And for a tank this size, lack of padding underneath on a metal stand should not have caused a problem. The only reasons I can think of for the stand to be at fault is if it is really badly made or seriously out of true, which is to say, it's twisted in some way that put some torque on the tank. 

I'd get a level and check to see if there is a high or low corner or other such spot anywhere on the surface of the stand. Check to see it is level on the floor it sits on too. Check for any really bumpy weld anywhere that might have caused uneven pressure. If there is something like that, it may have contributed to the crack. But I have my doubts, I'd think you would have noticed sooner.

Glass, while it has many strengths and is very useful, also has some drawbacks. One is that it has inherent stresses in it's makeup that are not evenly dispersed in any given piece of the material. Almost any piece of glass can crack without warning and for no apparent reason. Like my 5G tank did awhile back.. right across the bottom, no reason, after years and years of use. No bumps or lumps under it, been going just as it was that for months and months. Then it cracked while I was out, so I don't know just what happened, other than coming home to a big leak.sigh..

Yours might have come from the factory with a really minor defect that was not caught during inspection but that time and weight from being used for awhile has aggravated 'til it cracked. 

The metal stands are very common, and to the best of my knowledge, don't usually cause many problems unless very poorly made or set up on very uneven flooring and not leveled properly. I have that problem here, with very uneven floors, so I have shims handy when needed, or even sheets of plywood, to get a level surface. Depends what it's for of course.

I have seen quite a few metal stands dumped. Some are perfect, some have rust, most have a bumpy weld or two, but nothing that would have made them unserviceable for tanks. I salvaged a few and use them for outside garden shelves on my balcony, with plywood shelving over them to hold planters. 

I had my first 30G on a bare metal stand for years, nothing underneath it at all, with a 5G on the shelf below it, no problems at all. Eventually I put that 30G onto a low display stand I built, but the metal stand remained in service with other tanks on it until I was forced to quit the hobby to make a living, after graduation.

Take yours back to Als and have them replace it. Worth the aggravation, at least it would be to me, to get a brand new tank in place of the defective one.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

if it's only been a few months, talk to the manager at BA's and tell him what's going on. I'm pretty sure they will either exchange or give you some type of rebate on a new tank.

And look at it this way, it's a 10g tank. How long will it really take you to move stuff over.


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## Fishyfishyfishy (Mar 3, 2008)

I have moved 3 90 gallon tanks 3 times in the past 5 years. It doesn't take days to set everything up again. I would get a new tank. Cleaning the mess up if the tank explodes will really take your days to fix lol


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

you can fix it, but I don't think its worth it, I would get a new tank just to be safer


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Ok thanks everyone. Having sand substrate and shrimp / snail babies all over just makes it so much more agrevating. I am going to buy some door/window
door/window pading from home Depot, just to be safer this time, vs having tank stand on bare metal, thx everyone


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Personally, I would fix it. Yes the cost may not make it practical, and it would depend on the thickness of the glass. I have one 10 here with glass so thin I don't really want to put water in it. I usually have some silicone and glass kicking around so A fix of that type is no big deal. I would silicone a patch over it from the outside. Clean the glass well before adding the patch. Use only a silicone for doors and windows. GE Silicone I for Doors and Windows, Rona house brand, Home Hardware house brand. The last 2 say aquarium safe on the tube and cost less than the GE.The GE is available at both those places plus CTC, Home Depot, and Lowes. Do stay away from any product that says "Kitchens and Baths" or "Tub and Tile" as they usually have mildewcides in them.
Do come to the DRAS annual Expo/auction where you can probably pick up a new one cheap.


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## robert77k (May 27, 2012)

Try not to affect the biological filtration when you are moving things over. You can use a 5 gallon pail to help you switch over moving the water, wood, ornaments, plants, and then the livestock. If possible, even run the filter on the bucket. Must make sure that nothing stays out of the water for long.

Then you can take your time transfering the substrate into the new aquarium, and some of the remaining water.

After you put back everything into the new tank, it should be fully cycled. I switched from a 10 gallon to a 20 gallon a few weeks ago and it took me less than 2 hours. Checked water parameters a couple of times afterwards and their was no ill affect. For that change I also stored about 3 gallons the day before when i did a water change, and then didn't fill it to the very top so as to not hit them with a 60% water change. The 10 gallon tank probably held 8 gallons if yoiu include substrate and other items lke wood etc.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

thanks everyone. The space I had to work with was small, and I didn't even know I need glass parts to patch up, and I wanted to eliminated future vibrations, just in case, so I went with a new. Recently, I played a game on my computer, and had put the sound buffer on, so I wonder if the noise / booms went through the metal stand and cracked the glass. I also have a AC20 on that wall, so not sure if it was too much for it to handle...

What I did is, checked online for pricing of a 10g tank, which was 13$ from Walmart in the states, printed out, went to Petsmart, and had them price match it. Petsmart is close to me, so I chose that one, also, the price is better. As for warranty, I felt like it was less stressful to do it this way, then to go to Big Al without the actual aquarium. The Brand of the Pet Smart is different though, so hopefully the quality wont be much lower than the marinland from Big Al. 

Then I went to Home depot and got some Sponge Rubber Tape, the thickest one, which was 10$, and it was enough to cover fully the metal frame stand. Basically, I had to do two parallel lines on each side. I also had just enough to put a little piece on each vertical side, so vibrations don't come from the side walls. Now I feel it is much safer than before, and is closer to all my other tanks which all have padding between the stand and themselves.

Finally, this gave me a chance to put a black wallpaper. I tried first putting baby oil on the back to make the wallpaper stick well, but it wasn't very good, so I switched to Vaseline, and it looks much better. I also improved the design of my tank interior wise. So all in all, it wasn't as awful as it could be, eventhough it was extremely time consuming to get all the parts transferred, all the little shrimpies (still not finished), and the snails (so many little babies). The blackwallpaper has given my tank a much better look, so I am happy with that.

I am growing mint in my aquaponics, and the 10 gallon tank is used to give the mint some extra juice . The good thing is, it doesn't have to be extremely heavy poop, cause I will only be growing mint, which should be low maintenance / easy, I hope. I might want to get some compatible fish that stay small, maybe some dwarf cories, or a fish that wont eat my snails too much, not sure what yet, might not get anything. Also, will need some more Apple Snails, the ones that wont eat my java moss / fern, as those are my only plants in it. 

Anyways, I do need to learn how to patch up aquariums now though. What glass do I need and where do I get it from? Also, any video links would be nice. This will help me in the future, and also in case Big Al doesn't want to warranty my cracked tank, as I will never know the real cause, if it was a manufacturer, or if it was my fault.

Thanks again everyone for your quick support.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

to me a 10 gallon tank is a 10 gallon tank, brand doesn't really matter to me


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## TMJHO (Mar 12, 2013)

totally agree !! it's like a time bomb without the time set.


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## robert77k (May 27, 2012)

I think a 10 gallon tank has a 2 year warranty. Try taking it back to Big Al's. My guess is that the tank had a defect in it. Might have been a hairline crack along the cut edge that you can't even see (Either under the plastic support on top, or along the silicone bead on the side.) A tiny crack/defect can start a crack to propagate, and when it starts, can be very unpredictable. Their doesn't appear to be a sign of impact at the crack, so I don;t see why big als would not exchange it. It will cost big als under $10 to replace, I don;t think they will put up too much of a fuss.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Here's a link to Carl's videos on Youtube for glass repair. There are a few, this is the first in the series. This is where I learned how to reseal tanks and do minor tank repairs.. Carl told me almost every tank in his store, while he still had the store, were acquired used and cracked, often for free, and he repaired them to use as shop tanks. Might not be the prettiest repairs, but they work.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Thanks Fishfur.

An Update on this. I went to BA Mississauga, and was fortunate that Jake was there on Sunday (he used to be BA Oakville's manager, where I bought a lot from). I told him I bought the tank in January, and that I spent a long time transferring everything, and gave him my cracked tank, and he exchanged it without even looking at the bill, though later the receptionist still asked me for my bill, but that has nothing to do with the manager. It is possible he did this as he sees me often at the various locations (I even saw him working at the Kitchener location on weekdays), and he is the direct person I bought my 75g tank and stingray stand from back at the Oakville location, so he must have known I didn't do anything crazy. However, I am not sure he would have done this if I hadn't brought in my cracked tank in the store.

Anyways, now I got an extra 10g tank, which I will probably give to my wife's brother, who has a big bowl with a beta in it currently, if it is not too big for him anyways (he might like the 5.5 better). 

Thanks to all


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I like a 5.5 over a 10 for a betta, still more than enough room


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Good for you. It never hurts to be recognized as a regular customer !


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