Cracked aquarium

[Ginger726]

A friend of mine has a 45Gal Hex tank that cracked one panel when they moved. She said I could have it if I wanted it. I would really like to get the panel replaced either myself or by someone who's done it before. Everybody give me some ideas!

 

[semper fi]

i replaced the panel on my hex when it broke. courtesy of my husband. you will have to remove the broken pane and any remaining silicone. scrape the silicone off with a razor blade and then remove the residue with white distilled vinegar. make sure that you use it in a well ventilated area. rinse the area well with plain water to remove the vinegar. if you go to the hardware and get clear 100% silicone, make sure that it is 100% silicone! you can use that to adhere the new panel into the tank. be careful not to crack the other panes of glass. put the new peice in place and silicone it. also apply a small amount of silicone to the outside of the tank. with a wet finger, go over the silicone to remove air bubbles and any excess. let it cure for 72 hours and then fill and look for leaks. once you get the old panel out you will see how they have put the tank together.

hth

maggie

 

[Ginger726]

Thank you maggie, I didn't know if it was necessary to take the wood grain rim around the top off or not. That would be difficult. I will work on taking the panel out and take a look. I didn't want to break that rim, I don't think you can buy a new one of those very easily. Chat at ya later, Ginger

 

[Great Lakes]

Thanks Maggie....

 

[Ginger726]

Alright, I got my friends Hex to fix and I began removing the silicone on all four sides of the cracked pane of glass. I have two questions I have thought of so far. One, how do I break the pane out without hurting the others and does the replacement piece need to be tempered? And two, I was staring at the panel and thinking that I needed too press the glass out from the inside but the rim is holding it from the opposite direction. How do I put the replacement piece in? Squeeze it? O.K. this turned into like four questions but hear is one more. I cut the silicone away from the single panel around the top and bottom, can I just re silicone around the new piece or do I need to remove all the top and bottom and re silicone the whole top and bottom since I cut it? Some how I figure I want to leave the rest alone because it seems I would just be risking more leaks. Anyone have an opinion or four?

 

[GraemeK]

maybe your better off taking it to a fish shop for them to do? Its quite risky when all that water is concerned! you might end up flooding the room!