Tear in top in tank

Hello all

I just got out of bed for a minute and like I always do took a quick peek at my 150g to make sure everything is OK and I just happened to notice this. There seems to be a tear in the molding/trim on the top of the tank. Sorry for the blurry photo but its the best I could do with my cell phone at 430 in the morning. Is this something I should be worried about?

 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news this early, but yes, very much so. Given it's position, it will most likely continue to tear or cause the brace to break loose. Either way, the glass will blow out from the pressure...

Unfortunately, I doubt it can be repaired. You might be able to replace the rim. I'd suggest draining the tank down at least 50% to relieve some of the stress.

 

Do you think it will be OK till I get off work tonight?

I have been trying to do some research and some of the suggestions I have read said to use something along the lines of this (BESSEY 50 in. K-Body REVO Parallel Clamp with Composite Plastic Handle and 3-3/4 in. Throat Depth-KR3.550 at The Home Depot) with a piece of 2x4 on each side till I can fix it. Would that work for now?

 

If you have that available to apply right away, it should hold it. Just be careful not to clamp it too tight. Don't think I'd wait, though. That brace is literally clinging by a thread...

 

I went over to home depot and bought a clamp and a couple more rubbermaids. I figure I can return anything I don't use. While I was gone I had someone start taking water out of the tanks so there was about 35g out when I got back. Before I left I measured the tank and it was bowing by about 3/16" but was down to less the 1/16" after taking out the 35g


I took out about another 30g and it seemed even on all sides. I put on the clamp just to prevent it from bowing again for any reason.


I going to head over to my lfs after work to talk to them but would I be able to have someone repair this or am I looking at buying a new tank? I am not great at diy repairs so any other advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would put some glass fibers, carbon or kevlar if you have them- pricey though, fiberglass is OK, and Epoxy resin it. Clamp it overnight, should then be stronger than new if done decently. Refill the next day.

I also don't know if you needed such an expensive clamp, but you could take that back, and/of have a nice clamp for other projects.

 

Have you looked at the level of your tank - right to left, front to back, corner to corner - I would make sure you are not way out of level. My concern/quesiton is why it happend in the first place - an issue with tank leveling is my guess. Could just be quality issue with the tank - but you should at least eliminate leveling as a possiblity.

 

That was just an example. I found one nearly as strong on clearance for $16 at HD.

Ever since I had an overflow in December I have been checking the level once a week. It seemed to always be off by about 1/16". I wondered though if that could have just been the trim itself. From my understanding level isn't as important as being uniform to prevent torsion.

 

I guess this could be moved to another section now. It doesn't look like I am in an danger of the tank cracking or leaking.

So I have decided to turn this in to an opportunity to buy a new 180. Almost as soon as I setup the tank I regretted buying the 48" over the 72". The only problem is we live in a second floor apartment and my other family members are now, after having tanks for 17 years, worried about the the what if scenarios. I don't want to spend double the price on acrylic and have to deal with the scratches so I was thinking of looking for a tank with 5/8" or even 3/4" thick glass. I know acrylic would still be safer but do you think that would significantly reduce the odds of something happening to the point everyone would feel safe? Also what about euro bracing, is it just aesthetics or is it a better option?

 

Why can't you epoxy that one?

And why is an acrylic safer- sorry, I don't know.

What ever you decide, good luck, etc. Let us know whats happening.