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Tank repair?

Srt4eric

Srt4eric

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So I'm a pretty handy kind of guy. I mean i have YouTube and a can do attitude, what else do I really need? So I've watched a few videos on tank repair and replacement of broken panels. Have any of you actually done this? The chipped panel of mine is 24"×20" and I found it for about $50.

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns?
 
So should I get tempered or not? Oh, and I was completely wrong about what side chipped.. it's the 48"×20" $132 for regular polished edges $169 for tempered and polished edges.
 
I'm by no means an expert, but I have replaced bottom panels before, with PVC sheeting, going to have a big glass project in the future but that's under wraps for now.

1. New silicone doesn't tend to stick well to old silicone, so there's going to be a potential weak link if you simply replace a single pane
2. If you want to do it right, avoid the silicone you get at the big box stores. RTV100 series is what you want.
3. Make sure your spacing between the panels is consistent you don't want too much silicone, you don't want too little, so tiny spacers attached in there will do wonders
4. Usually tanks will have 2 layers of silicone, the silicone that is physically holding the panels together and preventing leaks, and then a bead of silicone over the inside corners to protect the structural silicone from the water.

I wouldn't get tempered as long as you haven't structurally changed anything, i.e. same thickness glass, whatever bracing you had is still going to be utilized.
 
Natefank said:
I'm pretty sure that only the bottoms of some tanks are tempered, most are just regular glass. You don't want tempered if you plan to drill it
Click to expand...
Myth.. talking with the Aqueon guys they let out the dirty little secret of they'll use whatever glass is most readily available. For some reason aquariums don't get first pick of glass, so if all that is left is tempered they will absolutely use tempered side panels. Mind you this is for aquarium makers that just pop out tons of them, usually the cheaper kinds, any sort of "boutique" or custom aquarium they'll absolutely pass on the cost to you with whatever it cost to get standard plate glass :D
 
Just go with annealed glass with flat polish edges. Also if this is a front pane it would be a great time to go low iron. I've built a few tanks and use motive rtv100

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MarAquatic said:
Just go with annealed glass with flat polish edges. Also if this is a front pane it would be a great time to go low iron. I've built a few tanks and use motive rtv100

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Click to expand...

Can you recommend where to buy the glass? I don't mind driving anywhere in the bay
 
Yeah double check the dimensions compared to the old pane of glass (assuming it's not destroyed. "tank dimensions" can often be larger than actual glass dimensions.
 
Mostly confirming what was already said, but I've done a few panel replacements. The largest being a 100" x 24" piece on the back of my large tank's overflow. Depending on the size of the chip you might just leave it, but if it's large enough to be concerning then yes, replace it. If it has a rim make sure that comes off nicely. If not you might end up having to replace that too, or worst case breaking another panel getting it off.

1. As stated, new silicone doesn't like sticking to old silicone. You'll want to get all of it off and scrub the surface with some acetone or such to get the surface clean.
2. Momentive RTV100 series is what you want. RTV103 for black, RTV108 for clear. There's a white and silver as well, but I don't see those looking as nice. Be aware that this stuff skins over VERY fast. While the tack free time is around 20 minutes, my experience was that it was a noticeable change by the 2 minute mark. The first time I used it I laid down a 68" or so bead as quickly as my amateur self could, and immediately placed the glass. The end I started at already had a slight skin that needed to be broken as I placed the glass. Grainger, home of over-priced things used to actually be the cheapest common source. However, McMaster Carr has it now. Part number 7545A462 for black and 7545A472 for clear.
3. The next time I used this I opted to inject the silicone into the gap. I fixtured the panel where it needed to end up with a zillion clamps, then went along it and injected the silicone. This worked much better. It's a tad tedious and requires more prep, but the results were better.
4. Tape your seams on the inside. I've done it with and without this, they really do turn out MUCH nicer looking if you do. By this I mean putting tape a bit back from the edges. After you're done filling the seam you can smear your fillet just past the tape, wait just a minute or two, then peel the tape. You'll get nice clean lines in the silicone. Don't wait too long or it'll start curing up and you'll tear it a bit when you remove the tape.
5. I got my glass from Glass Cages, which was substantially cheaper than my local sources, but it looks like there's a better local source above, so I'd go with that.
6. Make the edges match whatever the rest of the tank is. I had one bad experience with a glass store back in Texas where I specified ground flat and polished. They interpreted this as polished, but there was a substantial curve along the edge which was a real pain.
7. Assuming the tank was designed to survive it, non-tempered gives you more options. If it chipped and didn't shatter the odds are to non-tempered. This is easy enough to check for with a cell phone screen set to white (ie a polarized light source) and a pair of polarized glasses. Note that this doesn't always work through a case or screen protector.
8. If you want drilled holes put them in before you glue it.
9. If it 's a front (or eurobrace), consider low iron.
10. Exact dimensions are important.
 
jccaclimber said:
Mostly confirming what was already said, but I've done a few panel replacements. The largest being a 100" x 24" piece on the back of my large tank's overflow. Depending on the size of the chip you might just leave it, but if it's large enough to be concerning then yes, replace it. If it has a rim make sure that comes off nicely. If not you might end up having to replace that too, or worst case breaking another panel getting it off.

1. As stated, new silicone doesn't like sticking to old silicone. You'll want to get all of it off and scrub the surface with some acetone or such to get the surface clean.
2. Momentive RTV100 series is what you want. RTV103 for black, RTV108 for clear. There's a white and silver as well, but I don't see those looking as nice. Be aware that this stuff skins over VERY fast. While the tack free time is around 20 minutes, my experience was that it was a noticeable change by the 2 minute mark. The first time I used it I laid down a 68" or so bead as quickly as my amateur self could, and immediately placed the glass. The end I started at already had a slight skin that needed to be broken as I placed the glass. Grainger, home of over-priced things used to actually be the cheapest common source. However, McMaster Carr has it now. Part number 7545A462 for black and 7545A472 for clear.
3. The next time I used this I opted to inject the silicone into the gap. I fixtured the panel where it needed to end up with a zillion clamps, then went along it and injected the silicone. This worked much better. It's a tad tedious and requires more prep, but the results were better.
4. Tape your seams on the inside. I've done it with and without this, they really do turn out MUCH nicer looking if you do. By this I mean putting tape a bit back from the edges. After you're done filling the seam you can smear your fillet just past the tape, wait just a minute or two, then peel the tape. You'll get nice clean lines in the silicone. Don't wait too long or it'll start curing up and you'll tear it a bit when you remove the tape.
5. I got my glass from Glass Cages, which was substantially cheaper than my local sources, but it looks like there's a better local source above, so I'd go with that.
6. Make the edges match whatever the rest of the tank is. I had one bad experience with a glass store back in Texas where I specified ground flat and polished. They interpreted this as polished, but there was a substantial curve along the edge which was a real pain.
7. Assuming the tank was designed to survive it, non-tempered gives you more options. If it chipped and didn't shatter the odds are to non-tempered. This is easy enough to check for with a cell phone screen set to white (ie a polarized light source) and a pair of polarized glasses. Note that this doesn't always work through a case or screen protector.
8. If you want drilled holes put them in before you glue it.
9. If it 's a front (or eurobrace), consider low iron.
10. Exact dimensions are important.
Click to expand...
Very detailed and accurate.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
jccaclimber said:
2. Momentive RTV100 series is what you want. RTV103 for black, RTV108 for clear. There's a white and silver as well, but I don't see those looking as nice. Be aware that this stuff skins over VERY fast. While the tack free time is around 20 minutes, my experience was that it was a noticeable change by the 2 minute mark. The first time I used it I laid down a 68" or so bead as quickly as my amateur self could, and immediately placed the glass. The end I started at already had a slight skin that needed to be broken as I placed the glass. Grainger, home of over-priced things used to actually be the cheapest common source. However, McMaster Carr has it now. Part number 7545A462 for black and 7545A472 for clear.
Click to expand...

I'm quoting myself, but this is important. Most things in life that include silicone fall into the "wing it and it'll be ok" category. This is not one of them. Can you lay a bead covering 3 sides AND get the glass placed in 2 minutes? Are you sure? Do you understand that you're going to have to pull the panel and fully re-prep all adhesive surfaces if you get a large bubble, overly skinned surface, or other unacceptable defect? Do you want to bet the structural integrity of a glass box full of your creatures plus corrosive salt water on that ability?

I don't want to discourage anyone from doing this, quite the opposite. It's a great example where sweat equity can solve a problem (as to if that's cheaper than a new tank is situation dependent, not many people replace panels in 20 gallon Aqueon tanks). I've seen people who are good at silicone glass work do this in well under 60 seconds. Powered caulk gun to lay the bead in under 30 seconds, glass laid in place in another 20, and then it's time to set the clamps and move to the next panel. I've caulked a lot of wooden siding and roof flashing, but it's a bit different when you only get one shot and the clock is running. Plenty of hobbyists have done this with success, but a few have woken up to a wet floor. Fixturing in advance and injecting into a known gap buys you a lot of working time and margin for error.
 
That's why setting everything in place and having spacers in and just filling the void can be quite the live saver, as mentioned it takes a lot longer but no sense in half assing a job like that.
 
yup 1.5mm or 1/16th inch. However the problem with tiny gaps if you are injecting molding you really need a pneumatic caulking gun as you want to make sure you squeeze all the air out and fill every potential void. If I was rebuilding the whole thing and the panels were easy enough to maneuver I would lay down a bead of silicone along the entire seam and put the glass together and just do that with all the joints, then come back with an inner layer along the inside corners for the water tightness part, while silicone doesn't stick to old silicone, it'll stick to new silicone very well even stuff that has skinned over.

That said... go buy a cheapy 10 gallon tank from Petco when they have their $1/gallon sale, completely disassemble it, clean it, and reassemble it for practice :)
 
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