# **Help** 40g breeder chipped corner



## trit0n2003 (Nov 29, 2011)

Came home to this awesome new feature to my tank..... not sure who did it or how it happened, but no one seems to be responsible enough to say anything.... EITHER WAY...

Am I in trouble? Any possibly "liquid glass" fillers I can use to fill it?


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## asukawashere (Mar 11, 2009)

I'd keep a close eye on it, but I've used similarly chipped tanks before with no trouble, as long as the seals are okay and the tank isn't too big. How far up the side of the tank is the chip? The closer it is to the bottom, the more of a concern it is, since water pressure increases at the bottom of the water column. If it's close to the top of the tank, I wouldn't worry about it, given the size of the chip (it looks pretty shallow and small). If it's close to the bottom, you might consider replacing the tank just to be safe.

Generally speaking, it's best to replace a tank when in doubt (think of it this way: you can buy a new tank at Petco for $40 on sale-what's that compared to the potential costs in floor damage/lost livestock if the seals do fail?)-but this doesn't look _too_ terrible.

If you do fix it with a glass-repair resin, it the benefit would mostly be in preventing anyone from getting cut (and for cosmetic purposes). It's not likely to increase the structural integrity of the tank in any way.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

First off - get a new tank. It's not worth it worrying about it.

But if you just love to worry here's one additional thing to worry about - if algae starts to grow under the silicone eventually they will compromise the seal. This is a slow process and will provide wonderful worry for many months, often years.


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## trit0n2003 (Nov 29, 2011)

asukawashere said:


> I'd keep a close eye on it, but I've used similarly chipped tanks before with no trouble, as long as the seals are okay and the tank isn't too big. How far up the side of the tank is the chip? The closer it is to the bottom, the more of a concern it is, since water pressure increases at the bottom of the water column. If it's close to the top of the tank, I wouldn't worry about it, given the size of the chip (it looks pretty shallow and small). If it's close to the bottom, you might consider replacing the tank just to be safe.
> 
> Generally speaking, it's best to replace a tank when in doubt (think of it this way: you can buy a new tank at Petco for $40 on sale-what's that compared to the potential costs in floor damage/lost livestock if the seals do fail?)-but this doesn't look _too_ terrible.
> 
> If you do fix it with a glass-repair resin, it the benefit would mostly be in preventing anyone from getting cut (and for cosmetic purposes). It's not likely to increase the structural integrity of the tank in any way.





niko said:


> First off - get a new tank. It's not worth it worrying about it.
> 
> But if you just love to worry here's one additional thing to worry about - if algae starts to grow under the silicone eventually they will compromise the seal. This is a slow process and will provide wonderful worry for many months, often years.


Thanks for the tips!

The chip is roughly 3/4" long, 1/16"-1/8" deep into silicone seem, and 1/4" wide. It is located roughly 2/3 of the way up the tank, so it is on the top portion. I did do a repair with loctite glass adhesive and have been monitoring it since. Everything looks great (doesn't look brand new, still noticeable that there was a chip), but I will keep monitoring and replace the tank if I begin to see any new signs of damage developing.


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## secuono (Aug 1, 2010)

I'd tape some toilet paper over it and watch for it getting wet while looking for a new tank.


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## marrow (Mar 4, 2007)

I would just keep an eye on it and wait it out.You may want to call a windshield repair place. They have glues for fixing chips in car windows to prevent cracking etc.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

what niko said was correct, its not worth worrying about it, 40g on the floor is no fun, ask me how i know. it might be fine, it might crack when its filled. i would not trust it,


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

I don't think it will break from the looks of it, though it is difficult to tell how deep the chip is even with the measurements. If you can feel the silicon rubber then you should replace the tank or algae (and mechanical disturbances like you scraping it off) will eventually make it through. If there is still glass under the chip then you should be fine. The chip is just that a chip, not a crack. Cracks ALWAYS propagate until they reach a the end of the piece of glass, chips do not and so they are stable long term.

The fact that it is 2/3 up the tank means that if it did make a hole you'd only have 13.2 gallons on the floor the tank wouldn't shatter and explode like in the movies. If the chip was at the bottom then I'd say replace it for sure since the pressure is higher and the risk, but at the top I wouldn't worry about it.


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## TAB (Feb 7, 2009)

if a crack was sent across the panel, there is no way to know exactly the path it would travel. it could go up, down, all the way across or any combo of the above.


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