Tank glass damage, is it repairable?

[Ghxst]

I picked up this tank for a future build as it fits PERFECTLY on a stand I made. It is drilled and has a cool euro brace replacement but after cleaning it there is some damage. First as the picture indicates the back corner is chipped, there is a chunk of glass missing but where they connect on the inside it is whole. Can I silicone the bleep out of it and still be able to call this reliable? Second all of the silicone was scraped out either to make it look like a fancy tank or it was in the process of getting re-siliconed. If the first issue is not a problem I image I could just silicone the insides or do I have to take it all apart?

In short, is this tank safe if I put a lot of silicone in the chipped area and silicone the insides really good? I don't need a tank explosion anytime ever

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Thanks for any advice!

 

[JuanGutz]

I wouldn't trust it.. It's at the bottom in a corner... But hopefully someone will chime in with more experience.

 

[Ghxst]

Yeah the side glass is chipped clean out with the gap getting wider at the attached bottom, maybe a few millimeters at most. How difficult is it to replace the glass?

 

[scchase]

I would use it but that is just me superficial damage like that with a defined break point isn't ussually a problem

 

[zombie]

I would be more worried about the bracing damage than the crack. If you silicone it well and replace the entire bottom brace it should hold up fine, but without that brace replacement, you have a weak point in the glass at the weakest point in the structure and that is a recipe for disaster.

Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe and not make messes in the house. -robert heinlein

 

[ReefCheif]

I wouldnt use it without completley replacing the broken glass. Heres why, water is very destructive, put some salt in that water and it even worse. Water will find its way through there, I dont care how much silicone you put there, it will find its way, thats what water does and why it is the most destructive force on the face of the earth. Not to be played with!

 

[Ghxst]

Thanks for the reassurance lol, maybe when I am ready I can reuse the acrylic top on a new tank. Is replacing the glass and brace something dyi friendly?

 

[charleshardy5]

It can be a pain and its time consuming. Im about to reseal the bottom of a 125 by removing the whole bottom itself. Just gotta be careful and take your time

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[SynDen]

Looks fairly superficial to me. Think you could just put a bead of silicon over the outside edge, let it dry then fill it with water and leak test it to be sure. I recently resealed my 75g and it really not that hard since it is empty. Mine was a pian cause I hard to relocate everything in it temporarily and then put it all back.
Just strip out the inner silicon, but leave the silicon that is holding the glass together. Then mask all the edges to the thickness you want for the silicon. Run beads down each of the seams and remove the masking as soon as you done with the beads. Let dry for 2 days then fill with water and leak test it

 

[SynDen]

Also if you need help resealing it or anything, let me know. I would be happy to help out

 

[Ghxst]

I've got time till the build so I may just make this a real project

Thanks for the advice everyone, I've got a lot of thinking to do...

 

[Skrappy]

you could always pull it all apart and put the broken bits on the top back corner instead of the bottom. then a canopy would cover it ad it would be mostly cosmetic right? and then you know everything is siliconed in well

 

[Ghxst]

Thanks for the reminder! looking at the tank again its kinda scratched up, I think I am going to put this one aside for a botany project or something where you don't have to look through it. But great Idea, I will turn the glass around to get some practice!