jakel2k Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 I have a 30G with a crack on the corner of the front pane and it seems that the trip is also cracked. I asked the staff at Big Al's and they said it wasn't worth fixing. I have no idea what to do with the thing and I don't want it to go to waste. Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_man Posted April 14, 2005 Report Share Posted April 14, 2005 take a piece of glass about 1 cm-3 cm bigger than the crack(all around) and then u silicone the part with the crack and then u place the new glass down. not the prettiest ever but it will last. and if not then get a lizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakel2k Posted April 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 Inside or outside the tank? The crack is actually right on the corner where the trim is. I'm thinking I'd have to replace the pane. Is there a place I can get a replacement pane? How about getting a used damaged tank for parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish_man Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 on the inside. and u can always look into geting a few lizards :P and im not sure as to the pane thing, u might have to coustom order it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rahim101 Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 You can goto any glass shops and have a piece cut for like $10-15 dollars plus the silicone ($4.99) plus the time and effort....you can get a new 33 gallon for like $40.00...Not worth the trouble of fixing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richer Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 I had a 15gallon tank sitting around with a crack in the corner much like how you described. I had some leftover glass sitting around, a quick pass with my glass cutter and a bit of silicon was all it took to patch it up. I have it running right now without a problem. -Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 Sell it as a lizard tank, and use the money to buy a new one. Best bang for your buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pufferpack Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 I have a 33 gal that cracked accross the front. I cut a piece to the same size as the inside dimensions and siliconed it to the inside of the cracked pane, with the background sandwiched between the panes, and have been using it for a couple years now with no problems. Looks good too, as you the crack is hidden by the background. If you need some glass let me know, I have lots spare in the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakel2k Posted April 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 I like the idea of going to a glass shop and building a NEW 33G for $40. Is there a specific type of glass I should ask for? Anyone know of a good place to get the glass cheap? :thumbs: :beer: I did look into building an acrylic tank but the prices are crazy. $360 for a 4'x8' sheet of 1/2", (enough to build a 90G but a 90G from Big Al's is $260). Working with glass kinda scares me. Do I need to buy some trim to enforce the tank? I was told that trim is the main thing keeping the tank from ripping at the seams. Damn I might even go bigger and better if prices are cheap enough. -07- Off to do some research on how to build a glass tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arixonbarnes Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 For starters you could look at Constructing Your Glass Aquarium by Madan Subramania on www.aquarticles.com and www.thekrib.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Big or Go Home! Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 if you trully want a bigger tank and you are thinking about a 90g the same even more money by going to golds to get it 90g=$180 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakel2k Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 That's funny, I just went to Gold's for the first time today. Very impressive selection of fish. I'll have to call them about it. I'm quite suprised that getting the raw materials for a tank is more costly than the the tank itself. How does that work??? My plans on a tank building project went from reading up on acrylic, getting stunned by the price of a sheet of acrylic, reading up on glass, getting stunned by the price of cut glass. :boom: Oh well at least I'm supporting my LFS. :ml: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Volume is the way it works. The price of a sheet of acrylic / glass would go down considerably if you were to buy 100's of sheets instead of one. Also factor in the labour cost. Someone who builds tanks for a living could easily be 10 times faster than yourself and offer 10 tanks for sale opposed to your single one. My suggestion is to get a bit of glass, make an ugly but functional patch and use the tank as a sump, grow-out tank, reptile cage, etc. Or sell it to someone who will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakel2k Posted April 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 I can see that happening but usually in those cases the cost in DIY projets is at least comparable with the in store one, (factoring out the man hour cost of course.) I've done several DYI projects like several tank stands, canopies, filters as well as not aqua related projects and the cost of the raw material range from 0% to at MOST 75% - 80% of the cost of the in store finished product. Over 30% more for the raw material than the retail value of the finished product is somehow very wrong IMHO. Somehow I feel that the glass / acrylic retailers are trying to bend me over or the LFS makes little or no profit from selling similar tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakel2k Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Okay so after letting this sit for a few months I'm considering trying to patch the broken part up with another piece of glass. So what can I use for glass? Would glass from a picture frame work? I could probably get that pretty cheap and already cut to the size I'd need. What about the trim? The bottom trim is cracked. So should I swap the good top trim and the cracked bottom trim so that the crack is not the top? Is the trim even required? I don't mind spending time on this since I am getting to learn something out of it. But I'm not willing to take a chance that a pane will shatter when it's in the living room and my toddler is sitting near it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.