Sump crack

[jgraz]

Horrible discovery last night. I found a approx 7" long crack in the sump. Goes from the return section into the refugium. I'm not exactly sure what's holding it together right now, but I'm thankful that it is. Now I'm in the market for a new one. Of course I happens during frag swap savings season.

Not sure how long it's been there either. I also don't know how long I have till disaster strikes. First thought was maybe I can reinforce it till I can can get a new one, but the crack is in the back of the sump closest to the wall. The only way to it would be to remove everything. Can I remove/replace that one piece of glass? That could be an option.

 

[ZoaNut]

You can replace the glass, but depending on the manufacturer of the tank it may or may not be all that easy! I did a 70 cube recently (Marineland) and it wasn't too hard, just time consuming. Then we tried an Aqueon 40 Breeder and what a nightmare. All depends on how the glass is mounted to the bottom trim.

 

[jgraz]

I had the made by a guy on Manhattan reefs. Its frameless. Lets say I can get the panel off without any damage to other panels. I remove as much silicone as possible. Will the new silicon adhere to the silicone in the bottom corners of the tank.
Unfortunately if I want to keep my top off container in the cabinet then the biggest I can DIY is a 30" tank. So a 20 long or a 29 gal. I'm pretty sure I can get a 40 breeder under there. But I'll just have to put the top off somewhere else.

 

[Olivier]

if you can take thepicture of the entire setup that I can give you some advice .. "maybe"

 

[jgraz]

if you can take thepicture of the entire setup that I can give you some advice .. "maybe"

Here are a bunch of pics of the whole sump.
This is before I set up refugium. Full sump shot. The crack is in the return section starting in the bottom corner, traveling up and over to the refugium section. It ends about 4" up in the fuge section. These are only sump shots you won't see the crack.

Here is the sump with fuge set up. The back wall has approx 1.5" of sand against it.

Here is a diagram of the sump. The baffles are 1" higher the the measurement here.

Hope this helps. Let me know what you think. I can get you better pics if you need them when I get home from work.
Thanks in advance.

 

[ZoaNut]

You would be best by cutting back as much silicone as possible. It will stick to the old silicone, but you'd want a quality overlapping bead. My cube I cut back about 2" in all directions. Laid silicone for about 4" past where I cut it to. 70 gallons of pressure, and no leaks!

 

[TanksNStuff]

I'm not going to argue with Shawn since he's talking from experience... but personally, I'd redo all the silicone instead of overlapping. It can seal ok, but you will need to gob it up pretty good so that it covers the old silicone and gets a good bit of glass on either side. You will probably be ok that way, but IMO if you're taking it out to repair it why take a chance? If there's even a micro mini sized gap... water will find it's way through it.

As far as how the crack happened to begin with, I'm going to guess it my have been some vibration from your return pump. To help with that, try to put a rubber mat under the pump. It may also have been caused by your ATO container bumping it (not sure if you take that out to fill it or just dump water into it?). I like how you made that by the way John. Did you just cut the top and then flip it over?

 

[jgraz]

I'm not going to argue with Shawn since he's talking from experience... but personally, I'd redo all the silicone instead of overlapping. It can seal ok, but you will need to gob it up pretty good so that it covers the old silicone and gets a good bit of glass on either side. You will probably be ok that way, but IMO if you're taking it out to repair it why take a chance? If there's even a micro mini sized gap... water will find it's way through it.

As far as how the crack happened to begin with, I'm going to guess it my have been some vibration from your return pump. To help with that, try to put a rubber mat under the pump. It may also have been caused by your ATO container bumping it (not sure if you take that out to fill it or just dump water into it?). I like how you made that by the way John. Did you just cut the top and then flip it over?

Well as for the sump, Im looking at alternatives(another thread, check it out). I dont like the idea of trying to take this apart then back together. ATM there is no water leaking. I can feel the crack from outside not on the inside, not sure what that means though. I think the baffle there is actually helping to hold things together. That and the water volume in the top off is quite small.

George, I just cut the top off and flipped it. Originally I was gonna silicone it on, but instead I just left it loose. I can't take it out though, not enough room, I have to leave it in there and dump water in. By the way, George your getting a PM

 

[Chrisgarrick]

I've seen quite a few free tanks on CL. Might be worth looking into. I got baffles cut at a local glazier for 35 bucks. Not thin either. I'm in process with my build right now