# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  How to mend the chipped glass corner of a tank?

## ralliart12

Hi fellows. Have the following:





Lost the chipped off piece. May I know how (& what to use) to mend it? I was recommended something like "Dow Corning" to fix it, but it appears that is a brand & they manufacture a myriad of solutions. So which one should I use? I will definitely prefer something that can be as close to the original appearance as possible, i.e. at least transparent.

P.S. on a side-note, I have a piece of driftwood that's slightly "cracked". Any idea how to fix that too? As I will want to use it under water eventually. As the piece haven't snap off entirely yet, I will require something that can be "squirted" into the crack.

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## stormhawk

For the cracked driftwood, I figure some sort of aquarium safe epoxy sealant may work. Only thing is, how to apply it into the crack.

The broken glass edge, it's difficult to repair. Only thing I can think of is to apply a clear type epoxy resin, safe for use with glass and aquariums. It should cure and form a clear piece that is well bonded to the glass, although the color will probably differ.

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## ralliart12

> For the cracked driftwood, I figure some sort of aquarium safe epoxy sealant may work. Only thing is, how to apply it into the crack...


Any recommended brand? I suppose as long as it is not too viscous, it will be able to "flow" into the crack.




> ...Only thing I can think of is to apply a clear type epoxy resin, safe for use with glass and aquariums. It should cure and form a clear piece that is well bonded to the glass, although the color will probably differ.


If the end-result is a clear piece, it's fine by me. Epoxy resin? Is this a different type of item from epoxy sealant? What do you recommend for this resin then? Will I need special tools to apply either type of epoxy?

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## stormhawk

They have a type of epoxy safe for use in marine aquariums, meant to attach coral frags to rocks, but I forgot the name. Last I recall, it was fairly viscous.

The resin I'm referring to is used mostly in doing recasts of toy parts. However, some of them have an extremely offensive smell. After they cure, they may give off an oily feel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Wp9CmSKFY <-- this video shows a polyester resin cast and explains the whole process

Once it hardens it should form a nice fit on the broken section, but you need to cordon off the part so that the resin is confined only to the broken section. It might be far easier to use silicone sealant to patch up that broken section, since you can easily shape it with your fingers, and it starts to harden after awhile, and fully curing after 24 hours or so. Using the epoxy may take awhile and I am not sure if it will stick to the glass.

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## Andy Woo

Look for Soudal Fix All Crystal silicone which is super clear then normal type and is odourless ,waterproof and curling time is only 6 hours . If not sure let me know , I will take photo and show you .

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## BFG

Check if it's aquarium safe.

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## ralliart12

Actually fellows, is it still ethical to sell the tank? I have actually secured another tank, so wish to "cashback" on this one. Of course, I will indicate to any potential buyer that "this" happened, & whether they prefer if I fixed it, or they fix it with their own solution. But generally speaking, I'm concerned whether it's a not-so-nice thing to do, i.e. selling this tank with the chipped corner.

@Andy Woo, I can find the images of the product from Google, but any idea where it can commonly be found? Will you rate it higher than Dow Corning sealants?

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## stormhawk

Well, if you have a willing buyer who knows of the defect, by all means sell it. As long as it doesn't leak I think it should be fine, or you can use this as a spare tank to age water or something.

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## Andy Woo

Sorry bro , I am not sure of this Dow Corning Sealants and I am not sure where can get what I recommend because it is use in my working place but if you want I can pass some to you .

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## ralliart12

> Sorry bro , I am not sure of this Dow Corning Sealants and I am not sure where can get what I recommend because it is use in my working place but if you want I can pass some to you .


Please don't apologize; recommending something that one has experienced with is the way to go. I really appreciate your information on this matter. Please allow me to go try to source for equivalent solutions on my own first (still gonna try the Dow Corning brand as I have heard rave reviews on its silicone, though nothing on its glass adhesives); if I can't get any, then I may take you up on your offer.

Thank you.

P.S. I went to check out the promotional video for "Soudal Fix All Crystal silicone"; it does look invincible.

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## Andy Woo

That what stated on the tube 100% crystal clear .Just let me know if you need.

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## stormhawk

ralliart, if you do use these adhesives, make sure they are aquarium safe. Avoid those with anti-fungal agents at all costs. They leach some nasty stuff into the water.

For the epoxy putty I mentioned, it is best to visit marine LFS for it. I've seen bars of this epoxy putty at C328 but they were very old stock. Not sure if they would still be working since you'd need them to feel like plasticine.

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## ZackZhou

Hi TS, for the driftwood part, maybe you can try to get hold of some wood glue where Gc used to make their nice driftwood. It's colour is very similar to the colour of driftwoods itself.

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## Navanod

The "Gel" superglues are supposed to be safe. I had used it to stick mosses to pebbles and the shrimps in that tank didn't die. Of course, I rinsed the moss/glue quite a fair bit before putting into the shrimp tank.

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## ralliart12

> The "Gel" superglues are supposed to be safe. I had used it to stick mosses to pebbles and the shrimps in that tank didn't die. Of course, I rinsed the moss/glue quite a fair bit before putting into the shrimp tank.


Thanks ZackZhou & Navanod, my acquaintance bought the wood off my hand & he's fine with the cracked area, so that's one problem off my hands. But I'll still be looking for a silicone-based product to fix the tank with the chipped corner; though I have intentions to sell the tank perhaps I should then let potential buyers decide if they want me to fix it or peruse their own solutions.

_To make things worse_, I damaged some other pieces of glass few days back & this time round, for some (yes, multiple) areas I managed to retain the chipped off pieces, so I am looking for glass _adhesives_ as well (in addition to the clear silicone sealants for areas where I lost the chipped off pieces).

I think I am too exhausted & stressed out from work, i.e. keep mishandling my equipment when I'm back home  :Embarassed:

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## Navanod

With that much damage to the glass tank, I'm leery about integrity and MTTF now.
It may not hold water for long.

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## ralliart12

> With that much damage to the glass tank, I'm leery about integrity and MTTF now.
> It may not hold water for long.


Navanod, different tanks. Yes, I managed to damage two different tanks & a glass panel (not part of the 2nd tank). Go figure (my clumsiness).

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## Numbskull

used to have a tank which leaked at the bottom corner. Just like yours except my chipped area is inside the tank not outside. Managed to seal it up using a sealant and let it dry over 48hours. Water tested it and no leak. Using that tank for 1 year before passing off to a friend.

In my opinion, i would rather give than sell a chipped tank. Problems might arise again for the next user.

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