Help. 110g FOWLR

[Drklotus]

the other day my wife and i heard a pop from around our tanks. saw no leaks or problem so kinda wrote it off as the trigger moving rocks. well a few moments ago i moved my light bar and noticed the glass ceter brace atop my tank is split in half and separated about 2 cm. what the heck should i do. i have nowhere to put the 2 triggers 2 lrg clowns lunare wrasse blonde naso tang and honeycomb grouper...getting a pic

[Drklotus]

http://i581.photobucket.com/albums/ss256/ligerpuff/saltwater/110gcrack.jpg

[fish stalker]

Ouch! Not sure what to say. Do you have a reputable tank builder near you or local club members that could help? I don't think I'd feel very happy about that either. I've had a lid do that before but as it's not a c/ brace it's not near as much of a worry other than give me a heart attack when I heard it crack.

[D5HP]

God my brain would explode if I heard a glass pop.

First of all, it could be worse! At least you weren't scrambling for buckets. First thing I'd do is try and lower the water line in the tank. It probably isn't a huge issue currently but the 2cm separation scares me a bit. The next move I would make is to get another piece cut that will fit UNDER that one that is 1" wider for a .5" extension the sides. Then I'd drain the tank, move the fish to holding buckets, and see how bad the "gap" is after that. If you can sort of pull the front and back together without much work I'd just get a clamp and silicone the new pane of glass underneath it, let it cure for a day and call it fixed. There is obviously some pressure on it for it to just break like that and now all that force is being applied to the rest of the tank.

That isn't a perfect fix but it would be the cheapest and I wouldn't be too concerned otherwise.

[Drklotus]

i will try to do that. how low should i drain the tank its ruunning 1 emp400 for bio filt, and a large HOb protien skimmer for mech filt.i can drop it about 2 in at most. so what are my immediate concerns

[D5HP]

Your immediate concern in my mind would be the front and back glass cracking from the bowing that is occuring...since I'm left to assume that the 2cm gap is deflection between those two panes. More realistically, the silicone will separate from the glass at a corner seam. How likely is that? I have no idea but I would have thought it would be FAR more likely than a center brace popping.

Now lowering 2" isn't going to reduce the pressure significantly enough to do anything, IMO. In order to repair the broken piece (which could have simply had some manufactured defect) you'll need to essentially empty the tank of water in order to do the work. Now, this could be avoided but I wouldn't want to stick a caulking gun down in my tank to apply the silicone everywhere. You also have to drain the tank in order to see if the deflection goes away. If you have to really force the front and back pane together...I'd imagine something else is going on with that tank ---> potentially bad construction there.

Does that help some?

[namxas]

It looks like your light fixture is sitting directly on the glass bracing, and the heat buildup likely cracked the glass or the glass was hot and some water hit the heated glass.

I agree with Dustin...you really need to drain the tank and see where you're at. At the very least, you'll likely need to drain about 3/4 of the water to take the "bow" out of the glass before repairing it.

[Drklotus]

dustin your post is very helpful.. im just going to swith everything to my75g arylic till i can repair the 110g or turn it into a terrarium for my currently 4' red tail boa. but as i thought the tank should come down immediatly. thanks again

[Drklotus]

random question though.. since imm running HOB filter and PS. i obviously cant run the tank at 3/4. i was wondering (i have done thins for a 2 week period but on a 20g with damsels) if i could drop the water level and run powerhead pushing water through live rock and sand keeping aeration and biological filtration going? then possibly use the tank as a sps wave tank high motion waves. but im wondering this because im moving within a month anyhow and was hoping i could relive the pressure and keep everything alive till i move???

[D5HP]

dustin your post is very helpful.. im just going to swith everything to my75g arylic till i can repair the 110g or turn it into a terrarium for my currently 4' red tail boa. but as i thought the tank should come down immediatly. thanks again

That sounds like a great plan. I had a red tail for most of my life but had to put him up for adoption about a year and a half ago. I was always a herp guy (still am) before reefing and I finally thought I'd give it a shot. My dream is to have a huge reef down one wall of my office and a terrarium with similar dimensions on the other with two green tree monitors...one day!

Here's Judas at his favorite hangout (not me there...I hate coors :beer:)
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-CrQ062_P96A/TgSHJv6RDcI/AAAAAAAAAQY/n2t1HDv2g5Q/s512/judas.jpg

random question though.. since imm running HOB filter and PS. i obviously cant run the tank at 3/4. i was wondering (i have done thins for a 2 week period but on a 20g with damsels) if i could drop the water level and run powerhead pushing water through live rock and sand keeping aeration and biological filtration going? then possibly use the tank as a sps wave tank high motion waves. but im wondering this because im moving within a month anyhow and was hoping i could relive the pressure and keep everything alive till i move???

Well you could probably be fine if you're removing the fish...but you're still risking it with the water being in there. I mean...3/4 is still more than 60-70 gallons of water, which would be disastrous if something happened. If you think the tank will hold for a month like that you might not be risking much though. I can't say without looking at it but I'd probably just go ahead and fix it.

[Drklotus]

so i wanted to update this thread, for everyone who helped me.. So first off the shocking new. i did drop the water level half way, and the only "filter" system i have is 1 1200gph circulation powerhead keeping water moving surface tension broke upand moving water through the LR. im very happy to report that all of my fish are alive an healthy. i do a 15% water change once a week on it, the water is still clear and the 2 clowns 2 trigger grouper and 2 wrasses are eating and growing.. mainly the grouper lol. 0 amm, 20nitrates, and 0 nitrites ph 8.2 sal 1.023 but i did have one question. i see that it can be used, but has anyone ever used JB Weld to bond glass back together. with the high tensile strength and high resistance to heat this seem like it would be a good option to bond the center brace back together

[namxas]

I'm pretty sure JB Weld isn't "SW safe", but if it's cured and not in the water, it might be OK. JB weld is great stuff tho...saved my bootie many a time for tuff repairs on things.