Can I replace a pane of glass? bad scratches

[cleverbs]

I am getting a 210g reef tank but the one side is rather scratched up, I am hoping the back in scratch free and i can just flip the tank around, however if its not is it possible for me to just replace the one side of the tank with a new pane of glass?

[Donkeykong]

Yes one pane can be replaced, but I would strongly suggest you have a professional shop do this. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on the seams especially on a tank that big. Air bubbles and imperfection in the seams that might hold water for a while can slowly weaken under pressure and vibrations of a tank, 210g is alot of water on your living room floor.

[dkeller_nc]

You can also polish out glass scratches. Most professional glass shops can do this as a service, and you can also buy the supplies to do it yourself. However, if you're not experienced in progressive-grit polishing techniques in general, you will be better off hiring a professional to do it.

[cleverbs]

Yes one pane can be replaced, but I would strongly suggest you have a professional shop do this. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on the seams especially on a tank that big. Air bubbles and imperfection in the seams that might hold water for a while can slowly weaken under pressure and vibrations of a tank, 210g is alot of water on your living room floor.

I would of course have it professionally done. I would be comfortable building a 40g but thats about it lol.

[cleverbs]

You can also polish out glass scratches. Most professional glass shops can do this as a service, and you can also buy the supplies to do it yourself. However, if you're not experienced in progressive-grit polishing techniques in general, you will be better off hiring a professional to do it.

I have called many glash shops and every one of them says whats done is done for glass scratches and only very miner light scratches can be polished out.

[ganjero]

I have called many glash shops and every one of them says whats done is done for glass scratches and only very miner light scratches can be polished out.

This is correct, I was gonna comment on that. I have not seen anyone been able to remove scratches from glass unless they are very light and few.

Have a professional replace the panel as stated earlier. or turn around the tank like you said, I'm assuming it doesn't have internal overflows.

[dkeller_nc]

It may well be cheaper to replace the pane of glass, but any scratch, no matter how deep, can be polished out of virtually any material.

The problem with really deep scratches in a really hard material like glass is that so much material must be removed that it isn't worth doing, and polishing out a deep scratch may result in optical distortion.

[marietrg]

I would think there would be some kind of glass filler to fill, smooth out a larger scratch. Is there nothing like this?

[dkeller_nc]

I would think there would be some kind of glass filler to fill, smooth out a larger scratch. Is there nothing like this?

Yes, the chemistry is based on acrylic plastic and/or epoxy. This is what the "windshield fixing" companies do to fix a chip in your windshield.

In theory, it would work, but the longevity of the repair might be in doubt after a few year's contact with saltwater (presuming the scratches are on the inside of the tank).

[cleverbs]

It has internal overflows that the guy installed that I will be removing and redoing. They arnt done correctly. Because the overflow are very small and just have a single stand pipe in them. I want emergency drains in my tank so I am going to just cap the bulk head and have a new overflow made that's a single center overflow that will have two returns, an emergency drain and a herbi.