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orangefish View Drop Down
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Joined: April 23 2004
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    Posted: July 28 2011 at 8:27am
Is there any acrylic silicone repair for acrylic aquariums that anybody know's about out there? The crack is about 4" long above the water line in an 80 gallon aquarium. And how much of a worry is this? Thanks for responding.
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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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Points: 21437 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 28 2011 at 9:24am
I have a can of Weld-on 16 which is thick acrylic cement. Gel superglue also seals acrylic but looks messy. These are good for sealing the surface of the crack but structurally the crack is there to stay. There's little that can be done for old acrylic.

Old acrylic tanks get brittle then crack and fail. It starts with an effect called crazing the thin web-like surface fractures that are the beginning of the end of an acrylic tank.
Search the www for "acrylic crazing".
Some people have an idea of how to repair it.
Best thing IMO is to switch tanks and discard the old one. This is just one more disadvantage of acrylic tanks. Sorry. Ouch
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tcfab View Drop Down
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Points: 1480 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tcfab Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 28 2011 at 9:29am
Do you have a picture? I know you probably don't want to hear this but more then likely you need to start to take the tank down and start looking for a new one. Cracks in acrylic are not easily fixed. They will keep spreading and just get bigger. There isn't a silicone to fix acrylic, just solvents but they aren't going to help in this case. the only way to stop it is to drill a small hole at each end of the crack and solvent weld a plate on each side of the tank.
Need custom acrylic work? give me a call, www.Elite-Aquatics.net (801)645-6386
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orangefish View Drop Down
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Points: 41 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote orangefish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 28 2011 at 11:28am
Thanks for the advice.
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