Can It Be Fixed.

[Anthony]

Hi.

So I noticed a mm gap forming on the outside bottom corner of my tank(aprox 10cm long)
(The glass is separating), but its not leaking.
I've also noticed a lot of bubbling (white spots) along the inside of the calking.

I have drained the tank, and setup temp tanks for all my fish.

Can this be fixed?
is it worth it?

I bought the tank used, and have had it ~6 years now.

 

[Anthony]

See images

 

[Salty Cracker]

No issues there, if it's drained. That inner seal is just a second line of strength/sealing, so you can cut that clean (without cutting into the main seal where the edge of one pane comes up against the flat side of the other). your lfp should be able to set you up with the proper silicone for doing a quick joint seal (I got mine from Sustainable marine). The owner will likely be able to give you some advice on making a clean job of it (I used painters tape for nice clean lines). Tank should be totally salvageable unless there's a problem behind the plastic mouldings.

 

[Anthony]

the main seal is what I'm worried about, the two pieces of glass are separating,

I think the inner seal is what's holding it together

 

[TORX]

When a tank is built there is a gap in the glass. A proper built tank is never glass touching glass. The corners of the glass are typically slightly rounded which can appear as a bigger gap then there is. Tanks with black trim typically are also factory built on an assembly line basically and the cuts and polish are not perfect each time. They rely on silicone to fill the gaps and imperfections. It is very rare for glass to completely separate when there is black trim involved. Basically that gap is pretty normal from what I can see but if it is actually separating and if it is something you are worried about it then the pane can easily be redone. After all, it is always hard to really show things like this in photos without a really good digital camera and some photo skills. As a minimum repair I would reseal the inside of the tank as noted above by salty. If you decide to do more, on a plus side end panes are the easiest as you can just remove the trim, then the 1 pane, scrape, clean, and re-silicone just the 1 pane and trim. Front, back and bottom are the worst as you have to almost take the entire damn thing apart.

 

[Anthony]

Assuming the resealing is beyond my ability, and comfort level (that I would be able to complete it corectly)

What is a -90gal, (48L x 2H x 18D) glass tank worth, in it current condition,

 

[Salty Cracker]

I had ro re-seal my 125 gal about 5 times until I finally got it "good enough". There is indeed a gap, the glass cannot be touching, which was the mistake my "tank builder" didn't get right, he glued it and clamped it, but you really just need to glue it, and then gently place it, and just use painters tape to hold it together. Then the inner seal goes in when that cures. Now getting the tank apart is a PITA, but it's do-able. You just have to be really really really patient, because if you try and lever it off, you can end up with chipped edges or exploded panes. It's fairly hard to tell from the pics, but to me it looks like it's just the inner seal that needs to be cut, cleaned and re-applied.

 

[Seasquirt]

Hey what a great reason to go bigger or even a custom 90