Help!!...chiped glass

[Mikebrk]

I have a 72 g bow front with a tempered bottom. I droped a screw on the bottom adn a small chip of glass came out and a 1/4 inch long and very thin bump came up. Will the aquarium still be able to hold the weight. Should I use silicone to fill in the the tiny chip?

[ejmeier]

Not sure I understand the size of the piece missing. Did it take out a 1/4" long piece of glass? How deep did it cut?

I'm certainly not an expert in this field, but if it is only a small scratch, I wouldn't worry, as tempered glass is stronger than regular glass anyway.

Silicone will do nothing for the bottom support. If you want you could silicone another small piece of glass or acrylic over top the chip to redistribute the weight - though I am guessing that it is nothing to worry about.
JMO

[Miller357]

If the damage is not very bad, I would just water test it for about a week or so with fresh water. Should be fine, but never experiencing this first hand I am just guessing.


The reason it chipped and not cracked is because it's tempered. That is the exact reason tanks have tempered bottoms :D

[mikefish]

Actually, tempering increases the strength of the glass, not it's resistance to chipping or it's ability to maintain strength when chipped. Glass always fails in tension. It is monstrously strong in compression. Tempering is a thermal process which puts the surface "skin" of the glass into compression. In order for the glass to fracture this compression has to be overcome. It just makes it that much harder to put the surface (where fractures usually start) into the tension mode.

If damage to the surface penetrates through the compression layer into the layer in tension, the tempered glass will shatter. If the damage doesn't penetrate that far, you don't have as much to worry about. In other words, if it didn't break immediately after chipping, then it's probably ok.

If the chip is on the inside of the tank then any bending due to the water load will put that surface into compression, and again you should be ok. A chip or scratch on the outside surface is always more worrisome because it is that surface that is bowed out and in tension.

However, if it breaks anyways, write back and i will tell you why I was wrong;)
Mike