Crack in glass?

Christine Rawlings · Sep 16, 2024

I noticed a small crack on the glass of my tank and the crack is on the inside. I have no idea how it got there maybe pressure from a magnet in the past or something. It is like a hair crack and impossible to take a picture of. It seems the crack has traveled down some and it’s an hair line and I wanted to know if this has happened to anyone else and what eventually happened. I’m so worried and wondering if I should buy a new tank.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 16, 2024

Tamberav said:
If it’s a scratch, you are fine, if it is a crack, new tank asap. Whole pane could collapse.

If it’s a crack you should be able to feel it on the outside, even just slightly. Try and catch it with your nail.

I don’t know if I’m in denial or if my acrylic nails are the issue but I don’t feel anything on the outside. But I just came to the conclusion that I know it’s traveling so it’s not good, so I better just do something about it.

Dom · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
So this is my first tank and it’s 20g, 32g with the sump. I do want to get something just a little bigger, and it would make all of the hard work to start a new tank worth it, maybe.

Just be careful when it comes to upgrading the size of the tank.

If you go too big, you will have to upgrade other equipment too (think lights and skimmer). If you want this expense, then great!

But I've seen reefers upgrade and then discover their lighting is inadequate for the bigger tank.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

Dom said:
Just be careful when it comes to upgrading the size of the tank.

If you go too big, you will have to upgrade other equipment too (think lights and skimmer). If you want this expense, then great!

But I've seen reefers upgrade and then discover their lighting is inadequate for the bigger tank.

I have definelty been considering what you are saying. It’s hard already because the tank and stand and plumbing I have is all custom from the person who gave it to me and set it up for me originally. I no longer have contact with this person to see the easiest way to go about just replacing the glass tank because of the placement of the plumbing. I am pretty sure he made the holes himself unless I am missing something. He even installed the lights hanging from the ceiling for me but I’m pretty sure I can manage to adjust them height wise if needed. I am going to ask the opinion of someone here locally that’s willing to come take a look and help me but that’s no easy task in my city. Another thing, what makes me kind of want to upgrade and take on the expense is because I would love to have a few specific tangs I can’t have with this size tank. I had a baby blue hippo tang initially but grew so fast and I had to rehome her. But the expense and figuring out what is best to buy is overwhelming for me since I’m still only a little under 2 years in this hobby.

Jimbo327 · Sep 17, 2024

Mark the ends of the crack on the outside with a dry erase marker...and to check if it is traveling.

If it is traveling, it can result in a sudden blowout. I would take down that tank sooner rather than later. If it is not traveling, then it may just be a deep scratch on the inside and would be fine structurally...just cosmetically problematic.

If you are not handy or can set up the new tank in its place, you might have to hire a LFS to do that for you.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

Jimbo327 said:
Mark the ends of the crack on the outside with a dry erase marker...and to check if it is traveling.

If it is traveling, it can result in a sudden blowout. I would take down that tank sooner rather than later. If it is not traveling, then it may just be a deep scratch on the inside and would be fine structurally...just cosmetically problematic.

If you are not handy or can set up the new tank in its place, you might have to hire a LFS to do that for you.

Thank you, I already reached out to hire help because I don’t want to risk it. I can put together plumbing and set up everything etc. I’m more nervous about transferring everything and I’m new to the hobby so what do I need to buy new (like the sand) etc to make sure I don’t kill everything in my tank in the process. I have watched videos on YouTube etc but I’m still nervous. Also, It doesn’t seem to be traveling fast but I wonder what caused it to travel when the small crack was there for a while, that’s why I thought just a scratch.

Dburr1014 · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
I noticed a small crack on the glass of my tank and the crack is on the inside. I have no idea how it got there maybe pressure from a magnet in the past or something. It is like a hair crack and impossible to take a picture of. It seems the crack has traveled down some and it’s an hair line and I wanted to know if this has happened to anyone else and what eventually happened. I’m so worried and wondering if I should buy a new tank.

I had a crack in my 75g, bottom right front panel. It started about 1/2" and grew to about 1.25". The tank was < a year old and replaced from aqueon for free.
They lfs owner said he has never seen an aqueon crack like this before. It was clearly a bad tank.

Dburr1014 · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
These are the best pics I got so far with lights off. The last pic shows the hair lines that are smaller than the original crack that I believe is where it traveled. The crack was there a while before I noticed it traveling.

I would use a Mr. Clean pad and wipe the area inside. Looks too me it's a scratch with algae stuck to it. The pad will clean it out if its only a scratch.

ScottD · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
Thank you, I already reached out to hire help because I don’t want to risk it. I can put together plumbing and set up everything etc. I’m more nervous about transferring everything and I’m new to the hobby so what do I need to buy new (like the sand) etc to make sure I don’t kill everything in my tank in the process. I have watched videos on YouTube etc but I’m still nervous. Also, It doesn’t seem to be traveling fast but I wonder what caused it to travel when the small crack was there for a while, that’s why I thought just a scratch.

It’s possible the fine line was there all along, just something changed to make it more noticeable. Maybe algae started growing and made it show up or maybe you never noticed the fine lines part of it and only saw the bigger one. I’d do what @Dburr1014 said and wipe it down good and then marked the ends so you know exactly where it is and keep an eye on it. By marking it you aren’t judging by memory on whether it grew or not. The mind can play tricks on us.
Another thing to check out is whether the glass is tempered. If it is tempered glass, it’s a scratch and not a crack. A crack in tempered glass shatters. More than likely it isn’t tempered but just thinking outside the box a little.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

ScottD said:
It’s possible the fine line was there all along, just something changed to make it more noticeable. Maybe algae started growing and made it show up or maybe you never noticed the fine lines part of it and only saw the bigger one. I’d do what @Dburr1014 said and wipe it down good and then marked the ends so you know exactly where it is and keep an eye on it. By marking it you aren’t judging by memory on whether it grew or not. The mind can play tricks on us.
Another thing to check out is whether the glass is tempered. If it is tempered glass, it’s a scratch and not a crack. A crack in tempered glass shatters. More than likely it isn’t tempered but just thinking outside the box a little.

Thank you, so I wiped it down good and as I was marking it I started noticing other “cracks or scratches” I never noticed before. These are not connected to the other one but random in the front glass. I feel like I would have noticed them for sure I am always cleaning the glass and starring at my tank. Do you know if one crack can cause other cracks to happen but not attached to it? Also I don’t know if it’s tempered glass, this tank was given to me but it’s like a 20g petsmart brand or something I sure. The pic is just so you see what I mean but you can’t see the scratches on it. I do agree they algae may have made these more noticeable.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

Ironwill723 said:
Is the tank made of acrylic or plate glass?

I’m not sure, it was given to me. How can I tell?

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

Tamberav said:
Petco 50 percent off is going right now. I would move the inhabitants asap if it’s a crack/spreading.

How would you recommend moving the inhabitants of the tank?

Tamberav · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
How would you recommend moving the inhabitants of the tank?

Just move rock and inhabitants to the new tank, use new sand, can seed with a cup of your own. The reason not to use the old sand is there is likely organics in it we don't want to stir up.

Move old water plus use some new water so basically doing a water change with the move.

mh0ward · Sep 17, 2024

It’s only 20 gallons, just get a big plastic storage bin from Walmart or something and start draining the water into it. After it’s like half full, start moving everything over to it, then drain the rest of the water into the storage bin.

Dom · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
I have definelty been considering what you are saying. It’s hard already because the tank and stand and plumbing I have is all custom from the person who gave it to me and set it up for me originally. I no longer have contact with this person to see the easiest way to go about just replacing the glass tank because of the placement of the plumbing. I am pretty sure he made the holes himself unless I am missing something. He even installed the lights hanging from the ceiling for me but I’m pretty sure I can manage to adjust them height wise if needed. I am going to ask the opinion of someone here locally that’s willing to come take a look and help me but that’s no easy task in my city. Another thing, what makes me kind of want to upgrade and take on the expense is because I would love to have a few specific tangs I can’t have with this size tank. I had a baby blue hippo tang initially but grew so fast and I had to rehome her. But the expense and figuring out what is best to buy is overwhelming for me since I’m still only a little under 2 years in this hobby.

A good place to start would be to get feedback from local people in the hobby, which you already intend to do. If you could post some pictures; full tank shots from the front and sides along with pictures of the sump, we can provide more detailed feedback.

Consider this where lighting is concerned:

The lighting demands of a Reef Tank are far greater than that of a Fish Only With Live Rock setup. So when choosing a light for your reef tank, consider the following:

Light Spread. When we speak of light spread, we are speaking of the area which a light covers.

An easy way to demonstrate light spread would be to take a flashlight, turn it on and stand it on end with the light facing down on a table. Now, slowly pick it straight up, moving away from the table. Notice that as you move the flashlight further from the table, the area of the table covered by light increases. The growing and shrinking of the area covered by light on the table based on the distance from the table is the spread.

So when selecting a light, the spread must cover the footprint of the tank. And much in the same way you adjusted the spread of light on the table top by changing the distance of the light from the table, you can adjust the spread of your light by changing the height at which the light hangs over the aquarium. But there is more…

Light Intensity. It isn’t enough that your light spread covers the entire footprint of your tank. It must do so with the proper light intensity as well.

When speaking of light and it’s intensity in aquariums, people will reference light measurements in “lumen” or “PAR”. What is the difference between PAR and Lumen? As I understand it, lumen are used to measure the brightness of light as perceived by the human eye.

PAR is the amount of light that is actually available to be used during the photosynthesis process. So when speaking in terms of PAR, we are speaking about the portions of the light spectrum usable by the inhabitants in the tank.

xeqtologist · Sep 17, 2024

you can take your fingernail and scratch it on both sides. since tempered and non tempered one sheet panes will not have an inside scratch and nothing feelable on the outside. id just take your finger and feel the scratch on the inside and outside with the edge of your nail. I'd probably replace the tank anyways but depending on how big it is id wince at most prices nowadays. Likely if it was a crack on a tempered glass pane it would collapse especially if your tank is 50 gal+.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

Dom said:
A good place to start would be to get feedback from local people in the hobby, which you already intend to do. If you could post some pictures; full tank shots from the front and sides along with pictures of the sump, we can provide more detailed feedback.

Consider this where lighting is concerned:

The lighting demands of a Reef Tank are far greater than that of a Fish Only With Live Rock setup. So when choosing a light for your reef tank, consider the following:

Light Spread. When we speak of light spread, we are speaking of the area which a light covers.

An easy way to demonstrate light spread would be to take a flashlight, turn it on and stand it on end with the light facing down on a table. Now, slowly pick it straight up, moving away from the table. Notice that as you move the flashlight further from the table, the area of the table covered by light increases. The growing and shrinking of the area covered by light on the table based on the distance from the table is the spread.

So when selecting a light, the spread must cover the footprint of the tank. And much in the same way you adjusted the spread of light on the table top by changing the distance of the light from the table, you can adjust the spread of your light by changing the height at which the light hangs over the aquarium. But there is more…

Light Intensity. It isn’t enough that your light spread covers the entire footprint of your tank. It must do so with the proper light intensity as well.

When speaking of light and it’s intensity in aquariums, people will reference light measurements in “lumen” or “PAR”. What is the difference between PAR and Lumen? As I understand it, lumen are used to measure the brightness of light as perceived by the human eye.

PAR is the amount of light that is actually available to be used during the photosynthesis process. So when speaking in terms of PAR, we are speaking about the portions of the light spectrum usable by the inhabitants in the tank.

Wow thank you so much for all of the information. Let me attach some pics and videos to give you an idea.

Dburr1014 · Sep 17, 2024

Christine Rawlings said:
Thank you, so I wiped it down good and as I was marking it I started noticing other “cracks or scratches” I never noticed before. These are not connected to the other one but random in the front glass. I feel like I would have noticed them for sure I am always cleaning the glass and starring at my tank. Do you know if one crack can cause other cracks to happen but not attached to it? Also I don’t know if it’s tempered glass, this tank was given to me but it’s like a 20g petsmart brand or something I sure. The pic is just so you see what I mean but you can’t see the scratches on it. I do agree they algae may have made these more noticeable.

I think maybe you picked up sand when cleaning and scratched it.
It's really easy to do without noticing.

Christine Rawlings · Sep 17, 2024

Dom said:
A good place to start would be to get feedback from local people in the hobby, which you already intend to do. If you could post some pictures; full tank shots from the front and sides along with pictures of the sump, we can provide more detailed feedback.

Consider this where lighting is concerned:

The lighting demands of a Reef Tank are far greater than that of a Fish Only With Live Rock setup. So when choosing a light for your reef tank, consider the following:

Light Spread. When we speak of light spread, we are speaking of the area which a light covers.

An easy way to demonstrate light spread would be to take a flashlight, turn it on and stand it on end with the light facing down on a table. Now, slowly pick it straight up, moving away from the table. Notice that as you move the flashlight further from the table, the area of the table covered by light increases. The growing and shrinking of the area covered by light on the table based on the distance from the table is the spread.

So when selecting a light, the spread must cover the footprint of the tank. And much in the same way you adjusted the spread of light on the table top by changing the distance of the light from the table, you can adjust the spread of your light by changing the height at which the light hangs over the aquarium. But there is more…

Light Intensity. It isn’t enough that your light spread covers the entire footprint of your tank. It must do so with the proper light intensity as well.

When speaking of light and it’s intensity in aquariums, people will reference light measurements in “lumen” or “PAR”. What is the difference between PAR and Lumen? As I understand it, lumen are used to measure the brightness of light as perceived by the human eye.

PAR is the amount of light that is actually available to be used during the photosynthesis process. So when speaking in terms of PAR, we are speaking about the portions of the light spectrum usable by the inhabitants in the tank.

Let me also send you this pic of the par in my tank with these lights and the settings they are currently on.