Fixing up an old 180 gallon tank.

[Artix]

1st post here, sorry if any of this is re-post but I just want to be sure I'm doing things right.

I bought a 180ish gallon used from a local store, it’s been dry stored in a garage tell I was able to get to setting up. Well life happened and it got moved 3 times and one of the top braces got cracked during the second move. I don't know the brand or anything, I've traced and felt along all the edges and don't feel any chips or additional cracks. Just the one, see photo attached.



I've had a friend that is an experienced saltwater guy look it over and says I need to re-seal but is unsure about the top side situation. I've had one local glass guy that cuts a lot of glass for the local fish stores and says I should step down to 1/4 glass to save money on cutting new glass for rebuilding the top area. Local stores are quoting 600-750, online I found a place that would do it for 350. One LFS guy told me I could just rip it all out and the tank would do just fine with it being 3/4 thick, and it was a euro brace want to be add-on for gear (his best guess I'd assume).

Tank specs
Hexagonal Flat back 180g brand unknown.
3/4'' think panels
60'' long back side
17 3/4'' Side
49 1/2'' Front face
7 1/2 Hexagon side

Pictures of tank, crack, and possible stress fractures.


I don't mind taking additional photos of any special requests to help zero in on some useful help.

Looking for advice on what do, my intent is to just this fixed up and start setting this bad boy up! I think it has a lot of potential.

 

[Artix]

bump

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Interesting tank for sure. Do you know the age of the tank, and how long have you had it in dry storage? I may have missed it, but how tall is the tank? Having had both rimless and euro braced tanks, I would go euro braced. With a rimless I was constantly splashing water over the edge onto the front pane. I will never get a rimless aquarium again.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Def a unique tank. I bought a used 180 store coral tank myself for my current system. I did reseal it and repair a broken portion of the frame with epoxy.

Looking at the tank you have there I am always pro extra reinforcement. Not knowing the age, I'd probably reseal the interior and repair the cracked eurobracing. 3/4 glass is robust enough on its own, but 180 gallons of water on the floor is a hell of an insurance claim.

 

[Artix]

Interesting tank for sure. Do you know the age of the tank, and how long have you had it in dry storage? I may have missed it, but how tall is the tank? Having had both rimless and euro braced tanks, I would go euro braced. With a rimless I was constantly splashing water over the edge onto the front pane. I will never get a rimless aquarium again.

I don't know the age of the tank 100% but I'd say its around 10-15 years total? It was built into a wall setup at a dentist office, my local LFS bought it up when he closed down, bc they use to service the tank. I followed up at the store for more info but the used tank guy doesn't work there anymore, so the new guy only has best guess info.

Its been in dry storage for about 2 years, In a garage, but still Texas climate.

The height of the tank is 31.5'' from the inside to the top of the rim.

 

[Artix]

Def a unique tank. I bought a used 180 store coral tank myself for my current system. I did reseal it and repair a broken portion of the frame with epoxy.

Looking at the tank you have there I am always pro extra reinforcement. Not knowing the age, I'd probably reseal the interior and repair the cracked eurobracing. 3/4 glass is robust enough on its own, but 180 gallons of water on the floor is a hell of an insurance claim.

So the split on the eurobracing for my tank is do I replace with the 1/2 thick glass or can I downscale the glass thickness to 1/4. (This was mostly advice from my local glass guy bc replacing all the 1/2 thick glass would be near 700$ vs 100$ due to what he has in stock). I know very little about eurobracing other then it attaches on the inside of the walls at the top to reinforce and keep water in the tank.

 

[edd59]

get a new tank. not worth the risk of a flood.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

I don't know the age of the tank 100% but I'd say its around 10-15 years total? It was built into a wall setup at a dentist office, my local LFS bought it up when he closed down, bc they use to service the tank. I followed up at the store for more info but the used tank guy doesn't work there anymore, so the new guy only has best guess info.

Its been in dry storage for about 2 years, In a garage, but still Texas climate.

The height of the tank is 31.5'' from the inside to the top of the rim.

If it were me, at a minimum I would completely take apart the tank, clean it and reseal it. I wouldn't trust it the way it is and that's a lot of water if something were to let loose. My 180 gallon aqueon started leaking on me a few months ago, and that was only 4 years old. I would also definitely keep in the eurobrace, especially at that height. I would agree that 1/2" glass is overkill for the eurobrace part and the 1/4" should be fine, but I'm admittedly not an expert on tank construction.

 

[Labridaedicted]

So the split on the eurobracing for my tank is do I replace with the 1/2 thick glass or can I downscale the glass thickness to 1/4. (This was mostly advice from my local glass guy bc replacing all the 1/2 thick glass would be near 700$ vs 100$ due to what he has in stock). I know very little about eurobracing other then it attaches on the inside of the walls at the top to reinforce and keep water in the tank.

If well adhered, the 1/4 inch should be fine. It's supporting horizontal weight (technically) which glass is remarkably strong that way. That being said, be very cautious working in the tank as if weight is placed on top of the brace (it happens inadvertently often for me on my tall wide tank when I reach too far trying to work the back...) that it will be much more prone to breaking.