Is this bad?

**FreakyFishie** · 03-07-2013, 01:14 PM

I went researching the vast interwebs for the past couple days and I think I had the right idea about them being from my old stand and stressing the acrylic. Apparently it's called crazing and it could lead to tank failure. It's right on the front of my tank and it's a bow front so I can't patch it :( The "good" news is that acrylic leaks instead of shattering so I'll be able know when the tank fails without flooding my living room. I'm wondering though, maybe it would be possible to at least stop the crazing getting worse and leading to a leak by taking down the tank and coating the cracking area front and back with acrylic silicone? Because I believe that the bonding material for acrylic tanks actually "melts" the acrylic and welds it together. Theoretically this seems like while it may reduce the aesthetic appeal slightly, it would prevent the tank failing, giving me time to possibly purchase another tank. Would that do anything to keep the crazing from spreading or is the tank just doomed?

**Rocksor** · 03-07-2013, 02:19 PM

The best way to patch it is to put acrylic in the front and the back of that piece, and use weld on to bond the three pieces together.

The tank is eventually doomed. It could take years for those cracks to get worse and cause a slow leak.

**FreakyFishie** · 03-07-2013, 02:46 PM

Originally Posted by Rocksor

The best way to patch it is to put acrylic in the front and the back of that piece, and use weld on to bond the three pieces together.

The tank is eventually doomed. It could take years for those cracks to get worse and cause a slow leak.

It's a bow front I can't do that.