Cracked Top Black Rim

[daworldisblack]

While re-siliconing my 25Gal recently I cracked the top black rim while attempting to get it out for the project. Its cracked towards one of the corners and now I am worried about the integrity of the tank. I read in a few other threads that braceless might work in some instances - however my dimensions for the tank is 30"L , 12"D , 16"H. I believe a height of 12" and under would sorta get away with it but am thinking that I might be taking a big gamble here with regards to my own tank.

So my question is, if I were to stick it on cracked anyways with sufficient silicone, would it work? at least 3 corners will be supported - better then nothing? If I can, how would I stick it back together? I got crazy thought experiments in my head about using a hot metal rod to melt/weld it together but like I said, they're only thought experiments mostly yielding less-then-desirable results. Can I make my own brace? Wood? Metal? Acrylic? Any thoughts? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Saltcreep]

Personally, i don't think you have much of a problem here. I would just go with reinstalling with silicone as that's will be much stronger than any modification you can make. If you're still uneasy with that, and have some skills working with wood, then there's an easy fix that I also find aesthetically pleasing. Over the years, I have trimmed out many of my tanks with wood. A simple frame made out of 1"X2" pine would do the trick here. Pay close attention to the outside dimension of the bottom of the trim piece and construct your frame to be snug. If you design it to be flush with top of the trim piece, it can be held in place with silicone. If you want it to be super-strong, you could use metal L-brackets rabbeted into the interior of the frame. Possibilities are endless. If you want more info or pictures, shoot me a PM.

[daworldisblack]

Personally, i don't think you have much of a problem here. I would just go with reinstalling with silicone as that's will be much stronger than any modification you can make. If you're still uneasy with that, and have some skills working with wood, then there's an easy fix that I also find aesthetically pleasing. Over the years, I have trimmed out many of my tanks with wood. A simple frame made out of 1"X2" pine would do the trick here. Pay close attention to the outside dimension of the bottom of the trim piece and construct your frame to be snug. If you design it to be flush with top of the trim piece, it can be held in place with silicone. If you want it to be super-strong, you could use metal L-brackets rabbeted into the interior of the frame. Possibilities are endless. If you want more info or pictures, shoot me a PM.

I think you may be right.. I dont think I have much to worry about if I re-silicone the top back on. From what I read, its the silicone that helps keeps things in place and not just the rim. So more de-silicone/re-silicone needs to be it looks like. Thanks for the information though. Were it a bigger size, with a center brace even, I'd have been in desperate need of your pics!

[Saltcreep]

I think you may be right.. I dont think I have much to worry about if I re-silicone the top back on. From what I read, its the silicone that helps keeps things in place and not just the rim. So more de-silicone/re-silicone needs to be it looks like. Thanks for the information though. Were it a bigger size, with a center brace even, I'd have been in desperate need of your pics!

It's definitely the silicone that does the lion's share of the work. I have one tank about the same dimension as yours where the factory installed trim is a flimsy piece of plastic that seems designed more to protect the glass edges than anything else. It's just one piece, bent to a 95 degree angle at the corners. The one corner not bent is not joined in any way.

[daworldisblack]

I cleaned the old silicone off the edges and lined the rim with silicone and wedged it back in place. I'm confident it should be fine. Thanks again for the input! Much appreciated