frogster221

i have a 20 gallon aquarium that someone drilled a hole in is there any way that i could repair it? i previously used it for a snake. i also would like to know if there is anything i can do about the scratches on the front of my other 20 gallon.

lilsoccakid

not sure about scratches, but im pretty sure some aquarium silicone could fill the hole

lalynya

When there was a leak in my tank I resealed it with silicone..was a pian of a process to do because had to take the old silicone off first cause the old and new stuff doesn't adhere to eachother right. I dont know if it will work for an actual hole but you can get silicon at petsmart...I know the one here has it in the section where they have buckets and other aquarium cleaning supplies. If you do try to use the silicone just make sure you test the tank by adding a little bit of water at a time to test it. If you add a few gallons at a time it will slowly build up the preasure so you wont just end up with a giant flood in your house...just observe the area for any sign of leakage after you add the water...plus your tank might be able to handle a certain amount of water but not the full tank because of the weight of the water....and I'm done

Tavel

how big is the hole? Silicon probably doesn't have enough structure to span anything wider than 1/8" (probably less, actually)...and I'm guessing it's at least 1/2" wide. Get a small piece of glass that is at least an inch wider than the diameter of the hole (it can be square, round, whatever).

Then basically glue that piece of glass over the hole using the silicone, put it INSIDE the aquarium so that the water weight helps seal it. Also make sure you put silicone over the entire contact area, then go and put a bead around the seam inside and out. Don't put water in it for 24 hours, getting the silicone wet before it's cured could compromise the seal.

as for scratches, there's nothing you can do if it's glass. However, if it's acrylic you can get an acrylic polishing kit. It takes a lot of elbow grease and it might almost be worthwhile to just get a new aquarium.

GreenMan13

What do you plan to use the tank for? If saltwater, you could use the hole possibly for a drainage to a sump. If for freshwater and you don't have a filter yet, you could get a canister filter and use the hole for a drainage to the filter. How big is the hole and where is it on the tank?

sunstrip

On the scratches....You could try using a super fine high quality compound you would use for high sheen clearcoat for paint-jobs on cars...I got bad scratches out of one of my cars windshields years ago and it worked like charm...you have to go real easy on it...the dude that did my HD paint-job gave me the idea.

frogster221

its a freshwater aquarium i was thinking about only filling it a little bit to make a half and half tank. is there anything else i could use the hole for other than a canister filter?

sunstrip

I'm still a bit of a newbie myself...what's a "half & half" tank ?

frogster221

its a tank that has both a terrarium and aquarium in it

sunstrip

Ummm...I guess you would have to watch what you combine...LOL...the inhabitants eating each other and maintaining the right water chemistry I mean....sounds interesting though...and possibly hard ! keep us updated on that one.

frogster221

if i cant do the half and half i will do it in my ten gallon i was thinking about some sort of frog or lizard that like the water then a couple of my prettiest guppys when they grow up

outlaw

I did some research on that... most (not all) frogs will probably try and at some point probably succeed in eating your fish. Someone asked and I didn't see any response, but How big is the hole and where is it on the tank?

lalynya

my LFS has a realy weird on thats more swamp land then fishtank/land and they have mudskippers in there..seems to work for them

GreenMan13

If you're doing it half/half then the water level would be low off the top making a canister the best option in my mind since a HOB filter would have the water falling from so high.

But other then a canister filter, you could do a sump still. It would let you keep the water level constant in the tank and increase the volume of water to help keep it more stable since it will only be about 10 gallons of water at half full assuming the land area doesn't take up a large fraction of the water volume.

Another option, you could get an external pump and make a waterfall, pumping water out the bottom and pumping it onto the top. But if you do this, you might as well get a sump too.

Sorry, I can't come up with that many other creative ideas. Size of the hole will help with coming up with the best option though. Please let us know.

frogster221

the hole is 1 inch in diameter and it is in the middle of the tank on the bottom
i was more thinking along the lines of a small toad or tree frog but unless i use the 10 gallon i think the 20 might be to short for a tree frog its only 12inches high

outlaw

i would agree with the being too short. It sounds like you have a 20gal long. I have a standard 20gal which the people in the amphibian section said would probably be too short also. for the hole in the middle, I wouldn't just silicone it. I am assuming the above responses were if it were in the side. You would have to get some PVC parts to seal it off and use the silicone to make it water tight (not sure if the pvc glue would be ok.. i know it is toxic in its liquid/gel form) Or you could do what Green had said with the sump or canister filter. Being on the bottom, you would be helping the pump by using gravity to push the water through. Just a thought. Good Luck.

frogster221

if my parents let me ill take a thin piece of glass and silicone it to the inside of the tank i dont think my parents will let me though

outlaw

If you were to do it that way, I would say do a thicker piece rather then thinner. You would have more pressure there (if it would happen the way I think it would).

Tavel

there isn't more pressure based on the location of the hole, only the depth. We're worried about hydrostatic pressure, which is only influenced by the height of the water column. (seal up a 55gal drum and put a 10 foot pipe out the top, if you filled that 10ft pipe with water the drum would explode because it can't handle that pressure).

Anyway...there's no way silicon alone can span a 1" gap. You definitely need glass, or maybe even a piece of stable plastic (like PVC).

As for canister vs. hang on back...there's no reason to get a canister filter because you can VERY easily modify a HOB filter to silently trickle into a half filled tank.

outlaw

Thanks for the clarification on the pressure Tavel. As for the canister/sump filter, it was just an option to put the hole in the bottom in use. They don't have to buy one... just giving options.

Tavel

i wasn't trying to be a one-upper or anything, lol. I just get a little carried away.

lalynya

So wait...Why did your freind put a 1" hole in this tank?

GreenMan13

Most likely it was a refuge above a main saltwater tank since the hole is in the middle or a DIY wet/dry filter. I have a ~15 gal acrillic tank that was being used by the previous owner as a wet/dry filter with a hole in the bottom middle. It was filled with foam and the water drained into the top of it and out the bottom into a larger 50 gal tank that had a pump to pump the water back to the main tank.

I was only suggesting a canister filter if you don't have a filter already. It would be better then a HOB in my mind. But if you already have a HOB I would just use that. Tavel's mod to his HOB filter would be a great way to modify it for a terrarium.

For the hole, if you can't or don't want to deal with gluing it sealed, you could get some PVC and make a Closed bushing for it sealed with silicone. This would require a stand that has a hole for the bottom side of the tank but would allow you to open the hole back up if you wanted to use it later on.

frogster221

what would be a good thickness of glass to put there?
my parents got me the tank along with a snake i think it might be a snake cage but i wanted to make it into aaquarium would this be ok? the glass thickness is exactly the same as my other 20 gallon tank

Dino

1/8 inch or thicker.

GreenMan13

Just make sure to test fill it somewhere safe in case it leaks or breaks. Don't think it would but just to be safe.

30yrfishguy

most online sights sell gasketed hole plugs just for the purpose of closing unused filter tappings, your 1" hole is pretty standard so for safetys sake that is what i would use gl...john

frogster221

my parents wont let me fix the hole so i cant do it owell thanks for all the help though

Tavel

all the same, 20L tanks are pretty cheap. I think they're like $20-$25, maybe just get a new one? Or maybe even something that you'll like even more like a 20H or something.

frogster221

wats a 20H