Scratch Or Crack? When To Be Concerned

How can you tell the difference between a crack or scratch in your aquarium glass? How do you know if the glass is at risk for breaking?

I have a lot of scratches inside my tall 60 gallon aquarium. Some big, a ton small. But I can’t really feel any of them. Except for one, on the left side that’s about 3 inches long. I can actually feel it with my finger on the inside, but not on the outside.

I’m worried that my tank is at risk for breaking. But I really can’t afford a new tank right now. So how do I know if I should be worried or not?

My tank is about 23” tall and 48” wide. The scratch is close to the bottom corner, but not there completely. It starts 3 1/2” from the bottom, and a little less than 2” from the side. So being that close to a lower corner, makes me nervous.

Is there anyway to know for sure if this is a potential problem or not? Normal people would be worried about 60 gallons of water on their floor (and on a second story condo). But I’m just worried about my fish. LOL

And before you ask, I have no idea how to tell the difference between glass, acrylic, silicone. None of this means anything to me. So if you’re going to ask me what my tank is made of… Please tell me how I can tell the difference between them. Sorry!

 

if its cracked, then looking at it from an angle it'll be all the way through the entire thickness of the glass. like on a windshield of a car.

https://www.sevacall.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Car-Windshield-Crack-Repair-Kit-.jpg

hopefully its just a scratch. b/c 60 gallons is 12 5-gallon buckets, that's a ton of water, if it fails when you're not home, that's a lot of water damage, maybe mold, etc. could be more costly to clean up than getting a new tank.

 

I don't have a lot of advice, but glass and acrylic feel very different. Acrylic may look like glass, but it feels like plastic. Also, if it's glass, you should be able to see silicone gluing the pains together. Acrylic is welded together with a chemical that melts the plastic at the seems and fuses them into a single piece.

If you're worried and can't afford a new tank, though, I'd look into getting a few large plastic storage totes that you can use as emergency tanks if you need to. You can get 20-50 gallon totes for way less than a new aquarium.

 

55 gallon tote for $25

 

if its cracked, then looking at it from an angle it'll be all the way through the entire thickness of the glass. like on a windshield of a car.

https://www.sevacall.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Car-Windshield-Crack-Repair-Kit-.jpg

hopefully its just a scratch. b/c 60 gallons is 12 5-gallon buckets, that's a ton of water, if it fails when you're not home, that's a lot of water damage, maybe mold, etc. could be more costly to clean up than getting a new tank.

It doesn’t look thick. I can just feel it with my finger from the inside only. I’m pretty sure it’s just a scratch. But can that become a problem as well?

I don't have a lot of advice, but glass and acrylic feel very different. Acrylic may look like glass, but it feels like plastic. Also, if it's glass, you should be able to see silicone gluing the pains together. Acrylic is welded together with a chemical that melts the plastic at the seems and fuses them into a single piece.

If you're worried and can't afford a new tank, though, I'd look into getting a few large plastic storage totes that you can use as emergency tanks if you need to. You can get 20-50 gallon totes for way less than a new aquarium.

Thanks. I can see the glue holding everything together, so that means my tank is glass. That’s not what I want if I have a deep scratch though, right?

I’m away from the house most of the day so I don’t know that those totes would do me much good. I went from over 200 fish to just a handful at the moment. So I can put them in anything in an emergency. I’m not worried about where I would put the fish. I’m worried about coming home to find the poor things already dead and my house flooded. Rationally, I should be more concerned about the damage. But my concern is really the fish.

Can anyone tell me if a scratch is a problem if you can feel it? I was told not to worry about superficial scratches. I don’t know the science with glass and water pressure. I do think I remember hearing that pressure is higher the lower you go. Which makes sense. But that’s the extent of my knowledge.

 

Can you post a pic of the tank so we can better identify the material?