Jestersix

Chipped Reefer 170 sump advice

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richiev

Supporting Member
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I was cleaning my Reefer 170 out, and got everything clean. When getting ready to do the last step of putting the sump back in, I tapped the corner on the ground while rotating it and *crack*

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Any way you repair this in a permanent manner? Doesn't have to look pretty. It still holds water.

I'm probably going to end up having to give this all away basically free now, given the tank is pretty scratched and the sump is chipped. Whoever would buy this is going to think I took crap care of it. Even though the scratches happened before I got it and the chip was just now.

Oh well, but I'd like to make it a solid QT tank at least.
 
richiev said:
Do you know if the epoxy serves any purpose beyond looks? Extra support to fight off any stresses at the broken area?
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It seals leaks, acts as a physical support as well as stopping further crack propagation

But yes, replacing with a 40-60 breeder might be safer
 
Since it's the Reefer sump, and the 170 stand is pretty small, I don't have many replacement options that aren't super small (a 10 gallon ish) or custom.

I'm thinking the middle ground might be to epoxy the crap out of the corner, including adding a structural support. I have a bunch of old, thin, acrylic I could glue onto the panel and fill the gap with epoxy. I could even bend it and make a brace around the corner. It's not like anyone's ever going to take apart the sump anyway. It's also the back corner.

Regardless the tank itself is scratched enough that I personally wouldn't bring it back in the house, so it'll either be a garage tank, a side office tank (tile floor, attached to garage), or someone else's problem.

I think given it's holding water now, with a bunch of epoxy and support it should be solid?
 
richiev said:
I think given it's holding water now, with a bunch of epoxy and support it should be solid?
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I think so, especially if it doesn't get bumped again. I like the idea of adding acrylic bracing over the top of it. You could bend and wrap acrylic around the corner, then add a bunch of other acrylic to the bottom to keep it level and evenly distributed.
 
Update: I ended up chipping this again on a second corner. Almost the exact same situation. I was moving it after cleaning it more, and very slightly had the corner tap the concrete in my garage and boom another corner chipped off. It still held water fine though.

I ended up going the epoxy + support route. I used some remnant 3d printed pieces to make a corner bracket. I then globbed a bunch of 2-part epoxy on the glass and the part, followed by holding it in place (kinda, mostly) with some clamps. Afterwards I took a dremel + sanding wheel to make sure no epoxy was sitting below the glass line on the bottom.

Ugly AF, but it's the back corner and it's a sump so I don't really care.

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It's now installed in the new sump area I created under my sump (cut some extra fiberboard + workout pads to make a sump area under my stand). Next up will be connecting it to my frag tank.

I'll move the equipment into the sump (leaving 1 heater in the frag tank itself), and probably add a bunch of rock.
 
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