Chipped tank while drilling

[martysparty]

had this chip out occur while drilling out my 60 cube , is this repairable or do I not worry about it or is it too big to fix or salvage? Using an estoppel m overflow the gasket almost covers all of it from the inside and there’s no chipping on the outside , if I get a wider gasket to cover the entirety of it would that do the trick or no?

 

[Saltyreef24]

Does the kit come with a gasket that goes on the outside of the tank, sandwiched between it and the overflow box? If so you may be good

 

[Saltyreef24]

For my fijicube 600gph overflow I don’t think I even installed a gasket on the inside of the display tank

 

[martysparty]

For my fijicube 600gph overflow I don’t think I even installed a gasket on the inside of the display tank

It does have another gasket , one for the inside of the tank, one for the outside

 

[Saltyreef24]

It does have another gasket , one for the inside of the tank, one for the outside

Hmm. It may be fine but there’s only one way to tell. Why not put the box on, cork the bulkheads, and see if it holds water where the chip is? It would stink to have to go get a new tank if it works fine with the old one

 

[martysparty]

Hmm. It may be fine but there’s only one way to tell. Why not put the box on, cork the bulkheads, and see if it holds water where the chip is? It would stink to have to go get a new tank if it works fine with the old one

ill try that once I find some way to block the bulkheads , although now that I have the box on I can see that once the gasket is pushed flush it covers the chip entirely, I may pull it off again and run some sealant around the edge of the gasket on the inside of the tank and then retighten it back I just as an extra measure and then test it

 

[Saltyreef24]

ill try that once I find some way to block the bulkheads , although now that I have the box on I can see that once the gasket is pushed flush it covers the chip entirely, I may pull it off again and run some sealant around the edge of the gasket on the inside of the tank and then retighten it back I just as an extra measure and then test it

Okay best of luck with the testing. I’m glad to hear the gasket covers it

 

[cilyjr]

When drilling, apply painters tape to the opposite side of where you are going to drill through. That will help with chipping. I also usually try to drill from the inside so if it chips it's on the dry side

Your options are try it and see if it holds water.
If not, you may have to use some silicone in the chip area. That may help if there is a leak.

The last option is to drill a slightly bigger hole over the existing and use a larger bulkhead.

 

[waqas_01]

Late to the party but I ran into this 5 years ago. My tank is still running with no leaks.

I made a tape dam by applying tape to the ID bore of the hole. Then I put 2 part epoxy on the glass (one that's rated for glass use) to fill in the void the chip created. Let it cure a few days to a week and then cut it with an exacto knife to be flush with the glass.

Once I put a bulkhead over it, the seal covered the area but I had piece of mind that it wont leak or propagate a crack down the road.

My chip was on the outside of the tank. For future reference, I only use a drill with a clutch. Set the clutch to the lowest setting so if the bit binds it stalls the drill not chip the glass.

For the blowout failures at the end of cut, drill from one side until the first drips of the cooling water start coming through the other side. Then switch to the inside to complete the hole.

 

[mikst]

Also of note, when there is a chip , there may also be damage and stress likes you can't see. When I drill a tank, I polish the hole with wet sandpaper on a die grinder / dremel.