Glass Chip out

[BillB83]

Last night, I was drilling a 60mm (2.5") hole for my E-shopps overflow box. I’ve drilled at least six of these holes before on different setups, but this time, I ended up with a really bad chip-out on the inside—even though I was drilling from the inside out, like I always do.

The Eshopps box is set up like this:
Internal weir → Gasket → Glass → Gasket → External box

The problem is that the chip-out extends past the gasket, meaning it will 100% leak internally. The only thing preventing a leak would be the external gasket. While that might hold up, I’m not okay with taking that risk.

I’ve got two ideas and would appreciate some input:

Idea 1​

• Get pieces of glass to build an overflow myself using silicone.
• Pros: Likely the best long-term solution.
• Cons: No idea where to source the glass, and it seems like a huge pain. (I dont even know how i could cut a weir out of glass)

Idea 2​

• Remove the gasket behind the internal weir and let it sit flush against the glass. Then, silicone the heck out of the internal weir to seal it permanently.
• Pros: Quicker fix.
• Cons: Silicone doesn’t bond well to acrylic, and if it fails, I’m back to relying only on the external gasket to prevent leaks.

Has anyone else run into this issue? How did you handle it?

 

[Kazumi]

Remake the internal gasket so it will cover the chip.

 

[BillB83]

Remake the internal gasket so it will cover the chip.

Yeah i thought about that im also picking up a few 5x5" pieces of 1/4" glass from a local shop before the weekend so i was thinking another option would be i could redrill the hole into this new 1/4" piece and then silicone glass to glass and not have that issue.

 

[Kazumi]

Another thing you could to is fill the chip in with clear epoxy and sand it smooth so the original gasket seals.

 

[dantimdad]

Yeah i thought about that im also picking up a few 5x5" pieces of 1/4" glass from a local shop before the weekend so i was thinking another option would be i could redrill the hole into this new 1/4" piece and then silicone glass to glass and not have that issue.

The method of drilling a piece of glass and gluing it in place is how I have fixed these and the next best permanent solution to replacing the whole pane of glass. I have a tank patched this way that is on the bottom and holds back 140+ gallons for 3 years now. If that doesn't leak nothing will. :)

 

[BillB83]

Another thing you could to is fill the chip in with clear epoxy and sand it smooth so the original gasket seals.

Any epoxy ? or is there a specific one used that binds to glass better than others ?

 

[Kazumi]

I haven't looked into a specific brand. I was going to use this method to fix an old tank, and might still, but found out that it has a seam leak. So I have dropped this for now.

I would tend to think that any clear epoxy would work and bond to glass equally.

 

[BillB83]

The method of drilling a piece of glass and gluing it in place is how I have fixed these and the next best permanent solution to replacing the whole pane of glass. I have a tank patched this way that is on the bottom and holds back 140+ gallons for 3 years now. If that doesn't leak nothing will. :)

Yeah i think this is the only way im going to feel comfortable and not worry about it leaking

Thanks for the reassurance

 

[56longroof]

I siliconed a piece of plexiglass and installed the bulkhead on my tank.

 

[dantimdad]

I siliconed a piece of plexiglass and installed the bulkhead on my tank.

The only issue i have with it is silicone does not bond to acrylic so it's a gasket in a sense. But, I have done so once and it held for quite a while before it leaked. But I think I jiggled it is why it did leak.

 

[BillB83]

Cut a 5x5 piece out of 1/4 inch and siliconed the whole thing down. Worked out really well as a patch. Thanks everyone

 

[dantimdad]

Good job!

 

[fishmangomod]

I have been working with acrylic lately, and found you can make your own adhesive by mixing acrylic with acetone. This effectively melts the acryclic into a paste that hardens back into solid acrylic. I know you already have a solution in place, but by putting a dowel of the correct shape in the hole, and then smearing the goo in the gap of the chipped glass. You would need ventilation to deal with the acetone and the off gassing.