Repair or replace...feedback please

Hey everyone,
I switched my glass sump in last night and before I even got a chance to turn on the return pump, I hear a pop and see that a crack has formed in the glass from the bulkhead hole to the edge.    I'm not sure what to do now...replace the pane of glass or just make a new sump.  Kind of frustrated since I have a fair amount of work into making this sump and I've already replaced that pane of glass once (due to the first piece being tempered...drilling did nt go well).  Here's some pics.  Let me know your thoughts.  This is incredibly inopportune timing as I was supposed to be on the tank tour this weekend.  :-(
Cracked pane:

Whole sump shot:

--AJ

 

Wow,

That is pretty darn nice!

I would get another piece cut same size, drill your new hole, and piggy back it. Sandwhich silicone in between. It many not be the preittiest, but would work good.

 

Thanks Craig!  I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't sure if it would be OK considering where it was cracked.  I'm sure that I can fit a full pane on the inside and if I'm careful with the silicone, get it to look pretty good.  I think I'll go ahead and get it ordered.  At $44, I think it's a gamble worth taking.  It will be next week before they can get it cut for me so that puts me off of the tank tour.  :-(
Here's a pic of the full shelf the sump sits on.  Frag tank is above (40 breeder), which is plumbed into the same water supply as my display.  On the top right is my QT tank.  30 gallons with a 10 gallon sump behind it.  The shared water system feeds my 120 display tank upstairs.
--AJ

 

would it be possible to sandwich the crack between panes of smaller glass. I've seen it where people have done it with acrylic and/or siliconing a piece over unwanted holes in the bottom of tanks. Either way its just a thought.

 

Why does a small crack take ya off the tank tour AJ? Sucks that your sump cracked on ya but I doubt anyone will care if you have a small crack or not. Just my thought on this as I really want to see some awesome tanks!

 

OT Where did you get that intake guard? I want one!

 

I would fix it for sure, shouldn't be that tough. Side note though, why do you have two elbows on the intake on that pump? I don't want to tell you what to do, but I've always read having any elbows on intakes can cause a pump to cavitize. Anyways, good luck.

 

WOW AJ!! Nice ;-0) even with a crack! Good luck and remember, 3 time's a charm!!

 

AJ

I have a bottom glass for the 40 gallon you can have if it do you any good! Give me a call if you can use it.

Don 447-2442 (Clown)

 

Just fix it and you ARE still on the tour. No excuses.

BTW, that is a sweet sump setup!

 

It took my skimmer offline and caused me all sorts of issues including fatalities.  Things were just a mess.  I posted a thread on my lessons learned as a result of everything, but it was just not a time that I was able to pull off the tank tour.
--AJ

 

Understandable. I wasn't so sure on how everyone would have liked staring at an empty tank but at the same time I am starting to rethink that maybe if we all stopped by my place I'd have a better idea on how to get my DT to sump working without flooding place. Just remodeled everything and don't want to get the freshly painted concrete board wet.

 

I wanted to have some sort of a pre-filter for my pump and my sump design was a bit short sighted in this regard (which accounts for the inner elbow).  The outer elbow is more of a space saving thing...it could be reconfigured later if it causes me issues.
--AJ