First off, thank you @GabeB for sharing your tank and allowing me to take on this terrifying project.
To practice, I started with a 18x18x20 1/4" glass tank. It has black trim on top and bottom. I was going to turn this into an ATO tank, but that fail when it cracked after 15 minutes of working on the tank. I used razor blade to cut the trim, but found it the plastic is hard\tough to cut. I decided to use a blow torch to soften the trim and it worked for a bit. I used too much force to pry the trim off and the tank cracked.
@Srt4eric gave me a 20g long tank with black trim top and bottom. This time I used a heat gun and soften the black trim. I then used a new razor blade to cut the outside of the trim. This reveals the clear silicone under the black trim making it easier to cut the silicone. Sorry bad picture. That took about 30 minutes total to remove the top and bottom trim. I was more careful, but still, there was a couple of chips on the glass corners.
The next part is to completely clean the glass...I used about 5 razor blade for the smaller glass pane, haven't started on the big pane yet. It's best to use new razor blades because even the slightest dull will not remove the silicone. Acetone and hydrochloride don't help. Maybe I should soak the glass.
I'll update once I remove all silicone and start sealing. The challenge is the 20g, the side glass sit on top of the bottom glass and the glass weight should easily pressure and give the silicone a nice level finish. The 100g from Gabe, the glass is on the side of the bottom glass, doesn't sit on top. So I might have to be creative (lazy) and add the 45-degree silicone instead of removing the old one. My theory is the new silicone will keep the glass from extending and also the current silicone
I understand the new and old silicone won't adhere, but do they really have to since the old silicone is already holding the tank together? Anyways, I'll add silicone to all seams and test several weeks outdoor with powerheads and return pumps running.
To practice, I started with a 18x18x20 1/4" glass tank. It has black trim on top and bottom. I was going to turn this into an ATO tank, but that fail when it cracked after 15 minutes of working on the tank. I used razor blade to cut the trim, but found it the plastic is hard\tough to cut. I decided to use a blow torch to soften the trim and it worked for a bit. I used too much force to pry the trim off and the tank cracked.
@Srt4eric gave me a 20g long tank with black trim top and bottom. This time I used a heat gun and soften the black trim. I then used a new razor blade to cut the outside of the trim. This reveals the clear silicone under the black trim making it easier to cut the silicone. Sorry bad picture. That took about 30 minutes total to remove the top and bottom trim. I was more careful, but still, there was a couple of chips on the glass corners.
The next part is to completely clean the glass...I used about 5 razor blade for the smaller glass pane, haven't started on the big pane yet. It's best to use new razor blades because even the slightest dull will not remove the silicone. Acetone and hydrochloride don't help. Maybe I should soak the glass.
I'll update once I remove all silicone and start sealing. The challenge is the 20g, the side glass sit on top of the bottom glass and the glass weight should easily pressure and give the silicone a nice level finish. The 100g from Gabe, the glass is on the side of the bottom glass, doesn't sit on top. So I might have to be creative (lazy) and add the 45-degree silicone instead of removing the old one. My theory is the new silicone will keep the glass from extending and also the current silicone
I understand the new and old silicone won't adhere, but do they really have to since the old silicone is already holding the tank together? Anyways, I'll add silicone to all seams and test several weeks outdoor with powerheads and return pumps running.
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