Taking apart an aquarium
This post comes out of left field but it may help somebody.
I had a 48” x 12” x 18” aquarium made from 3/8” thick plate glass that I wanted to get out of my basement and get rid of.
Ads in various papers that it was free along the three Magnaflow filters and other accessories failed to get a nibble.
I then decided that I would try and take it apart, it was joined using silicone caulking, so I scraped out the caulking that was accessible and tried to slip a single edge razor blade between the joint, no luck there. I read that WD-40 ate silicone, so I sprayed all joints and lifted one end so that a small pool of WD-40 lay along one bottom joint. I left that for a couple of days, I saw that the silicone was softened, I ran the razor blade down the joint and lightly hit it with a hammer and drove it in as far as it would go safely.
I turned the tank 90 degrees and repeated the process down a side joint, after a few days I found the razor blade now went all the way through in some places, so I repeated the process down the other side seam.
Now the blade went through all around, once weakened the end glass panel came out.
I softened the bottom long side and carefully flexed the glass back and forth after tapping the razor blade through where it would go, that side was soon free. I did this for the other two sides and the job was done.
How I got that aquarium down the basement stairs puzzled me, obviously someone helped me, and I guess in twenty years you lose a lot of strength. Each plate of glass was heavy enough for me going up the stairs.
You see read all the things you can do with WD-40 so what can you add that is interesting?
I had a 48” x 12” x 18” aquarium made from 3/8” thick plate glass that I wanted to get out of my basement and get rid of.
Ads in various papers that it was free along the three Magnaflow filters and other accessories failed to get a nibble.
I then decided that I would try and take it apart, it was joined using silicone caulking, so I scraped out the caulking that was accessible and tried to slip a single edge razor blade between the joint, no luck there. I read that WD-40 ate silicone, so I sprayed all joints and lifted one end so that a small pool of WD-40 lay along one bottom joint. I left that for a couple of days, I saw that the silicone was softened, I ran the razor blade down the joint and lightly hit it with a hammer and drove it in as far as it would go safely.
I turned the tank 90 degrees and repeated the process down a side joint, after a few days I found the razor blade now went all the way through in some places, so I repeated the process down the other side seam.
Now the blade went through all around, once weakened the end glass panel came out.
I softened the bottom long side and carefully flexed the glass back and forth after tapping the razor blade through where it would go, that side was soon free. I did this for the other two sides and the job was done.
How I got that aquarium down the basement stairs puzzled me, obviously someone helped me, and I guess in twenty years you lose a lot of strength. Each plate of glass was heavy enough for me going up the stairs.
You see read all the things you can do with WD-40 so what can you add that is interesting?
Last edited by onehundred80; Dec 15, 2020 at 05:38 PM.
Now that you have the glass upstairs, what are you planning to do with it ?
Think maybe you can get someone to take it or bust it up and dump it ?
Think maybe you can get someone to take it or bust it up and dump it ?
It went into the glass recycle bin at the dump sadly. I managed to sell the filters and accessories, they were oldish but worked well, someone got a bargain but much better than scrapping them as well.
Last edited by onehundred80; Dec 15, 2020 at 07:03 PM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
onehundred80
**WEBSITE** Functions / Questions/ Suggestions Etc
15
Feb 3, 2016 06:25 PM
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)



