Making a non rimless tank rimless? (1 Viewer)

[gware]

I have a 75g oceanic tank that I bought used. It's about 20 years old and it has a brown plastic wood border.

Do you think its possible to pull the border off and clean the glass of the glue with a razor blade? Do you think the glass underneath would look good or have the right rimless look?

Thanks!

 

[Kemah]

I sold an older 120 to my neighbor. It is basically in perfect condition. He did not like the two corner overflow boxes so he removed them and drilled new holes in the center of the tank in back flipped the overflow boxes around and made the 2 into 1 large box in the center. Where the boxws were glued on the sides he cnnot get the stains off of the glass. He has tried about everything that you can think of including some mild polishing. it will be ok for him since it will be on the sides but if it were in the front it would look bad.

Also if the tank is 20 years old you may want to spend a little time stipping out the old sealant and re sal the inside of the tank.

 

[hoffy02]

I think it would be tough to clean the "GLASS off the GLUE" probably easier to take the glue off the glass....

LOL!!!

Kemah is right.. had the same problem but it was with a tank i used for a sump so it didnt matter to me...

 

[Kemah]

lol nice pick up hoffy, I didnt see that.

 

[chriskb3]

It can definetly be done. I've removed the trim from several tanks before with no issues. I contacted a couple of tank builders prior to doing it, and learned that the main purpose (other than looks) is to aid in tank assembly.

It can be pretty difficult to get the trim off though, as there is usually a lot of silicone holding them on. You will likely have to cut and break off the trim in sections. Just be careful not to pry against the glass edges. The way I did mine was to use a hack saw, and carfully cut the trim diagonally at each corner, run a razor blade between the glass and trim, and then start pulling it off.

With a tank that old, I would agree with everyone else, that it should be re-sealed, and could even go as far as re-doing it entirely. Some razor blades, acetone, and a lot of elbow greese should get those panes cleaned up and ready for new silicone.

 

[reefling]

my dad got a tank that was severely etched with some kinda haze and staining. he bought some mueratic acid(i know i spelled it wrong) about 1 cup to 5 gallons of water, then, he put on some gloves and used a sponge to apply a small amount at a time to the stained and effected areas.
the glass was originally so bad I could not see through it, but now it looks like a show tank. all the stains are gone. The acid is very strong, so make sure to flush the tank with fresh water a couple times before it is ready to sustain life. That tank is several months into housing cichlids with no disasters.