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Removing braces from aquarium

Joined
16 Nov 2007
Messages
735
Location
Blackpool
I've two clearseal tank. both tank is 60cm long and 30cm depth but one of them is 45cm tall and the other one is 30cm tall. The bigger tank is made of 6mm glass and the smaller one is made of 4mm glass. Do you think it would be safe to remove the panel braces and the cross braces? If it is, how do you go about doing it? I try brute force but I wasn't sure how brute I should be before breaking the glass. Is there any other simpler method? Ideally i wanted a rimless tank but being cheap, i don't want to part with my hard earn cash. :?
 
I recon you'd be fine, My tank is 80 x 45 x 45 x 6mm and i whipped the brace off of mine. I got a scalpul blade (i'm shure you'll have no probs getting some of those) and slowly ran it along the silicone that joined the brace to the tank. It was a long old job but well worth it. ;)

Disclaimer - These methods are carried out at your own risk, The publisher or UKaps are not held responsible for any damage that may be caused. :rolleyes:
 
I've done it before and the scalpel method is the best one, I'd be interested to see how it goes, I'll follow suit if all does well.
 
Dan Crawford said:
I recon you'd be fine, My tank is 80 x 45 x 45 x 6mm and i whipped the brace off of mine. I got a scalpul blade (i'm shure you'll have no probs getting some of those) and slowly ran it along the silicone that joined the brace to the tank. It was a long old job but well worth it. ;)

Disclaimer - These methods are carried out at your own risk, The publisher or UKaps are not held responsible for any damage that may be caused. :rolleyes:

Yeah I should be alright getting one. I've already got the scalpel handle from my dead body dissection kit back from the days in medical school. Now I need to sneak into the operating theatre and snatch that bloody scalpel from that surgeon hands! Nothing better than a bloody scalpel!
 
I'm pretty sure George removed the brace from a 60x30x36 Clearseal tank and he said it bows out a lot :wideyed:

I've just removed the black plastic and added some nice wood trim to my open top Clearseal. Looks much better.
 
Can't find it mate, sorry. Maybe it was someone else who did it, or on another forum :?

For £30 though, if I wanted that effect, I'd be tempted to give it a go. Fill her up outside and leave for a few days.
 
on my 6mm 80 x 45 x 45 I removed the front rim ages ago. Now I've stripped the tank down I've taken the opportunity to remove the rest of the rims. It took about an hour, I was putting pressure on the rim from above to allow me to get my scalpul between the rim and the tank, then I just kept runinig the scalpul frtont to back whilst keeping the pressure on the rim. I had a few glass shavings but not too much to worry about. It looks a hundred times better now. I've just gotta fill it now and hope it doesn't burst!
 
I would be careful. I got a cheap 60cm tank to test this theory out, the glass was 5mm thick and I removed the bracing with a razor blade which cut my fingers to shreads.

After filling it I did notice a lot of bowing and also air bubbles appearing in the silicone at the top of the joints of the front glass. My opti white tank doesn't bow as much but was obviously a lot more expensive than £30.

Now I use the tank to try out different hardscape arrangements, without water obviously.
 
PM said:
I think I'll leave it for now and try to master laying out my little 54L. I just wish it was a bit taller!

Hopefully can afford an optiwhite one day :) but god they are expensive!

I'm saving for an Opti-White too.. shop around though, AE and TGM aren't the only places that sell them. My 36x24x24" 10mm Opti-White tank will cost £240 + delivery, or £425 + delivery complete with custom made cabinet and hood, which is still cheaper than AE and TGM for the tank only! :lol:
 
JAmesM said:
PM said:
I think I'll leave it for now and try to master laying out my little 54L. I just wish it was a bit taller!

Hopefully can afford an optiwhite one day :) but god they are expensive!

I'm saving for an Opti-White too.. shop around though, AE and TGM aren't the only places that sell them. My 36x24x24" 10mm Opti-White tank will cost £240 + delivery, or £425 + delivery complete with custom made cabinet and hood, which is still cheaper than AE and TGM for the tank only! :lol:

Where else can I get one then? Could you maybe PM me a link or something?

I have searched A LOT on google and couldn't find anything else except for Aquariums Ltd, but they did not respond to my emails...
 
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