looky what i found...

Let us get a few things sorted here.

1. I think the cycads on the first pics are worth more than the tank.

2. The Cycads are Cycas revoluta, from Australia, definitely not from SA, and are el cheapos, so no thoughts of $$$$$$ here.

3. I think the tank needs reassembly as the silicon rubber looks very grey and looks as though it has taken a fair amount of sun, which breaks it down.

Good luck China.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

lol
@ carl
probably not, but its not gonna be this weekend at least, im working again tomorrow meh, first test is 4 november, i'll see what happens...
anyone wanna recommend where i can get black silicone suited for aquariums in pretoria?

@ prof
hehe, goes to show, i dont know cycad types from solanums
i usually ask the other manager about the cycads when customers come round
and the plants are probably worth more, but the tank has a SLIGHTLY higher possibility of being a suitable habitat for fish

the tank came to the house by unremembered means, so its probably quite old, i know the oomie's sons both kept tanks as kids... probably one of theirs

i'll take the time to break it down, ...hope fishline will still be a viable solution, not looking forward to the parts where the bottom braces are attached, hoping it'll go smoothly...

i think, with those black glass/perspecs strips in front, black silicon would do nicely for the rebuild, but which would be suited? (than i can get my grubby little paws on at some store in pretoria? or close-ish?)

 

I have black silicone, aquarium grade from Germany, but I am not in Pretoria, although I might have to go there in about three weeks time. I could send some to you via priority mail. If you are interested please send me a PM.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

hmmm, where will you be going in pta prof, possibly near TUKS?

 

Congrats on the new addition to the MTS problem we all have...lol
I think that tank has a lot of potential and if you do it will never give you any problems but if you do the rebuild half you are going to have serious problems later... So I think you have made the right decision to wait till Dec Holidays to redo the tank....Can't wait to see this ones Thread started...... Good Luck:top:

 

Ferryman, another way of splitting the tank is to use an old tapemeasure instead if fishline....

 

i'll see if i can find a broken/old one, thanks!

 

u can buy cheap tapemeasures at builders for R10

 

lol, thanks man, will see what i come up with, not gonna use the ones in my dads toolbox, they're still relatively new

 

AND probably not the R10.00 jobbies!

 

yesterday i noticed a broken tape measure at work, yay, so today i asked the manager if i could have it, since it was torn and would no longer retract.

tried it out, got the cracked corner cut off now, but it seems like its gonna be a messy business with the yellow paint being scraped off and the chipped edges of glass making small glass powder falling on the floor as i cut through the silicone, I'll take the tank outside tomorrow and see how much i can cut apart, hopefully the whole disassembly goes down without a hitch by day's end, then i can fully wash out the plates, take a big sheet of safety glass to a cutter to make me a new base and rebuild the tank in a day or two. gotta get on with the serious studies as well, with final exams only two weeks away... and i want this tank done quick, as i want it to be an apisto tank, with all the recent talk of apistos and dolphin's shipment due to be placed, and exams looming, time is seemingly of the essence

(urgh, just remembered the necessary cycling time for a new tank, crap. it wont cycle in time no matter how fast its built again... hmmm. time sucks, its plotting against me... aranoia-:
:hmmmm: this poses a sucky dillema

 

btw, can someone advise me on the suitability of 6mm safety-glass as a base?
the original base was 6mm, and i have a big sheet of 6mm safety glass (3mm x2 laminated)

 

Ferry,

You cannot use safety glass for building aquaria, that glass is much weaker.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

@Prof

Thanks for the heads up. the glass was donated to me by slojo for building sliders for my main tank (i know its a bit thick for the purpose, but hey, free donations i willingly accept ), thought it might have spared me some costs for the base.

I will let you know if i will be taking you up on the black silicone offer as soon as i'm ready to reassemble, just need to see what my funds look like by then. Otherwise i'll be going with the bland normal translucent stuff which i'm not keen on as the black will look good with the black perspex strip on top

(but i still need to buy/find a 3ft stand for this tank and also a filter, heater and lights among other things, hehe, reflecting on that fact, each of those elements will cost me a weekends pay, lol, my income sucks i need a job at a law firm..)

 

started taking it apart today,

after a few cuts from the tape measure, i went and found leather safety gloves, from there i progressed a bit with the bottom, but, quarter way down, the bottom cracked and the corner that i had loosened broke off... now i cant get the tape measure in cause the cracked edges are at an angle that 'deflects' entry... urgh... i almost want to take it out to the dumping grounds on a trailer, get rid of it, and have a 3ft custom built to fit the same dimentions as the main tank i have 90x50x45...

 

FM, another good tip on cutting silicon, is to use a guitar string... I don't know notes so I can't id it, but use the very thin metal string.... or you can also use a steel fishing trace. And use those gloves again LOL

 

Done

As exams are next week, till 22 november, i wont be rebuilding the tank now

but at least i managed to take it apart today.

all thats still attached is the 3layers of slider strips on front and back pane
and the cross and length bracing strips are still connected to each other

the rest is apart

While cutting sometimes the edges crumbled off powdery bits of glass, when the silicone gap was very very thin, now i dont know if its normal cuz i was forcing apart the glass with point pressure from the tape, or if this means the glass is brittle, any comment?

 

If glass has been kept outside for a while, it does get brittle. This is according to the glass manufacturers. My question to them, which they are never able to actually answer to my satisfaction is this...

What is the difference between a glass tank sitting (often under shadecloth/or half in the sun, half out) outside, and the glazing that is in my flats windows that is exposed to the sun 10-12 hours every day? Why is my glazing of my house not "powedering" away? Granted a fish tank's glass does take a bigger pressure due to the water...

 

mmm good question and I would also like to know that answer

 

I don't think the glass is brittle, I think you probably "sanded it with the tape that is why it made the powder. I am no expert but if the glass was brittle then the tank would have fallen apart when you started working on it as soon as you move the glass away it would have cracked
my opinion...