Suggestions wanted on dismantling a 900g ish tank
 

Lol got your attention.. I have been idle the past while lots going on in my life but tomorrow I am going to be looking at a tank for a lfs that we are going to dismantle and move for future endeavour. I can't say much about it but it is a 12'x 4' tank can't remember the height and a few of you had monster tanks and I am curious as to what tools made the job easier

I have access to suction cups and a crew and as most know have taken numerous small tanks apart for repurposing but this is and may very well be the largest ends our I will ever take on. At this time it's undecided as to what will be its future but we have to move it from its current location.

Any hints or tips are welcomed

guessing you're moving it in pieces?

2 things, 1 make sure you have a lot of muscle and 2nd those suction cup have to be pneumatic ones and not princess auto cheapos. Best of luck.

Yes it must come apart no way to move it without.

We have 4 of the good ones they work well and I am told the muscle will be there at time of removal. I have to pre prep the tank for removal and dismantle I e never used piano wife to separate the glass and curious how this has worked for others. Would it be advisable to build an a frame to hold the glass for transport. Rather than lay it flat it will be travelling aprox 4 blocks from current location then stored until its fate is determined

Is this the cowtown tank?

I would definitely make a quick glass holder just for the ease of transportation without having to go 10km around every turn. It's gonna be interesting taking the whole thing apart but just take your time and be careful, you shouldn't run into any problems.

A crane.

Make sure it's empty first.

Having recently dismantled a 10' tank a couple of suggestions.

Get a few more of the suction cups, I rented them from Rodgers Rent-All. There is a few websites that have glass weight calculators. You'll be surprised how heavy each panel is!

Piano wire works, but I found the best tool was a body filler (bondo) applicator (the steel ones) they are thin and flexible. Also take several putty knives. As you are working, leaving one in helps wedge the glass enough to make working with the other tools easier. Take your time and when you find a spot where it's too tight, move somewhere else. Eventually the tension will relax at trouble spots.

There are two products I found very usefull, Dap silicone remover, and a product called Remov-It. Tough to find, but this significantly softened the silicone when applied a few hours before.

Definitely build a frame for transport, you don't want to move the sheets flat!

Bring a hacksaw for any hard glued plumbing and big channel-lock pliers for bulkheads.

Have fun!

Francis

I found it worked great where the glass wasn't touching the adjoining pane. Make two little handles out of wood dowels so you don't destroy your fingers in the process. Good luck.

I'd find out if it's tempered first and if it is I'd walk away. I've cut a few tanks apart in my day and you always end up chipping the edges, even if only slightly. The problem with tempered glass is it won't shatter from small chips but there's a possibility the internally stressed glass structure would be compromised meaning it could blow out later, and with 900 gallons behind it, it's simply just not worth the risk.

With that said cutting the tank apart isn't that hard. Remove inside beads first as well as any bracing if present. Plastic bracing will likely have to be scarified. Cut side seams first then pull the glass back to break the seal on the base, finish with knife. I'd use an x acto knife, you can actually get sets like this which work well. Getting the blade in can be tricky depending how the tank was assembled but if you start at one side and use some leverage you can usually work your way through the seam with ease. Personally never had much luck with piano wire.

I have only taken one tank apart and don't know how thick piano wire is.
But I went to a music place and got the smallest broken guitar string for free and used that.
As mentioned, I wrapped the string around two wooden dowels and see-sawed my way through.
Good luck, its a process!

Tank is not tempered thankfully,just highly overbuilt. at one time it housed a black tip reef shark but was used for freshwater up until it was shut down. I will update this thread on how it goes. Definitely going to be interesting especially when we set it up in the lfs as a display tank.

Btw thank you for advice and tips it is helpful

Use a product called Goof Off, it will soften the silicon to make it easier to cut threw with the wire.

I used a g string... The thinest guitar string I could find. Went through a few but they are cheap and very thin. Worked quite well.

Saw that and immediately tried to figure out how you would use a G string :twised:

You don't want to be wearing lots of heavy clothing if your gonna jump in there and start cutting out silicone