Need some ideas....
 

On how to move a broken 320g tank out of my basement.

With the side pane completely gone, the tank isn't stable. So I can't just get some guys and move the tank to a truck and haul it to the dump.

But I am not sure if taking a hammer to it is really all that safe, even if it SOUNDS like fun (usually the things that sound fun to me end up resulting in pain...).

The front pane is starphire - is that similar to tempered? If so, can I just smash it?

Any other ideas? I already tried to sell the tank for a year cuz I had no clue how to get rid of it. But no one wants a busted tank (me neither) so I really just need it out of the house so I can move on to the next one.

I'm not sure I'd take a hammer to something that large. I've smashed small tanks like 20g's that were sumps to get them out of a tight tank stand, and found myself cleaning shards for months ever after.

The two things I'd consider is 1) build a temporary frame to compensate for the missing panel, or 2) try something like a guitar string to disassemble the panels. (Never tried that so don't know how well it works, but I've heard it suggested in the past.)

Oh and yeah anyhow, tempered vs. starphire. Not the same. You can have tempered starphire glass, non-tempered starphire, etc. Whether it's tempered or not depends probably on the dimensions of the tank. At 320g it's not inconceivable that it is (tempered) (my 280g's front glass is tempered 1/2 starphire). But if the tank is short or shallow its possible that it isn't. Supposedly you can tell if glass is tempered or not by looking at it with polarized sunglasses (the polarization will pick up on the wavy lines that you can't ordinarily see otherwise, should look like a criss crossing pattern ... I think. :confused: I guess I should check with my own tank whether this is an urban myth or not. :redface: )

Anyhow, whatever you decide, good luck. Hope the remaining panels are salvageable. Given the price of starphire these days it would be a shame to see it go to waste.

Call a glass place and see if they will come and get it. They may be happy to salvage the glass for free.

Maybe get some friends to help you cut up the tank & carefully carry out each pane. Maybe go to a furniture place & ask for several refrigerator boxes to use as padding. A tank that size will be super heavy so taking it out pane by pane might be a viable way of getting it out of there.

OK, who's next? :biggrin:

Anthony

Glass is great for getting those needed silicates into your everyday diet.

Hmmm, I dunno about the eating glass part... I think I saw it on ripleys believe it or not though :)

Dissambling it was my original idea, but it took me 2 whole days to remove the broken glass, and it was hard work that consumed a whole pack of razor blades... and the piano wire doesnt work (well, I used the thinnest guitar string, the metal one and it wouldnt cut thru the silicone).

A glass shop to salvage it? Never thought of that! I think I will call around tomorrow.

polarized sunglasses? hmmm, my glasses are polarized, I should check soon :)

I don't know how effective it would be but you could tape the entire tank up using wide masking tape and the smash it.

The tape should keep all the glass together and prevent it from flying around.
Don't go crazy with the hammer but try and break small sections at a time.

hahaha, you know, if I did it with duct tape I bet it would hold. Being quite thick and heavy glass, the masking tape would just be torn up I think...

I'm a good canadian boy and have 3 or 4 rolls of duct tape downstairs!

I like solutions to problems that only require 1 person. Cuz getting people out to carry a big ass tank costs me beer and steaks :)

Could you find someone to repair it? Since you already have the panel out it should be simple, for an experienced person, to clean it up and re-silicone the panel back in.

Try wrapping the tank using duct tap and heavy plastic or a tarp/blanket then break it. This should help contain the debris and make it a little safer.