Rare 1960's MetalFrame Slate Bottom Tank

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BlueTailCatfish

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 23, 2014
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I recently picked up a ten gallon from a yard sale.

Does not hold water (most of these old tanks do not because back then they were not made from silicone)

But other then that is in 100% perfect stellar condition.

These were the FIRST EVER widely manufactured tanks. (From what i have read)

And i saw a lot of people paying high dollar for these because of either nostalgia or cause it is what kinda started our "hobby".


ANYWAYS, what do you guys think it is worth?


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I have a few meta frame tanks but I'm not sure if they are worth much these days..One shop here had a few empty ones on display and would not sell them but that was quite a few years ago and the shop has closed down.Back then the tanks were rather rare but nowadays they turn up pretty often at flea markets which are popular in this area.
 
I have a metaframe 10 gallon that holds water fine. There is some kind of silicone there.
 
Mine are leakers so I mostly use them for newts and toads.I guess I'll get around to re sealing them one of these days.
 
I had a 5 foot 100 gallon "chrome frame" that was a sweet tank until the brother's ex-wife
 
I have a metaframe 5 gallon in my yard. It's full of rainwater so I can only imagine that it holds water.
 
The original material is a tar like substance. You can pour very hot water into the tanks and it will sometimes reseal them. There are recipes to make the substance if you really want to go old school. The real value lies in the hoods/lights more then the tanks because they are often lost or broken - unless they are large tanks. Silicone as a direct replacement won't work so good because it won't form a good seal to the slate bottom. Most people get thick or tempered glass and make a new bottom and let the slate sit on that.

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My first tanks were slate bottom/metal frames with the black tar seal on them. Nice little air pump driven box of carbon in the corner.

No clue on what they are worth as 'collectors' items these days.
 
They aren't worth much in Kansas City. I have a friend tring to sell 4. He still has them. The largest I think is 70 gal. Not all have a slate bottom.

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