ok so the tank is set up. i called around and got told by a local glass shop that old antique mirrored items are usually restored by taking toilet bowl cleaner like sno bol or the works, and wipe it onto the mirrored side. this will kinda soften it and makes it a little easier to scrape. then they just put another mirror behind the older glass. so i just followed the instructions and scraped it all off. this still took 6 hours. no joke. but its done and i feel much better with the tank. thanks all for suggestions.