Pair of New (to me) 29 gallon Metaframes to restore

[cc89]

Hello all,

New here, so hopefully this is the right place. I was given two 29 gallon slate-bottom Metaframe tanks with their stacked stand, and they are in somewhat decent shape, considering 15-20 years of being empty and having hard water stains/lines all over them. Does anyone have any specific experience with restoring these? I haven't leak tested them yet, but something that concerns me is that along the edges of the stainless steel, the black stuff seems to be deteriorating and I'm not sure what it is made out of and if it can be replaced. I know they used some kind of tar to seal the bottom slate to the glass, but I can't find anything about what they used "behind" the stainless. It almost seems like it would have been a rubber gasket type thing, but I don't know.

I'm trying to uploading pics, so hopefully I am allowed to do this since I'm new.

 

[cc89]

Also, for a little bit of history on these... They were my grandparents and my Dad used to keep up with them when he was a kid back in the 60s/70s. Grandparents have both passed away and we've been cleaning out their house and this is one of the things we found in it.

 

[jjohnwm]

I've cleaned up a few of the old stainless-frame tanks from that era, and all I did was run a new bead of silicone over all the inside seams after getting them spotlessly clean in those areas. The tanks I had were all glass panels, including the bottom, and the same black tar was used as a sealant/adhesive throughout, no gaskets or anything else.

You'll never get all the black stuff out without literally dismantling the tanks. I would not touch it, just leave it in place so that the tank looks original from outside.

My main caveat here would be to research how well silicone will adhere to slate. You might have to go to one of the high-zoot super sealants to find one that works for that; I don't know, just putting it out there as a caution. In your case, the silicone would strictly be a sealant, as the structure of the tank is ensured by those nice frames.

I made the mistake of using standard, clear Silicone I for my repairs. If I were to do it again, I'd see if that stuff comes in black, which will be much less obtrusive in those tanks.

Finally, I don't know if you are familiar with fixing/building glass aquariums, but if not: make certain that any silicone product you use is 100% silicone and has no mildew-inhibiting agents added. GE Silicone I...despite the lawyer-speak warning on the package that says not for aquariums...is the go-to for me and for countless other DIY aquarists. I have used it extensively for literally decades; it is safe, strong, as easy to work with as any silicone can be, and inexpensive.

Good luck with these tanks; they are a real blast from the past, and with the added sentimental value they have to you, I hope you can get them up and running again.

 

[deeda]

Welcome to MFK and love those Metaframe tanks!

How good does the glass look on those tanks? That will determine how much effort you want to put into fixing them up.

Check out the following link from another forum about how one hobbyist fixed his Vintage slate bottom tank

I will tell you that is hard work to completely dismantle one of these slate bottom tanks IF you want to replace any of the glass panels. I disassembled a 10G tank a few years ago and it took a good 2 days with a heat gun outdoors to get everything apart and the chrome cleaned up. I even bought new glass for the tank but got stuck on which product to use to reassemble it properly and get the gaps correct and still haven't finished it.

Also check out Stainless aquariums for a bit of history.

 

[cc89]

I've cleaned up a few of the old stainless-frame tanks from that era, and all I did was run a new bead of silicone over all the inside seams after getting them spotlessly clean in those areas. The tanks I had were all glass panels, including the bottom, and the same black tar was used as a sealant/adhesive throughout, no gaskets or anything else.

You'll never get all the black stuff out without literally dismantling the tanks. I would not touch it, just leave it in place so that the tank looks original from outside.

My main caveat here would be to research how well silicone will adhere to slate. You might have to go to one of the high-zoot super sealants to find one that works for that; I don't know, just putting it out there as a caution. In your case, the silicone would strictly be a sealant, as the structure of the tank is ensured by those nice frames.

I made the mistake of using standard, clear Silicone I for my repairs. If I were to do it again, I'd see if that stuff comes in black, which will be much less obtrusive in those tanks.

Finally, I don't know if you are familiar with fixing/building glass aquariums, but if not: make certain that any silicone product you use is 100% silicone and has no mildew-inhibiting agents added. GE Silicone I...despite the lawyer-speak warning on the package that says not for aquariums...is the go-to for me and for countless other DIY aquarists. I have used it extensively for literally decades; it is safe, strong, as easy to work with as any silicone can be, and inexpensive.

Good luck with these tanks; they are a real blast from the past, and with the added sentimental value they have to you, I hope you can get them up and running again.

Thanks, this is some good info. I would prefer to not have to replace the slate with glass, so I'm hoping the tar stuff is still sealing well after all these years. I've never worked on a tank like this (I just have a modern all glass 29 gallon as my main tank) so this is good to know.

 

[cc89]

Welcome to MFK and love those Metaframe tanks!

How good does the glass look on those tanks? That will determine how much effort you want to put into fixing them up.

Check out the following link from another forum about how one hobbyist fixed his Vintage slate bottom tank

I will tell you that is hard work to completely dismantle one of these slate bottom tanks IF you want to replace any of the glass panels. I disassembled a 10G tank a few years ago and it took a good 2 days with a heat gun outdoors to get everything apart and the chrome cleaned up. I even bought new glass for the tank but got stuck on which product to use to reassemble it properly and get the gaps correct and still haven't finished it.

Also check out Stainless aquariums for a bit of history.

Thanks! I think they are super cool, and thanks for the links. I have seen the history one but I hadn't seen the one from PlantedTank, so that is some good new info for me.

The glass all seems to be in good shape other than the hard water markings that I am working on getting cleaned up. Hopefully getting the tar stuff hot will prevent any bottom leaks, and I may put hot water in them even if they pass a leak test just to try to make it fill any gaps or anything that might be an issue in the future.

 

[cc89]

Oh and here are a few pictures from after I've done a bit of initial deep cleaning on them. The picture outside is the tank that was originally on the bottom, and the one inside was on the top. The bottom tank is going to need more work on the glass, so I am going to focus on the other one to start with.

 

[jjohnwm]

There is no way that I would trust that old sealant, regardless of what you do to it now. Just leave it in place, and slap a new bead of silicone (assuming it works with slate) all the way around the interior. You aren't "building" a tank...that's already done...you are merely laying down a waterproof bead to seal it.

I hope you can get that glass clean; those will look terrific if you do!

 

[DMD123]

Very cool project! Look forward to your updates!

 

[cc89]

Thanks everyone! I started leak testing one last night and so far it is holding up to 8" or so of water with no noticeable leak, so I'm going to keep adding water to that one over the course of the next day or so before I drain it and keep working on cleaning the glass.