Questions about a slate bottom tank

[uber fish]

I have a 20 gallon tall slate bottom tank and i was planning on replacing the front pane of glass with a starphire pane.

I know from shows like pawn stars and stuff like that, that messing with old stuff can make it useless even if it looks better. So the question is Should i do it? and what can i use to attach it it to the slate since silicone doesn't adhere (spelling? idc I'm tired) to slate very well.

Lastly what kind of fish could I put in there? I was thinking African cichlids but anything that has a lot of color. Also I dont want any plant or and substrate on the tank, I want the slate to show.

P.S. No pics I can't even download them onto facebook lol

Thanks in advance

 

[deeda]

In order to remove any of the glass panes from this type of tank, the slate needs to be removed first. I've used a heat gun to heat the old black sealant so that it is soft and can be removed relatively easily.

Once the slate bottom is removed, you need to use the heat gun to loosen the sealant on the glass pane you want to remove.

I agree that I would also like to see the slate bottom on this style tank. One option would be to have a piece of glass cut for the bottom of the tank. Once you get the new starphire pane installed, add the new glass bottom, use aquarium safe silicone to seal all the interior joints. This will make the tank water tight. I would do a water test to verify the tank doesn't leak.

Now you can either set the slate back into the tank bottom and apply a bit of silicone around the bottom joints to make it look 'original' or if the slate is too big, just sand the edges down until it fits properly.

I plan on doing this project on a bunch of slate bottom tanks I picked up but haven't had time to work on yet.

As far as the value of the tank after the replacement, unless the tank was extremely old, from the late 1800's or early 1900's, I wouldn't worry about the retrofit.