I am getting this tank ready for a riparium display featuring Synodontis catfish. I started a journal thread for this project over in the Catfish sub-forum:
Riparium setup with Synodontis petricola.
I intend to plant the tank as a riparium setup with a pendant light fixture, an open top and plants growing up into the space above the tank. The rimless aquarium will create a much more appealing display with unobstructed views of the emersed foliage and the water's surface. The tank will be filled to only about 3/4 of total depth. I hope that the tank filled to this depth, with several inches of seam on each corner above the waterline, will be strong enough to resist excessive glass deflection and failure of the silicone.
On the advice of another member of my local fish club I learned of a smart way to remove that top plastic rim. Here is the list of the items that I used:
This rusty old plane was out in the barn. It's a lot bigger than what I probably needed, and with a dull and chipped blade, but it worked fine for removal of the soft rim plastic.
I shaved away plastic all around the top outside edge of the rim until reaching the silicone sealant occupying the void between the rim and the top edges of the glass panels. .
After separating the rim into two pieces I was able to pull it away from the glass in several spots. Silicone sealant adheres very well to glass, but makes a very weak bond with most kinds of plastic. However, I found the rim to be holding tight at each of the corners. I used a snap-blade cutter to slice between the silicone and the glass. This is not a recommended use for for this kind of cutter, as the blade can snap and send sections flying through the air, but I worked slowly and with extra care. It is a good idea to wear eye protection when doing any kind of cutting work.
The outside piece of the rim just popped right off. It took some additional slicing with the cutter and careful pulling, but I was able to coax the inside piece off in just a couple of minutes.
Here is the tank with rim removed. Much of the painted background came off with the rim. It had occurred to me to try to save the background and patch it up with some more paint, but it will look better if I just remove the old paint and apply again.
I put the bag of pool filter sand into the tank so that it would not slide around so much on the benchtop as I worked.
One thing that had me a little bit nervous was the condition of the top edges of the glass panels. I had wondered if one or two panels might have been slightly taller than their neighbors. I was relieved to see that all four corners were flush and the glass edge was in good shape.
A more demanding part of getting this tank ready will be scraping of the excess silicone and repair of the top edges with additional clear sealant.
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Riparium setup with Synodontis petricola.
I intend to plant the tank as a riparium setup with a pendant light fixture, an open top and plants growing up into the space above the tank. The rimless aquarium will create a much more appealing display with unobstructed views of the emersed foliage and the water's surface. The tank will be filled to only about 3/4 of total depth. I hope that the tank filled to this depth, with several inches of seam on each corner above the waterline, will be strong enough to resist excessive glass deflection and failure of the silicone.
On the advice of another member of my local fish club I learned of a smart way to remove that top plastic rim. Here is the list of the items that I used:
- 50-gallon Aqueon aquarium
- block plane
- snap-blade cutter
- safety glasses
This rusty old plane was out in the barn. It's a lot bigger than what I probably needed, and with a dull and chipped blade, but it worked fine for removal of the soft rim plastic.
I shaved away plastic all around the top outside edge of the rim until reaching the silicone sealant occupying the void between the rim and the top edges of the glass panels. .
After separating the rim into two pieces I was able to pull it away from the glass in several spots. Silicone sealant adheres very well to glass, but makes a very weak bond with most kinds of plastic. However, I found the rim to be holding tight at each of the corners. I used a snap-blade cutter to slice between the silicone and the glass. This is not a recommended use for for this kind of cutter, as the blade can snap and send sections flying through the air, but I worked slowly and with extra care. It is a good idea to wear eye protection when doing any kind of cutting work.
The outside piece of the rim just popped right off. It took some additional slicing with the cutter and careful pulling, but I was able to coax the inside piece off in just a couple of minutes.
Here is the tank with rim removed. Much of the painted background came off with the rim. It had occurred to me to try to save the background and patch it up with some more paint, but it will look better if I just remove the old paint and apply again.
I put the bag of pool filter sand into the tank so that it would not slide around so much on the benchtop as I worked.
One thing that had me a little bit nervous was the condition of the top edges of the glass panels. I had wondered if one or two panels might have been slightly taller than their neighbors. I was relieved to see that all four corners were flush and the glass edge was in good shape.
A more demanding part of getting this tank ready will be scraping of the excess silicone and repair of the top edges with additional clear sealant.
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