Found a nifty, but broken, metal rimmed tank on Craigslist a couple weeks ago...it was advertised as a 20 long, but the math comes out to something like 16.3g (it's 12"x24"x13"). I was originally going to use it for a 3 way betta-barracks, but since it's smaller than advertised, I'm feeling like that would be cheating the fish...so I'm not sure what to put in it at this point (I'm kinda leaning towards a leopard gecko or two). Regardless of aquatic or terrestrial inhabitants, I want to fix this thing up watertight so I have options...if I'm going to do the work, I want it done so I never have to do it again 
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3 out of the 5 panes of glass (including the bottom) had fractures, so I removed all of the glass and would like to replace it with either tempered glass or acrylic. The manufacturer used a black silicone and I'm considering staying with this since it provides a nice clean look from the inside, since the frame is so wide at the corners. Any recommendations on where to find black, aquarium-safe silicone? Or if anyone has a pic of a metal tank that was re-done with clear silicone they could post for comparison, I'm not totally closed to the idea...I'm just afraid it would look strange . Also, any advice on how best to clean the residual silicone off the metal frame would be welcome...I scraped most of it off, but this stuff is old (and there was a LOT of it) and has a consistency somewhere between a soft eraser and old bubblegum. At this point I feel like grabbing some steel wool, but thought I'd ask before getting crazy and abrasive on it. The last thing I'm concerned about, is how to brace the new glass/acrylic while the silicone cures. I'm assuming if I do it one frame at a time, the new silicone won't bond right to the freshly cured silicone from the previous piece. Taking it apart, I had to remove the bottom piece first, then hack away the really thick silicone around that edge, then slide the side pieces down and out (after some convincing with a putty knife and a hammer) because there's a lip on the top edge that the glass slides up into...and that was full of silicone too. Do I have to use that much silicone? And how to I maintain even/level spacing at the corners and joints? Thanks for any advice! Also, the obligatory, explanatory pics to follow...first is the tank before I tackled it, then my box of silicone scrapings, top view of the scraped tank, and a close up of the top lip/residue.
. 3 out of the 5 panes of glass (including the bottom) had fractures, so I removed all of the glass and would like to replace it with either tempered glass or acrylic. The manufacturer used a black silicone and I'm considering staying with this since it provides a nice clean look from the inside, since the frame is so wide at the corners. Any recommendations on where to find black, aquarium-safe silicone? Or if anyone has a pic of a metal tank that was re-done with clear silicone they could post for comparison, I'm not totally closed to the idea...I'm just afraid it would look strange . Also, any advice on how best to clean the residual silicone off the metal frame would be welcome...I scraped most of it off, but this stuff is old (and there was a LOT of it) and has a consistency somewhere between a soft eraser and old bubblegum. At this point I feel like grabbing some steel wool, but thought I'd ask before getting crazy and abrasive on it. The last thing I'm concerned about, is how to brace the new glass/acrylic while the silicone cures. I'm assuming if I do it one frame at a time, the new silicone won't bond right to the freshly cured silicone from the previous piece. Taking it apart, I had to remove the bottom piece first, then hack away the really thick silicone around that edge, then slide the side pieces down and out (after some convincing with a putty knife and a hammer) because there's a lip on the top edge that the glass slides up into...and that was full of silicone too. Do I have to use that much silicone? And how to I maintain even/level spacing at the corners and joints? Thanks for any advice! Also, the obligatory, explanatory pics to follow...first is the tank before I tackled it, then my box of silicone scrapings, top view of the scraped tank, and a close up of the top lip/residue.
Here is a link to an excellent site that deal with exactly what you are doing. i found it when researching fixing old aquariums, and it is well worth poking around. My suggestion would be to purchase new glass from a glass company cut to the exact size you need, and silicone it as per instructions on the website. Your tank is technically a 15 gallon (as far as the trade goes). Good luck!
