Metaframe tank refurbish

I was able to get all 4 panes of glass out with just a razor blade and persistence. Now I need to get the metal cleaned up from all the black stuff. Putting the slate bottom over siliconed in glass is an interesting idea, I might try that. I do think I'll try to find tempered glass for the bottom.
 
Mineral spirits did a great job removing ALL the tar sealant residue from my frame. Just wash the frame with soapy water afterwards to remove the oily residue.
 
I have 4 of these tanks sitting around in different stages of refurbish, local glass costs are way more than I was expecting! For removing the tar residue I used Black Jack Asphalt & Tar Remover which was recommended by someone at my local big box store who actually knew something about aquariums. :) It worked great especially when heated with my heat gun (hairdryer works too). Slate over glass was highly recommended to me too, seems like a sound idea.

:popcorn:
 
Jen, are you saying that heating the Black Jack tar remover helps it to work better? I was finally able to locate that product but it's been too darn hot to work in the garage on this project.
 
Sorry for the delay. If it is still relevant, yes heating the tar remover when applied helped sometimes. Some spots cleaned up without heating (actually heating sometimes just smudged it around) but other spots needed to be heated. I had 2 very different textures of "tar" on my tank so spots cleaned up differently.
 
No problem on the wait, Jen. It has been way too hot to do any work on my Metaframe collection.
 
Way too hot is the best time to work on asphaltum. ;-)

By the way for newcomers to this thread, leaving the original asphaltum (tar) in place is the simplest thing to do. Quite often hot, but not boiling, water will melt just enough of the old seal to allow the glass to re-seat and hold water.

On the flip side, if you want to remove the asphaltum and don't have glass worth saving, winter is the best time to work on the tank. The asphaltum will be solid and pop right off the stainless steel using a dull chisel or putty knife to pry at it.
 
napsterninja said:
People remove the slate bottom because silicone dosen't have a good seal to the slate. It will last a few years then will need to be resealed. The glass on the bottom is another alternative. As for the heat gun it should be ok since you are gradually heating the surrounding area rather than having rapid temperture change on one spot. Well don't poor cool or cold water on it after you heated it since that will cause a rapid temp change to the glass and crack it.
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Mine is going on at least 25 since my brother in law sealed it when he owned it. What qualifies as "a few years"? :) The tank I got off craigslist was fine during outside testing yet leaked in the kitchen. It's a soil tank so I let it leak. And finally the soil sealed it right up again in about 3 days.
 
I agree with those that suggest fully removing all tar, and using a glass bottom under the slate.

I would be careful if you chose to use the Black Jack, and heat... If Black Jack is a solvent, it could potentially cause a fire if vapors are heated quickly.

As for the tempered bottom, you will most likely find that it's crazy expensive. Glass must be tempered after it's cut, so you'll have to find a piece that is exactly the right size pre-tempered or have a custom piece tempered for you. Instead, I would just get double thick glass, like 3/8 or something, if you are worried about cracking.

If you want to just pop the tar off as suggested as a winter activity, you could put the whole tank in the freezer over night, and then pop it off in the morning.

Alternately, leaving the frame in the hot sun might be enough to loosen it up to a pliable state.
 
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