Any way to remove silicone?

[hebi]

hi guys,

i want to revamp my 3ft tank using those nice midori dw and whole scape will be using sand and moss on dw, maybe some anubias. then i remember something; that tank has a piece of glass partition or dont know how to describe, so i cant choose big pieces of wood if not cant fit into the tank, whose opening is only around 15cm. ok maybe a pic can speak louder than my words.
back to topic, i want to remove those partition thing which i think was meant for placing lights on the 6yr old tank. i surf the net and found some silicone remover, but they seems rather strong. some people also suggested using alcohol. are these stuff safe for fish or plants? as in will it stain or need thorough cleaning of the tank after using it? and where can i find such silicone remover? Home-fix? thanks.

[bossteck]

Hi Hebi,

You're not referring to a cross brace right? Because if you're, those things help to relieve the stress on the 'walls' of your tank, removing them would weaken your tank.

If the piece of glass serves no other purpose other than for lights (unlikely, so best if you could post a picture for the rest to confirm before you go ahead), then it should be easy to remove, just use a cutter blade and gently slice the silicon off.

Another way to fit large piece of wood, saw it, then arrange in in your scape so the break isn't that obvious, this is a compromise.

[hebi]

here are the pics:






as you can see from the pics, its a long piece of glass or acrylic glued to both ends and at the back of the tank also a smaller piece but that dont bother me. also, there is a square piece of the glass glued to the 2 piece and placed on top of it , so there will be a small hole left to put the inlet and outlet. any idea what its purpose and can i safely remove it? dont feel like sawing a nice piece of wood really

[hebi]

erm.. anyone know if i can remove that central piece of glass? really want to start the scape soon for CNY

[bossteck]

Based on what I am seeing, your tank has euro bracing and 2 side braces right? Should be a strong tank!

I believe you can remove the center piece, just carefully slice off the silicon, you can pull them off with surprising ease.

Noticed that your fan is resting on the center piece as well right? Got to make alternative plans for it then.

P.S. I am referring to the center horizontal piece, try to keep the 2 other pieces that span across the width of your tank if possible.

[hebi]

haha bossteck, im not so good with such hardware stuff. so maybe i number the pics and you just tell me which can be removed? thanks

1)a piece also supporting the fan at the back


2)the 2 square thing placed on top of the central long piece and back piece




3)this is actually a small piece at the sides supporting the central long piece


4)the eyesore...


5)a rectangular piece attached near the top at left and right side


6)a layer of dont know what attached around the tank near the top so there is actually 2 layer at the top

[hebi]

is there any other piece that is possible to remove without affecting the strength of the tank? will be best if its as open as possible so maintenance and setup will be easier.

[hebi]

is there any other piece that is possible to remove without affecting the strength of the tank? will be best if its as open as possible so maintenance and setup will be easier.

[bossteck]

Can't be sure, I have never seen a tank like yours before. But rule of thumb is, braces across the width of your tank strengthens it and prevent the tank from bowing at the sides.

[hebi]

ya its a pretty old tank. so to sum it up, i can safely remove that long central piece? and btw in pic6), i think thats what you say is the euro bracing placed at the perimeter of the tank.

edit:i think thats not the euro-bracing. its just another piece of glass glued along the perimeter of the upper part of the tank. so my upper part of the tank is actually thicker by around 6mm, compared to 8mm.

[hebi]

ya its a pretty old tank. so to sum it up, i can safely remove that long central piece? and btw in pic6), i think thats what you say is the euro bracing placed at the perimeter of the tank.

edit:i think thats not the euro-bracing. its just another piece of glass glued along the perimeter of the upper part of the tank. so my upper part of the tank is actually thicker by around 6mm, compared to 8mm.