New Tanks!

Okay, so I've had my new 4ft tanks + stand delivered today (£120 2nd hand from eBay, but only 15-20mins drive away, else I wouldn't have been able to get them delivered )
The photo was only of 1 of the tanks, and while they're definately not pristene (especially condiering they are only around 3 months old!) they seem to be in a decent enough condition. However, I wasn't planning on using the "jewel style filters" that were included - but they're glued in place. I reckon they'll be more hassle than they're worth, so I was going to remove them + resell them on eBay, along with the heaters (I'm keeping the air pump, as it's a variable flow 4 way, so will be good for both of the tanks).

Anyway, what I want to ask is... Is there an easy + effective way of removing the filters from the glass without breaking either of them? The glue looks like the sealant that is used on tanks, so I'm guessing it's Epoxy Glue?
Any tips would be appreciated, so I can start sorting it all out (the tanks are currently using up the area of space I've spent ages clearing recently + the stand is just bunged in my kitchen for the moment!)

Hi there, I removed one myself last week, I used a long thin-blade metal spatula, you know the type used by chefs for icing cakes, not the short fat silocone ones. It was a bit nerve wracking but I just kept shoving it down the back and worked it free, my husband freaked out and couldnt watch, anyway I was left with 4 circular splodges of glue but they were surprisingly easy to scrape off. And I must say the tank looks so much better without it. Just need to find a filter to replace it? Any suggestions??

To get the glue residue off of my secondhand tank, I used a brillo pad with oxyclean. The tank had melted glue all over the back and nothing was getting it until that brillo pad. It came right off using that. Hope you get it all off!

Ooooh, crikey! Don't think I'd want to use a Brillo pad - I'd be too worried about scratching the glass! Though I did use a sponge scourer on my 2ft tank when my friend gave it back in a really dirty + water-marked condition - didn't have to use anything else to remove the marks + tank came up lovely + sparkly
I can get my fingernails under some of the stuff, but not enough leverage to peel them off (they're a foot high), so hopefully, something wiggled down the sides will work - just wanted to make sure I wouldn't break the glass by doing that.

Thanks guys :happy:

I'm not the person to ask about filters though. Mine are Fluval U3, which fit nicely along 1 side of the tank, laying on the floor, to help control the water flow - perfect fit!

Heh you,

Did you get the babies ok???

Were the glued in filters mentioned on the listing as if they were not and the condition was worse then expected get them to take them back!! x

It didn't scratch my glass luckily. I may have be able avoid that because of how thick and tacky that adhesive was. Even after I rinsed it off, I scrubbed it with paper towels to get the film off. I should have been more careful.

I've cleaned all the gravel out, but 1 of the filters was absolutely DISGUSTING - I'm talking 1-2cm worth of waste built up on EVERY surface inside - I can't even imagine how you'd get that much within 3 months, no matter how many fish you have in the tank!
The tanks look a lot better now (except I haven't finished cleaning that dirty filter, just emptied it), just because I've brushed them all inside + got rid of the stray gravel from 1 + the mound of gravel from the other.
However, no luck with trying to pry the filter cases off of the glass - they're stuck in the corner, so glued on 2 sides, plus around the bottom edge, with LOADS of glue, so if I try to lever them off or if I try pushing a knife down the sides, it puts too much pressure of the glass (besides, the knife will only fit 1/2 way down, but of course, I can't try from the other end coz it's stuck to the floor of the tank)
Don't know what else to try A longer knife maybe, LoL!

And, Zoe - I messaged you on Facebook (thought you said your inbox here was full, but now I think about it, you might've meant your Facebook inbox, so I'll send it to you here too!

Tried a scalpel/stanley blade?
Try cutting/scraping the glue from the outside before attempting to pry it off.

Acetone [nail polish remover] might work, but I'm not sure how friendly that would be to plastic and the inside of the tank (I'm not sure how easy it is to remove all traces of it)

Maybe a hair dryer to melt the glue a bit before trying?
But you'd have to be careful not to melt anything else, and glass can break if it gets too hot.

I'd go with trying to scrape it off first.
Maybe ask your local hardware shop?

I usually use the safety razorblades to scrap off glue (and paint and whatever else) from glass but they won't help you get it out to start with, their too short. Stanley knife blades/box cutter are usually longer.
The long metal spatula/pallet knife sounds like it has real potential for getting the thing out particularly if you can find the type that has the flat blade that then bends up to the handle as it would allow you to better lay it flat along the glass.
You could also try a filleting knife they have thin flexible blades or a hacksaw blade OR the metal cutting strip off a box of plastic food wrap/aluminium foil which are usually thinner than the hacksaw blades and still have the teeth. you will need to be very careful to not scratch the glass though.

Maybe a picture of the setup you're dealing with might help stimulate some ideas.

Epoxy glue or silicone? I don't think I have ever seen anything but silicone used in fish tanks. either way I suspect it's going to be a "little bit at a time" kind of job releasing the glue a little at a time before you'll be able to pull the sucker out of there.

pics
Angled pallet knife

the razor blades I use. You can use the double sided ones but I'm too scared of slipping and cutting my fingers

I used my longest knife + eventually manged to get 1 of the filter cases off the inside of the tank - took a LOT of effort though. There is a lot left on the glass, which doen't want to just peel off, but it peeled nicely off the filter case.
Just the gross 1 to do now + then the scraping

MereB - I meant sealant (I read about the Epoxy Glue somewhere + thought that was it's proper name )

I'll add a couple of photos later.

Woo hoo well done :happy: The sealant should come of easily with a sharp blade without scratching the tank.

No worries. I read the Epoxy thread too. Since they only had the tank for 3 months and it sounds like it's fairly new I was just curious really whether they had found a new adhesive to use in the last little while

MereB said:

Woo hoo well done :happy: The sealant should come of easily with a sharp blade without scratching the tank.

No worries. I read the Epoxy thread too. Since they only had the tank for 3 months and it sounds like it's fairly new I was just curious really whether they had found a new adhesive to use in the last little while

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Nope - the sealant left behind is proving to be a lot more work than getting the filter off! It's just slicing into layers! (Admittedly, I am using a very sharp knife instead of a razor blade, but it's of a similar thickness)

Breakthrough!

Aha! I've had a breakthrough! After trying many knives, which weren't working, I tried the back of 1 of them + it's working rather darn well!!!
It's taking enough off so that I should hopefully be able to scrub off the thin layer that's getting left behind, but crikey it's taking a long time
Photos to follow, so you can see how overboard they went,

BTW - I messaged the seller to ask him how I'm meant to remove it, to which his reply was -
"They are stuck in with sealant which you will only be able to remove with a scaple, craft knife or razor blade, this is usually a painfull frustrating and bloody experience.
I would suggest you take all the insides of the filters out clean them throuhg and turn the nozel on the pump upwards as these a pretty good filters, or put your fluval 3 inside the filter box." (Why would I want to shell out for all new filter materials + sponges, when I have 2 perfect Fluval 3s?!)

He then went on to say if his other 2 4ft tanks weren't sold at the weekend, he'd do a straight swap for tanks (no equipment with the replacements) - when I can resell these filters after cleaning them up, why would I want to do that, when my intention was to sell the extra bits to recoup a little of the money I spent on them?!

Photos

The sealant doesn't actually seem so bad now - when the filter casing was stuck on, there seemed a lot more, LoL!

My little patch of almost-removed is on the right hand side of the 3rd photo.

I have to wonder about some people sometimes :lol:

wow just a little bit of sealant there :rofl: It should look good once you've gotten it all off. Well done!

Mojo - you are far more polite than I would have been as I think that guy is taking the mick, who sells things like that on ebay without mentioning it??

Well done on the job so far (apologies for the icon my 4 year old felt it appropriate) !

The tank that had a MINGING filter + some gravel still in it was the easiest to scrape - it had 2 types of sealant in it + the blue tinted 1 was stupidly easy (just peeled off with my fingers). However, after scrubbing with a sponge scourer (I find they work well with water marks, but not as harsh / scratchy as Brillo pads) there are still marks (like waterproofed areas, even though glass is waterproof anyway!) from the sealant
And, the lighting in my bathroom (I scrubbed it in the bath) obviously isn't very good, as when back down in my lounge it still looks rather grubby
I've got the cleaner / more sealant covered tank next to my kitchen sinknow, but haven't worked up the enthusiasm to start scrubbing at it yet.
I want to make a moss wall for each, but that is going to be amazingly expensive for 2 x 4ft tanks. At least I'd only have to concentrate on the sealant on the ends though, coz the mesh (+ when it's grown, the moss) will cover the longest glass + the reverse side of it will be facing the wall, so not visible anyway. I did debate getting some background to put on the outsides + completely hide the sealant, but don't fancy putting it along the sides too, as that will limit my vision of the wonderful little guys.
So far, I have some cable ties! I have found the cheapest suitable mesh that I like on eBay, but it's going to cost £20 inc. P+P (which I can't afford just yet, having bought the tanks). I'm having a little difficulty with the actual moss though (probably Java, as it seems to be the cheapest + best for coller water), as I haven't found an aquatics places nearby that sell it + the 2 quotes I've had off eBay are around £30 per tank!!! Razeila has said that 1 of our local aquatics shops does sell it, but it wasn't open when I went along there + I don't know how much theirs is. I guess that's what the phone is for
Will look great when all done though - bidding on a tree stump hide on eBay. Think I might take the air stone out (to encourage gill growth) when the moss wall it up + growing, since that will provide plenty of oxygen. Having said that, I recently read that water plants produce oxygen during the day, but then CO2 at night, so the tanks gets spikes - anyone else know anything about that? And, would it be better to either leave the airstone running in the tank, or perhaps just turn it on at night (don't want to keep turning it on / off though, as I think axies can adapt to things like slightly warmer temperatures + water movemnt, as long as within reasonable parameters, but not if they KEEP changing)

zoezakella said:

Mojo - you are far more polite than I would have been as I think that guy is taking the mick, who sells things like that on ebay without mentioning it??

Well done on the job so far (apologies for the icon my 4 year old felt it appropriate) !

Click to expand...

Thanks Zak (?) for the sad face - I certainly keep feeling that way!

memojo1979 said:

Thanks Zak (?) for the sad face - I certainly keep feeling that way!

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lol he loves smilies and picks all sorts :happy:

1 tank is done!!!
I've scraped the bottom the best I could (it seems to turn invisible when I'm scrubbing + when I'm rinsing it!) but, since that will have a layer of sand on it, I'm not going for perfection - tricky for me to resist, since I'm a perfectionist + get REALLY frustrated when I start something but it doesn't go my way.
I prised the filters off with my longest knife, then scraped the most off with the back of a sharp knife, then tried scrubbing in the bath but that didn't work, so downstairs it went, next to the kitchen sink for a combo of scrubbing with washing up liquid + more scraping.
Finally, I resorted to baby wipes + kitchen towel (the same as I use for cleaning my windows) + gues what... more scraping!

Here are the photos to show my clean (+ ready!) tank, which actually looks better in reality, since the photo shows all the reflections -