Replacing Glass

[jtnova13]

i have a 150 gallon tank that i got from a friend. The only problem is that 1 side is made out of plexiglass and he said it wont hold 150 gallons of water. How hard would it be to take the plexiglass side off and put a new glass side on?

 

[BigIan]

depends how handy you are,

i`ve not done it my self but the process is fairly straight forward...

1) slide a think craft knife down the join between the plexi glass and the rest of the tank to cut the silicone seal,

2) remove all excess silicone ensureing the surface is left perfectly clean.....


3) run a thin seal of silicone along the edges of the tank then using 4 F clamps, (ensureing you pad them so they don`t scratch the glass) pop the new glass in place and remove any excess silicone with a wet finger (use a rubber glove so you dont get fingerprints every where)

4) placing one f clamp in each corner tighten them untill you have a firm seal (not to tight) and remove any more excess silicone. leave the clamps there untill the silicone has fully set (i`d leave it atleast 48 hrs if not longer.)

once the silicone has set wash the tank thourghly (this is also a good chance to test for leaks)


hope this works, as i said i havent done it but thats what i would do

 

[Marcos]

Why is one size perspex? (plexiglass) Was it a reptile tank, if so the other sides and bottom may not be thick enough to hold 150 gallons.

 

[jtnova13]

no its a fish tank with one side that had broken. He replaced the side with plexi as it was cheaper and made it a reptile tank.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, Big Ian's got it there. The one difficult thing you might have to consider will be removing the old silicone from the old glass at the seam. You might need to get some high-purity ethanol and a squeeze bottle if the knife doesnt fully remove it. The old glass and the new glass have to be clean of all old silicone before you put a new bead on... Traces of old silicone will weaken the joint and likely lead to leaks. High-purity ethanol (90%+) is a great solvent for aquarium silicone. Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) is not that great of a solvent for it, stick with ethanol

 

[windsor-aquatic]

If it's an end panel that you are replacing, it will have to be done slightly differently (assuming that the 2 end panels are sandwiched between the front and back). You need a bead if silicone between the edges of the end panel and the inner edge of the front & back panels, and you can't slide the new panel in without scraping off the silicone as you do it. The alternative is to cut the replacement panel to the exact outside dimensions of the end, put a film of silicone on the end of the front, back and base panels, fit the new glass and then seam internally as normal.