rebuilding metaframe tank

[mightieskeeper]

I have taken my 5 gallon metaframe tank apart this week.  I removed all the glass and pitched it.  I started scraping the old putty and silcone out.  Here is my question.  Should I remove the slate bottom and replace with glass? What is your opinion?

[staples2485]

keep the slate!!!!!

[Ron]

Keep the slate!

[Michael Zebrowski]

Gotta keep the slate...it's not a Metaframe without the slate.  That would be like cutting the fins off of wild adult altum angels...well, not really, but you get the point.

Mike Z.

[mightieskeeper]

Thanks guys the slate is staying!

[dbosman]

Keep the slate, but you may want to put a glass pane over top of it. Silicone doesn't adhere to slate nearly as well as it does to glass. Or, were you going to replace the asphaltum?

[GrizzlysDad]

dbosman beat me to the reply I was gonna suggest...actually, strongly recommend.

[Ron]

Keep the slate, but you may want to put a glass pane over top of it. Silicone doesn't adhere to slate nearly as well as it does to glass. Or, were you going to replace the asphaltum?

Glass pane over top? Why not put the glass pane first and then the slate on top? This way the slate is visible without obstruction? Asking simply because I've never had a true metraframe, but the idea of having a slate piece for substrate and nothing else sounds intriguing to me.

[mightieskeeper]

I removing all the asphaltum.  My plan is to replace all the glass panes and silcone the slate back together.  I believe I can do this by silconing glass and slate to the frame and then silcone inside the tank.  This is my first metaframe tank that I have attempted to rebuild.

[dbosman]

For anyone else with a Metal framed tank, before pulling the tar out, try soaking the whole tank -filled with hot water- in a bathtub full of only Hot water. That can soften it enough that the seal will flow, and actually seal, when you drain the tub after about half an hour.