Turn Your Old CRT Computer Monitor Into A Fish Tank ! ! !

Step 3 Keeping the curve.

WARNING - the Cathode Ray Tube is in vacuum. Breaking the tube can be VERY DANGEROUS. If you are to attempt this please be sure to wear proper safety gear (eye protection/face shield, gloves, etc.).

When I began this I was really hoping to be able to simply cut/drill a hole in the top part of the CRT, clean out the inside, caulk the back where the cathode is, and then fill it with water. BOY WAS I WRONG. Long story short, there is a big metal screen inside the CRT and I cracked the glass beyond repair, but who knows maybe I will try again sometime now that I have gotten a better look at the inside of the CRT.

Luckily, after my failed attempt at putting a fairly large hole in the CRT, the front of the tube was still not cracked. So it was up to me and Mr. hammer to get rid of the excess glass.

Once the excess glass has been removed you will need to remove the metal screen. Do not use a grinder to do this like I did. There are metal studs that go through the glass and using a grinder will cause the metal to expand and then the glass to crack. The metal screen can be removed by pressing down and over on the screen support clips.

Now that the metal screen is out the screen needs to be cleaned. I used some WD40 and an old t-shirt rag and it seemed to do the trick. Be careful the stuff on the screen flakes off a lot and is probably not very good to breath in, so wear a mask and turn your shop-vac on to catch as much of the flake/dust as possible.

Next I went a head and put some duct tape around the edge of the glass to soften the edge and keep it from biting me.

Comments

[nerfinaticRN7]

There is a big metal screen because all CRTs have holes to fire a cathode through. Invar shadow masks have miniscule holes, slot masks have vertical rectangles and aperture grills have a sereis of wires to fire through. Why would they fire through holes in the first place? Because a cathode, like a flashlight, gets wider as it gets further away from the source. The holes make the beams narrower.

[dkskinn]

this is a great hack. I have 5 or 6 CRT's I wasn't sure what to do with. I have gutted a few for the fly back, but i think I'll do this with at least a couple. as for the fools that think that there is radiation or other dangerous things in there, most of you are wrong. yes there is phosphorous, and a dangerous (sort of) vacuum. to crush the nipple at the connector is the safest way to take care of the vacuum, and as for the phosphorous, don't breath it and you should be fine. As for the radiation... seriously people. only way you get radiation from this is if you have it on, if you are doing this, you have no business being on any DIY site. there is no residual, radiation left when unit is off. not even inside. the biggest risk is the capacitors used to charge the deflection screens inside the tube. those can be extremely painful, and rarely leathal. just ask a cat I used to have... (long story, jut keep the cats tail out of things when you have this apart...) Just use a mask and beware of charged components. Even after months of no use.

[Homemadeslop]

So how long after it's taken apart with phosphorous particles around your house before you can seem it safe to take off that mask? If you a single old dude or old lady fine try it. As for those with kids I'd say it's a good idea but at the same time It is dangerous wether you liken it or not liken it to be. You state ohh nothing to worry about, obviously people are stupid if they think opposite than you right? I have witnessed what CRT tvs and monitors can do and it;s horrible. As for the dust of phosphorous, that can be your air supply for awhile so I wouldnt suggest this is done in the house! Any bit of dust can be an issue to anyone that has breathing issues like ashma, broncitis etc.

[Erik Andersen]

My electronic book says that CRTs have a cathode or something like that in them that can retain a nasty charge for months--please be careful.

[trisket]

The capacitor inside most CRT monitors holds up to 20,000 volts and does so before discharging for around 8 years. IT CAN AND WILL KILL YOU... I strongly advise people who aren't versed in electronics to not attempt this build.

[Minifig666]

 The tube is the capacitor! Really you need to jam a grounded screwdriver under the anode cap. Get expert help with this!

[stephenniall]

 You mean a Capacitator . Which are used to hold High voltages for the capacitators

[blamemonster]

 Yes, that's what the "C" stands for in "CRT" - cathode-ray tube.

[maker12]

true! ococh!

[jabbathegut1]

omg u r radioactive dude , do u now glow in the dark?

[Minifig666]

 No, but the phosphor dust does. That is how a CRT produces light

[Super-C]

WARNING! That "dust" is LEAD! POISONOUS! DEADLY! that is whay CTRs are heavy!!!!

[fox64]

Its actually phosphor, and that's not why it's heavy.

[magician847]

and the crt isnt in vacuum! i was about to open mine when i found out it had a pressurised gas in it, which would explode with glass everywhere!!! :S

[ReCreate]

laugh out loud, Its the opposite of pressurized gas

[fox64]

Its not pressurized, TV's are vacuum sealed. Most of the controversy comes from the sound the TV makes when it's depressurized. Many mistake that sound for gas escaping, when really its air going in. As far as exploding goes, it may shatter due to explosive decompression. However, this is usually a rare case and usually is not harmful.

[MrTrick]

No, the dust is phosphorous. When electrons from the gun at the back of the tube hit the phosphorous, it glows - that's where pixels come from - same as fluorescent lights. CRTs are heavy, because the glass tube has to be thick enough to cope with vacuum inside, and because of the electric components that generate high voltages. Yes, you're probably joking, but still...

[jinventive]

The phosphorous is on the front of the screen, the lead is embeded in the glass on the around the back of the screen!

[Super-C]

THe Glass has Lead in it to stop you from being exposed to the radation formed by the Electrons.

[destructopop]

Leaded glass? Leaded glass is also found in clear 'stained glass' settings. I can't imagine any setting where the lead could escape the glass itself to create anything like 'dust'.

[maker12]

true lets talk ,bout lead lead is found in TRACE amounts in prop 65 fabled glass ware. prop 65 example; Warning Chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm may be present in this product. lead is crt,s but it is only toxic if put in a river or a land fill! so they should be thorn out properly.

[tv.instructor]

you do realize that crts produce radioactivity that is contained inside by the lead so by opening the tube you have effectivly iradiated yourself please report to the nearist hospitable and get checked for cellular decay

[maker12]

true on 2 points crt,s MAY emit X-rays. and lead is used to stop them. HOwever you can't get x-rays free by opening a tv!

[fox64]

The screens on TVs and monitors are covered in phosphor. : - O If you get any spare, random UV photons or electrons hitting the phosphor, you have a fat X-ray problem on your hands. A flash bulb, or any full spectrum bulb, can energize any remaining phosphor to the point of exhibiting normal x-ray radiation. You may have just aged your vital organs by a few years. Since you lit the tank with a florescent bulb, you should be ok since most bulbs filter out the UV (You may want to check) , but you did take pictures of the screen and work with it under direct lighting... Next time I recommend the trash bag-vacuum cleaner method.

[maker12]

you mean hosttpatal? you put something like host a table !

[maker12]

oops I spelled it wrong!

[maker12]

cellular decay?= =WTF?!!!!= YOU NEED TO MAKE MORE SENCE!

[the_letter_7]

he accidentally typed hospitable, which is still a word, could likely have been a spell checking mistake and cellular decay is what radiation does to you, wikipedia things at least before you comment on them please. you are making it difficult to read the other comments, plus lowering my general opinion of 'people' on the internet.

[blamemonster]

 7: I just said the exact same thing, even in the same phrasing, to myself. People: for the love of God, the internet is a huge reference forum. At the VERY least use conventional grammar and spell properly.

[orksecurity]

Do NOT take my word for this -- ask a TV technician -- but in the past, I was told that the way to safely vent a TV tube was to remove the connector, find the glass vacuum nipple which should be between the connector's pins (the short section of glass tubing thru which the tube was evacuated and sealed), wrap that nipple in fabric and crush it with a pair of pliers. Any other approach (again, according to what I was told) risks having the tube shatter and "implode" into the contained vacuum -- which can result in sharp pieces of glass whizzing around at high speed. I would recommend going into a TV repair shop and asking them. They must know how to do this since they have to "safe" old picture tubes before disposing of them. And even after getting confirmation, I would highly recommend safety equipment -- a face shield at the very least, and preferably a decent thick apron as well -- Just In Case. Having said all that: Yeah, this is a classic hack. First time I saw it was at a student organization's table at SIGGRAPH, probably 20 years ago, and I did a real triple-take -- "Hey, really impressive graphics. Hold it, they're 3D, and they're color even though that's a monochrome terminal. That's impossible... Oh. Right. Virtual virtuality."

[mazeka.14]

the t shirt man:]

[mazeka.14]

its awesome

[maker12]

save the organs of it ^{I like doing donoring surgery}
doint have phd just need to BE A EE!!!!!!!!!!!!!