I just found this article that my grandpa actually wrote and got published in a fish magazine a long time ago. It's a pretty interesting article so I'll write it up as it's typed in the magazine:
FROM T.V. TO FISH AQUARIUM
"The first step is to obtain a suitable T.V. This depends on your own personal taste. I used a 27 inch console that was mounted on casters. This worked out very well as the cabinet is quite strong. It must be for an aquarium this size. I have approximately 16 gallons of water and 10 lbs. of sand in mine. Water weighs 7 lbs. to gallon which makes the weight a problem.
The second step is to release the vacuum from the picture tube. This can be very dangerous as the tube will implode if it is not done properly. There are probably several ways to do this but the method I used worked fine. I broke 3 or 4 this way to make sure. I covered the tube with a sack, leaving just the socket sticking out. I then took a piece of 1/2" pipe about 4 feet long and hit the socket very lightly. This cracked the tube in it's most vulnerable spot. When the tube cracked I could hear a hissing noise as the air rushed into the tube. I waited about ten minutes to make sure the vacuum had been completely eliminated and then proceded.
The next step is to break the neck off. Again there are probably many ways to do this, but the method I used was fairly simple. I took a piece of cotton string and soaked it in kerosene. I then tied it loosely around the neck of the tube, about 3" from the body of the tube. I then set fire to the string. I had previously filled a container with cold water and set it on the floor just before the flame went out. I picked up the tube with the face towards me and immersed the neck of the tube in the water until the water level was even with the string. This snaped the neck off fairly even.
The third step is to clean the inside of the tube. I accomplished this with a steel rod and paper towels. The coating on the face of the tube is a powder and can easily be wiped off. I placed the towels through the opening in neck of the tube and used a steel rod as the handle and the towels as a mop. I had to bend the rod in a curve in order to reach the edges of the tube. I took the coating off the inside of the sides of the tube, but I think this would be a matter of personal preference. The sides and back of the tube have a rough finish and you will not be able to see through them anyway. I painted the back of the tube to give it a better background. I took the paint from the inside by using a solution of lye water, being careful not to splash the lye on myself or clothes.
I next drilled a hole in the top of the tube. It is possible to get by without the hole. I did for about a month but it is difficult and created all kinds of problems. I drilled the hole with an emery stone and used a 1/4 inch high speed drill. This is not the orthodox method of drilling glass but it works very well and is much faster than the slow speed method. I drilled a hole about 1 1/2 inch in diameter in about 2 hours. I used a tapered stone about 2 1/2 inches long. I used a circular motion to keep the opening longer than the stone. This will keep the stone from binding and cracking the glass.
Sealing the neck is the next step. This could be done with a plug but I clamped a rubber hose onto the neck and then clamped the right angle part of a 1 1/2 inch kitchen sink trap on the other end of the hose. This completed, I put the picture tube back in the cabinet in its original position.
I next installed a filter. I used a siphon type filter that hangs on the outside of the tank. I did this by making a rack with strips on it so I could hang the filter at different levels. I hung the rack on the back of the T.V. cabinet. I inserted the siphon tube into the hole that I drilled in the tube and hooked the return tube of the filter to the air pump and positioned it so it would empty into the pipe from the neck of the picture tube.
The final step is the starting of the aquarium. I used 10 lbs. of sand. This is less than the amount recommended for a 16 gallon tank, but the bottom of the tube is narrow and I felt I could get by with less. I now added about 16 gallons of water and a chemical to control algae, as the tube is difficult to clean. In order to start the plants I tied weights to the roots and dropped them into the tank. I took the steel rod and positioned the plants and pushed the roots into the sand. To all this I added a few tropical fish.
I have had this tank in operation for about 5 months and the fish seem to be doing very well and the water doesn't seem to evaporate like an open tank."
I can't beleive my grandpa actually did all that! And I thought I had hard time setting up a tank...
*credit to Angel Notes
aquarium magazine*
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