Ohhh that actually makes a ton of sense thanks! Btw there's no way tanks are usually this dirty? I haven't looked in there in years I just forgot about it.

Is it a hazard? There's literally weird blueish green foamy dust everywhere

The screw? Crazy lol I'll check later

Any reason why they'd reverse thread it?

Oh didn't see you said that, thanks for the help. Will give it a go tomorrow:)

Sadly I don't have any of those :(

Hey I didn't include this in my photo but the metal rod you see extending through the piece with the screw stuck in it goes all the way to the handle which is broken, so I'm assuming I wouldn't be able to cut through with a hacksaw.

I think I'll try the second idea though I'll just have to find my hacksaw lol