Need some Tank advice

S

sirhelm

New member
Okay.. as usual I rush into things without long term thinking and or thinking "outside" the box ;)

I currently have 2 tanks

1 is the brand new blue back 60 gallon tank with no overflow.

1 is a used 90 gallon, heavily scratched (really fine scratches...) with a center over flow right in the middle of the tank. Desinged to be viewed from all sides...

Question is... is it cheaper to try and buff the tank back to new

(everclear.com quoted me a 100.00 bucks for buffing kit, plus the pads for a drill to polish)

How much to drill the 60 gallon truvu and add a overflow?

What would you do?

Any advice is appreciated......

Thanks

SH
 
Sirhelm,

Drill overflow on acrylic is easy. I drilled my 125 TRU VU tank with a bulkhead with strainer no overflow. I can do it for you . As long as the tank is empty. does not take very long. I have the hole saw to drill 1 inch bulkhead which is 1.5" I believe.

Dudley
 
mmmmm................. see I should have asked first.

Question is... can you ever get a scratched acrylic tank back to looking brand new by using the repair kits, or liquid polishers?

Dswong01 is the strainer above water or below? I guess it is essentialy the same thing as an over flow right?

mmmm.... I had initally thought about getting a HOB overflow.. but several people warned against that due to siphon breaking, power outages etc....

I really like the 90 gallon and I got a great deal on it... however the stand doesn't have a solid top.... just several braces and a lip all around that the tank sits on.

I would also have to drill the stand for the 60 gallon as well....

mmmmmmm

SH
 
Okay,

I am going to do an experiment with these folks

www.etr-inc.com

They claim that with their product I can take the 90 gallon tank and make it look brand new.

So I bit the bullet and spent 114.00 on this

Deluxe Hand Kit -
http://etrinc.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=5

an extra 8oz bottle of liquid abrasive http://etrinc.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=16

a 5 inch drill backup pad http://etrinc.com/shop/cart.phpm=product_detail&p=20

a 5 inch TufBuf pad
http://etr-inc.com/shop/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=19

The support they offer is pretty impressive, and will walk you thru and assist with anything they can, short of flying out themselves.

Here is their first instructions

Read the kit directions first
- Using the wax pencil, grid the tank off in square feet
- Draw a circle around your main scratches
- Following the instructions, remove the scratches. Only use grits 1500, 1800, 2400 and 3600
- Once you have removed all main scratches, you are ready for liquid abrasive
- Get an electric powered drill (battery ones don't last long)
- Attach the 5 inch drill backup pad to the drill
- Dip the 5 inch TufBuf pad in water and attach it to the backup pad
- Apply a quarter size amount of liquid abrasive to the TufBuf pad
- Smear it around on the acrylic and begin polishing for 5 minutes per sqft
- Cover 2sqft every 10 minutes at a time
- Keep the acrylic real wet by spraying with water
- Wipe down everything with water and a clean cloth
- If you still notice small scratches, either remove them by hand or run the liquid abrasive again
- You cannot over polish with liquid abrasive. Sometimes 10 minutes per sqft is necessary to get a nice shine

I will document with pics from start to finish and we can see if it is worth the price or not.

Stay tuned..

BTW has anyone actually done this with any other products and actually gotten the tank to look new?

SH
 
You CAN get a scratched acrylic tank buffed out andlooking great, assuming it is scratched and not crazed.

I've done it by hand on smaller pieces and it does take time.

Good luck.
 
Cool. Well that makes me feel better.

Whatever the previous owner did to the tank I have no idea.... they have vertical and horizontal fine scratches on 90% of the tank.

Almost like they used a brillo pad on the tank.

I am going to give it a shot.

I may also try and keep both tanks now...

Now just to convince the better half.....:eek1:

SH
 
Contact Marc Daniels of MARS. He's just come out with a new patented process for restoring acrylic tanks. I heard that it's way awesome.
 
Sirhelm
My bulkhead/strainer is halfway to three/quarter submerged. It sort similar to alot LFS tanks. I had a hang on overflow and didnt like it so I drilled it. It took all day to take down tank and put it back together.
 
Thanks MR. Ugly,

I will give him a shout. I am interested in this process.

I think it would be a good topic and demonstration for the BAR meeting down the road.

I can't be the only one to pass on cheap tanks cuz they have been scratched...... and don't know if it is worth the time and effort to get them back to new...

Dwsong01 - Yes I have seen those at LFS as well. So I guess the flow rate is the same calc as an regular over flow... just have to leave more room in the sump in case of a power outage? Or do you have a siphon break on the return?

SH
 
Gravity flow for 1 inch PVC is about 700 gph I also have a ball valve on outlet of the bulkhead . I have a small pin hole on my return line to break siphon due to power outage or shutting off return pump.
 
I've also heard good things about Marc Daniels. He demo'd his procedure on a few people's tanks, and the way he does it he uses specialized tools that supposidly is hard to use correctly. Check the MARS forum as well for information about his acrylic buffing work ;)
 
Thanks guys. I just PM'd him. I am interested in his reply. Be interesting to see how much he would charge me for this process.

Thanks again for the sage advise

dswong, let me think about drilling this tank.

If no one grabs it in the meantime.

I will give it a week, then I will decide.

Thanks again

SH
 
I was reading thru some forum threads about scratch removal, and some people said that you could hire "proffessional Buffers" for about a 1.00 a gallon.

Does anyone here know of anyone who offers that service? May be a viable option to pay someone to do it.

BTW I did send a PM to Marc Daniels. And I am awaiting his reply.

SH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Bulkhead leaking, need advice
Replies
6
Views
159
wvned
wvned
A
I need advice on lighting jebao AL-120
Replies
5
Views
429
griss
griss
JCOLE
Acrylic sanding advice
Replies
8
Views
797
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
A
FS: Leemar Tank w/ Stand
Replies
0
Views
386
AQUA951
A
H
New Crocea Clams - Some opening some not?
Replies
3
Views
509
hilde123
H
Back
Top