acrylic stinks

[luvnpc69]

i have a new acrylic aquarium and already have a ton of scratches, inside and out...never waste your money on one...i thought i would avoid the risk of a leak....at what price?...i bought one of those scratch removal kits...now i can't even see into my tank from one side...thankfully i didn't try it on the front....never buy one of those either...i am seriously considering taking the plunge and going back to glass...how much is it going to upset everything i have just settled by switching it over? is there a certain protocol i must follow in making the transfer?
totally stressed out, and wishing i had stuck with freshwater.....it seems like it is always something, the more money i spend the more i find out i have yet to spend and the less i have to be spending...this used to be fun

[burks]

Are you sure you are buffing the scratches out properly? I've been around many, many tanks that have had the scratches buffed out and it's barely noticeable. Take it to an acrylic shop and have them buff the scratches out or search for a fellow reefer to help. There has to be at least one person in your area that knows how.

Also, it's not THAT easy to scratch acrylic. Been around them enough to know better. Do they scratch easier than glass? Sure. But not to the point that they are impossible to keep. Just have to be extra careful with them is all and use the right equipment to clean them.

[luvnpc69]

and just how would you propose i take it to an acrylic shop (if there is such a thing) full of livestock and water? and yes, i am sorry to inform you, but if a rock slips and hits the acrylic it is scratched...if anything falls against the tank it is scratched...if your kid slides a toy across the tank, it is scratched...obviously you have not been around them as much as you would like to say...if extra careful means never having a rock slip i would like to meet the aquarist you know who can do it

[burks]

Sorry to upset you due to your careless handling. The trick is to secure the rock so it doesn't slip, or at least minimize the chance to slip. A scratch here and there is one thing, you make it seem like your tank is nothing but scratches.

And yeah, there are acrylic shops and places that do acrylic work. You could just keep the rock and such in a spare tank until the work is finished (doesn't take that long).

Sorry for trying to help you. Next time I'll just let you spend more money and get even more angry at the hobby. Obviously you are just mad because the tank isn't working out for you. Don't take it out on me because of your mistakes.

[pfish]

I'm with you luvnpc69, acrylic sucks.

[Deb91]

Wow!!! I was going to try to offer you some help or advice,but after I read what you had the nerve to say to luvnpc69,a fellow reefer who took his time to answer your post I'm soooooooooo ****ed off at you for snapping like that!!!! IMO you owe him an appology!

[Deb91]

Sorry I'm so mad I meant to say was luvnpc69 you should appolgize to burks!

[MTB]

Getting scratches off the outside is easy. I've seen several and done several scratch removals. If it is done right it is hardly noticeable. The inside is a lot harder to do IMO. Where in Illinois are you?

[uscharalph]

Originally posted by luvnpc69
and just how would you propose i take it to an acrylic shop (if there is such a thing) full of livestock and water? and yes, i am sorry to inform you, but if a rock slips and hits the acrylic it is scratched...if anything falls against the tank it is scratched...if your kid slides a toy across the tank, it is scratched...obviously you have not been around them as much as you would like to say...if extra careful means never having a rock slip i would like to meet the aquarist you know who can do it

Frustrated I guess. LOL!!!

[jamiep]

Yes keep your cool everyone, that type of behaviour wont help anyone and will just get the thread closed.

Are your rocks secured in any way? It may help to do a bit more reading up on the acrylic repair. Post a pic off the side glass on the forum, state how it looks a mess and ask a fellow reefer how they can suggest you may make it a bit more see through, but I would suggest starting a new thread as people may be a bit reluctant to help you now.

Hope you get it sorted. I'm a student too and realise the tight living (though probs not as tight as you with a kid) and the pain and annoyance when all the spending just doesn't help!

[MalHavoc]

Calm down everyone. Yes, you can buff acrylic scratches out of a scratched tank. If you have cloudy haze on your tank now, you're not going fine enough and buffing long enough. The idea is that you keep going to finer and finer grit until the last bit of buffing removes any trace of haze. It takes time and patience.

Scratches and acrylic go hand in hand. And acrylic tanks can leak too. Scratches are usually the biggest reason for NOT going with acrylic. IMO, it's such a big negative that I'd never consider an acrylic tank. Others may disagree. But, I've also never had a glass tank leak on me, either.

[luvnpc69]

i do apologize fro the tone of my last post, i woke up meaning to apologize before i read the subsequent posts...i was up late sanding for three hours, had a sick baby, and a messed up tank...very frustrating....i also felt that burks had been a tad condescending in his reply, which set me off at that point...his assertion that i am careless in his second post reflects this even more....still no reason to lose it, sorry...however, i have been very careful with my rocks, and sometimes things happen....i doubt any one of you can tell me you have never had a rock hit a wall of your tank...i don't like the idea of gluing rocks, i like to move them around a little to try and find the best look, or if i need to remove something from the tank....anyway, i live in the peoria area, about two and a half to three hours from chicagoland... if you have any advice for me mtb, i'd love to hear it...i will attempt it again today after class...thanks, sorry for the bellicose post

[MalHavoc]

One way to keep your rocks movable, but also secure is to drill holes through them, and insert acrylic rods as dowels to hold them together. Build the structure you want outside of your tank, on some news paper, get it the way you like it, drill the holes, and assemble.

You can also use reef epoxy to secure wobbly rocks. Epoxy doesn't glue rocks together - it's not strong enough - but you can attach it to rocks to make stacking things easier and more secure, to give the rocks on top more of a hold.

If you think that rock falling and scraping your acrylic is bad, think about rock falling and breaking a glass tank, which happens quite often.

[MalHavoc]

By the way, the french in your sig is incorrect. It should say "je suis un autre". "est" is normally used to assign to a third person.

[stuccodude]

mothers polish at the end and i too own acylic and it sucks

[MalHavoc]

Originally posted by stuccodude
mothers polish at the end and i too own acylic and it sucks

On the outside of the tank, obviously. I know everyone knows not to put polish in your tank, but it had to be said...

[MTB]

I'd go down to 1200 grit sand paper. Gradually of course. Then finish it up with either mothers polish for cars. You should have several plastic manufacturers/shops near you. Look in the yellow pages and give one a call. They may have better advice and maybe some tools for the job. An LFS near you might come to your house and do it for you for a fee.

[luvnpc69]

MalHavoc, the french is absolutely correct, and you are correct as well in your translation...this is a quote from a famous poet, arthur rimbaud, from his "lettres du voyant", in which he is stating that the "i" is exactly that, someone else, and through an extended, logical derangement of the all the senses one such as himself may be able to attain understanding of it...thanks for the advice from others i will look into it further

[MalHavoc]

well, cool then

I wasn't aware of the Poet. I do live in french Canadian country. Cool stuff.

[digidana]

ok, ya'll got me scared to death now. i just commited to buy a never-had-water 240g acrylic tank, i pick it up next weekend. any suggestions on keeping it perfect? do they sell some sort of film or sealant or something that makes it a little less likely to scratch? or should i just do my best to keep the rock away from the walls? actually, i never thought about it before, but what do you use to keep the outside of it clean?

[MalHavoc]

Just do your best. It *will* scratch eventually. Best get used to that now.

for the outside, use a soft chamois and water or something. Never anything abrasive.

On the inside, the worse thing in the world is when you're using a magnet to keep the algae off of it, and you get a small snail or grain of sand under it and drag it across the inside of the tank. Oh man. Keep your magnet away from the sandbed and check under it each time, to make sure nothing is trapped there.

[digidana]

maybe a razor-wire fence to keep the kids away from it? :0)

[J-Burns]

Check out Marine Fish and Reef 2008 Annual. The live framing article is kind of like what MalHavoc was saying except it uses PVC pipe and stacks the rock like a Christmas tree.

[Lotus99]

I now keep my magnet cleaner out of the tank. I have colonista snails that like to get under it and cause scratches. If you're using an acrylic-safe algae scraper, run your fingers over it before you use it. They dent easily, and those dents can scratch the tank, too.

Yes, you do need to be careful when moving rocks, and you should make sure they're secure. Rock slides can not only scratch the acrylic, but also crush fish or inverts.

I got one of those larger magnets that you can buy the acrylic scratch remover pads for (and it comes with a spacer). It was a little spendy, but it seems to do a really good job. You can use it on the inside of the tank, with fish and corals in it, and just run a little more mechanical filtration for a day or so.

Remember, never use Windex, window cleaner or any kind of ammonia-based cleaner on acrylic.

Keep small kids away from tanks at all times, unless well supervized, and make sure you lock/secure any access to the tank and the cabinet/sump underneath. Many kids like to feed the fish, add chemicals that are around, or give them a drink of Kool-Aid.

One plus of acrylic tanks is that should there ever be a major disaster, there won't be broken glass around to cut anyone.

[agsansoo]

digidana,
Research barebottom tanks. Don't put sand in your tank from the start.