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timdam
02/06/2010, 07:40 PM
i see on Craiglist/forums where people are selling used tanks. but on alot of them, they say that the tanks are heavily scratched.

i was just wondering how this happens. now i know about cleaning a tank with a magnet and a rock getting between the magnet and the glass. but are there other ways that people can get scratches on their tanks?

i just wanna know so that i can prevent myself from doing this and getting heavy scratches. i mean, after a few scratches on mine from the magnet/rock, i have learned my lessons. so are there other things i should be weary of to prevent scratches?

lucidheights
02/06/2010, 08:01 PM
i used to have OCD when it came to rock scaping... scratched the heck out of my old tank while moving stuff around.

timdam
02/06/2010, 08:10 PM
good thought, judd nelson! thanks for the input. i'll keep an eye out not to do that.

NeverlosT
02/06/2010, 08:20 PM
I was dumb and bought a craigslist tank to save some bucks. It didnt look too scratched at first, but now the entire system is built, stocked, and for all of my work and money and time, the beautiful window to the system is marred by tons of scratches.

If I can suggest splurging on any piece, it is the tank. There is no other system part you will spend more time staring at!

I think my tank was scratched mostly by the last owner cleaning it or rockwork, but it is a bummer for sure!

timdam
02/06/2010, 08:39 PM
but wouldn't u think that after a few scratches, people would learn? or do they just not realize it until 50 scratches later?

jdargonaut
02/06/2010, 09:37 PM
Bought a used 190g acrylic that had both a long spine and short spin urchin. Tank is completely covered in scratches and I think they're the culprit. Fortunately they're not as noticable with water in the tank, But when dry it looked really bad.

Amp2020
02/06/2010, 10:08 PM
If you get tons of coraline algae and carelessly scrub it off. You might find many new scratches that were not there before. Use a sharp tool and careful not to grind the coraline flakes into the glass.

Aquascaping or just putting rocks in or out of your tank.

costellow
02/06/2010, 10:41 PM
I bought my nano on craigslist. I really wanted to learn about reefing but didn't have any money. So I bought my tank with stand, hood, light, and filter for $50. Yeah, it has a few scratches but you don't really notice them now that it is stocked.