Acrylic tanks

[reeflover7826]

I got a good deal on a used 93 gallon acrylic tank and it had a few scratches on it. I bought a Lifegard Aquatics Acrylic Scratch Removal Kit most of the scratches came off but the deeper ones where still a little visible.when I finally filled the tank most scratches where invisible. I have special grade aragonite sand and I also bought a mag float for the algae, but every once in awhile when i try to clean next to the sand little pieces get stuck and now there's more scratches than when I first bought the tank I also have rounded edges that the mag float can get to.

Can someone give me any tips or advise on how to keep my tank clean and on how to remove the scratches and how to keep from scratching again.

Thanks for any help.

[MADtanks]

best way to do it(least its what i do) is to use the magnet only all the way down to about 2" before the sand maybe even a bit higher like 3" then take a credit card and use it to remove the rest of the algea close to the sand. I use a Kent scraper(its about 16" long)with the red plastic scraper. This works for me and most of the scratches that i have are on the outside of the tank. Which every 6 months i take a buffing wheel(felt stitched up kind) and some Novus #2 and buff away all the scratches... Then take Novus #1 and wiped down the whole tank :) brand new!!!

Make sure yo use microfiber to clean the ouside of the tank, dont use any windex or any cleaning agents.... good ol plain water works great :) unless of course you are using novus 1 which is a polish.

hope that helps.

[Estee]

FYI - Use the Dobe(sp?) cleaner scrubs that are sold in most grocery stores. They work wonders for cleaning acylic without scratch it. Just be careful to not get sand caught in it, otherwise you'll have to use the LIfeguard kit again to polish up.

[reeflover7826]

Great advise thanks guys. Ill get the kent scraper. One more question about the scratch remover kit when it says wet application does that mean while the tranks filled? Would this be safe for the fish and corals?

[MADtanks]

by wet application i belive it speaks of "wet sanding" in other words spray the acrylic with with a water bottle and start sanding... or dip the sand paper in water so that it gets wet, and sand it that way...

I usually follow the second method... have a cup of water and place my sand paper in it let it soak and proceed to sand until the scratch is gone and i also use it to polisht the freshly flush trimmed edges on the new tanks. After its all sanded i take my buffing pad and go to town until i can clearly see through it and no more scratches :)

There are some kits that can be used in water i beleive they are everclear acrylic restoration you can look into it and im pretty sure they are for under water use.

GL