another 300 gallon build

[will work 4fish]

I just purchased a 300 gallon tank from a Chinese place in Mass. The tank is about 10 years old and has aquired a nice collection of scratches. I plan on refinishing the tank before putting anything in it (reef tank). I have purchased some 1000-2000 grit sand paper and novus acrylic polish. Previous experimentation has shown that polishing is more difficult than sanding. Help in the form of a power sander and random orbital buffer has sped up the procress on my test subject (acyrlic refugium). I'll be posting some pictures of the new test subject as soon as i can.

[will work 4fish]

Here is the tank. Just finished cleaning it (these are the before pictures). When cleaning the tank I noticed some crazing that concerns me a little. All of the seams are fine, very slight small crazing but none run deep or into the seams. I did notice a lot of scratches and crazing on the top braze of the tank. I have attached pictures of the areas of that look the most sketchy. The scratches on the top of the tank do not look like they are very deep but I would like some opinions. I also noticed a pretty large amount of bowing when the tank was set up. When I was cleaning today I notices some crazing on that bowed side. It is not very visible when looking straight at the pane but it is there. They all run parallel to the length of the tank and they are very consistent along that entire face of the tank. The crazing on the side pane is so fine that I cant capture a picture with my current camera. I will try to get some pictures up soon. In the mean time I have attached some other pics. Questions & comments?

[will work 4fish]

OKAY! So I have been practicing my acrylic repair skills. I started by cleaning out the tank with vinegar and windex (vinegar). I used a metal algae scraper to remove coraline and paint that came off the wall when I moved the tank. The scraper leaves scratches, but they are small enough to be easily removed. In my search for acrylic repair information, I found that there was not very much definitive information. I have tested a few things on an old sump I have and have now moved to testing on the actual tank. I have had good results using novus 1 & 2. Novus 1 does nothing but clean the acrylic and give it some shine after you buff it off. Novus 2 does a great job removing small scratches. By itself it can only remove VERY small scratches. I have used Novus 2 by hand, it sucks. I found a small random orbital buffer (made by turtle wax) at walmart for 20 bucks. I experimented with terry cloth, microfiber, and wool bonnets. I have found that a common wool bonnet does the best job spreading and rubbing the polish without sending TOO much splatter. Upon polishing, I found that the acrylic appears very clear. However, there are small (i mean very small) circular scratches. These scratches are only visible when there is a bright point source light (led or MH) pointing at the acrylic. On my test tank, I tried many different approaches to buffing out these little scratches and was unsuccessful. They do not affect the clarity or cause any cloudyness. They are just there, and only you will know that. I spoke with a rep from Novus to try and solve this problem and it sounded like I was doing everything right. I decided to call it quits on that subject and when i looked at my 300, I found that these circular marks existed on that tank as well. They were not visible at all when the tank was running so I have decided that they are not worth the time. OKAY. Lets talk about sanding. Novus also told me a few things regarding sanding. They said that a sand paper of 1000-1200 should be good enough before moving to Novus 2. I tried sanding by hand it it really sucks. Power sanding is the way to go. I purchased a simple vibrating sander and slapped some wet/dry sand paper on it. Use Novus 1 or some other acrylic safe liquid to keep the sandpaper wet. Best results are from wet sanding. I have found that for tiny scratches (like on the front pane) 2000 grit works great. If there are slightly deeper scratches you can focus a little more pressure in that area. If that doesnt work, move to 1000. If 1000 doesnt work, 800 certainly will. For very deep scratches I have been using 600. I concentrate a little pressure bias towards the scratch and try to move the sander randomly across (perpendicular to) the scratch. I like to move the sander in a random circular fashion, extending outward from the scratch. I also like to "mow the lawn", working from one side to the other, moving down a little, and going back the other direction. I repeat this vertically and horizontally. This helps make and evenly sanded area. Dont spend too much time focusing pressure on a single scratch, it will dig in and will be difficult to remove with higher grit paper. When the scratches have been removed, move up to 2000 grit. If you started at 1000, you might be able to polish it out with novus 2, but I recommend going over it with 2000 grit. Make sure you periodically wipe off the sludge that accumulates as you sand. When the sander doesnt slide smoothly anymore, its time to spray more Novus 1 or wipe off the sludge and re-wet the acrylic. When your satisfied with the finish (1000 or 2000), wipe ALL of the sludge and residues off with clean paper towels. 2000 grit will leave the acrylic almost looking clear (when wet). Now your ready to polish. Fun! Put some novus 2 on the wool bonnet and rub it in a little bit. This will prevent spatter. Next, put some Novus 2 on the acrylic and rub it around the area you want to polish. Using excess works best and the polisher is easy to slide, but it will send spatter everywhere. Spatter is inevitable. Turn the buffer on and work the buffer (applying only the weight of the buffer) in the same "mowing the lawn" manner that I described above. With a power buffer it should only take a few minutes to finish a 2'x2' area. Longer wont hurt. When the buffer starts getting more difficult to move and the novus looks a little more sludgy, your probably finished. Wipe off the novus 2 with clean paper towels. The novus 2 will make the acrylic look cloudy, you need to really buff that stuff off with paper towels to make it shine. This process definitely takes some practice so use a test piece of acrylic or do it on a hidden spot on your tank... I will try to get some pictures of my technique up as soon as I can.

EQUIPMENT: (I included some pictures of what i use)
- 600 & 800 grit wet/dry sand paper from home depot
- 1000 & 2000 grit wet/dry sand paper from walmart (auto section)
- Novus 1 & 2
- Turtle wax 6" random orbital buffer (3000 opm) from walmart
- Wool bonnet (pep boys or other auto shop)
- Palm sander (random orbital might be better but this works fine too)
- **** ton of paper towels

[geomarq]

Should be very nice, keep the pics coming..

[porksmash]

Hoo boy you have some work cut out for you! I'd love to see how the tank looks when you finish.

[will work 4fish]

Yeah. I got the sanding and polishing figured out. I think I can get that done this weekend. But I still need to build a stand, build a sump, power wash algae off the live rock, clean the filthy sand, design and buy plumbing stuff, and possibly add some acrylic in a few spots along the brace. Action packed weeks ahead.

[will work 4fish]

So I just started messing around with some stand designs. I originally wanted to use 4x4's but decided that they are more difficult to cut with the tools I have and they are slightly more expensive. They are also not available in non-pressure treated lengths greater than 8'. I have created a simple model in Solidworks to represent the general idea. The tank is drilled on its side, so the stand is 8'10" to account for plumbing and overflow stuff that will be enclosed. I want to install 2 doors that are 3' long. I will be using a 75g fish tank and I think a 3' door should be sufficient to fit the tank through. I am also going to design the paneling and trim work to allow the back pannel to be removed. This will allow a 4' gap between the three major load bearing supports. I have decided that a total of 6 load bearing supports (each made up of two butted 2x4's) should be sufficient. There will be two load bearing supports in the center on each side. Essentially there will be a total of 8 major load bearing supports (two on each far side and 4 in the center). I think this will allow a more symmetric frame for the doors. It is probably overkill, but 2x4's are cheap anyways. The platform on top will have cross braces every 16" or so and I will put down 3/8 or 5/16 plywood ontop of them to evenly support the tank. I also plan on laying 1/4-1/2" foam ontop of the plywood to correct for imperfections and distribute unbalanced loads. I have a lot going on and need to get this tank running ASAP so I can give it at least a week or two of cycling before I return to the restaurant in MASS to pick up the coral in the 180 that I also purchased. For this reason, I am trying to save time and design the stand such that I can add the panels and trim work afterwards. Got some pictues attached. I had a hard time rendering the image so it would show the trim but ehh, whatever. Ideas anyone?

[will work 4fish]

anybody know anything about crazing?

[will work 4fish]

After I purchased the tank and started taking it apart, i noticed a pretty significant bow, maybe 1/2-1" in the center of the tank. I did not notice until I started cleaning it that along this bowed side there is some crazing. It is very minor looking. The light crazing runs along the entire length of the tank on one of the viewing panes. It is only visible from certain shallow angles and is for the most part invisible. There is also a few craze parks that are more visible than these. They appear as very shallow cracks (about 1mm long). These ones are visible from a wider viewing angle (but not directly). There are a decent number of these these little crackss but you can not feel them with a fingernail. Some of them are in groups that almost appear like a scratch because they are so short in length. Danger danger? What do you think? My next concerns come from the cutouts. There are 3 cutouts on the top of the tank. The person that cut them did a terrible job. They were cut by a jigsaw of some sort and the perpendicular cuts intersect on almost every corner. Whoever cut it also tried to round out the corners but didnt do it well at all. While it is common practice to round off the corners, do you this this is an issue (should i bother round them myself)? None of the two (side) cutouts have any crazing stemming from the intersecting cuts. However, the middle cutout has some crazing along the strut (hardly any at the intersecting cuts). The top of the tank has a decent amount of crazing in the middle brace. The crazing that concerns me most is that which runs lengthwise. Do you think I should weldon a 1/4" sheet on top of this spot to combat bowing and help out with the crazing? My last question has to do with 2-3 bad points in the seams. They are both on opposite corners of the tank. One is about an inch long and another is probably 2-1/2" long. The seams are in very good shape otherwise (minimal crazing and no bubbles). The tank did not leak when it was running a week ago. Please give me your advice on this tank. Should I add 2-5" triangular dowels along these weak seams? Should I add sheet of acrylic on top of the strut? Should I round the corners of the cutouts? Is the crazing on the viewing panel of the tank an issue? What would you do here? What wouldn't you do here? And have I asked too many questions in one email? I have been struggling to find any local shops specializing in acrylic aquariums. In your opinion, do you think this tank is safe for a couple more years?

[will work 4fish]

Alright. I have been super busy with the whole project. IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT USE POWER SANDER WITH 400 GRIT. That is unless you want to make every step (600, 800, 100, 1200, 20000). The 400 grit left behind pigtail scratches that are a ***** to sand out. Sanding with the power sander put some stress fractures/crazing on the main viewing panes. It isnt structural but is unsightly and kinda disapointing. I was working in the cold (20-30F) and I think the acrylic was too brittle for the kind of vibrations... I did discover a nice buffer my pops had on hand. Makes short work of polishing. Almost done with the sanding/polishing. Probably another 12 hour day and it should be done. Pictures coming soon.

[will work 4fish]

Well, heres a shot of the tank. Still needs two more panes polished on the outside. I'm pretty satisfied with the quality of the interior polish. Going to do a leak test and determine if i should remove and scratches that I intentionally left behind.

[will work 4fish]

When I bought the tank it came with a hefty amount of live rock. It was covered in hair algae but had been in a long established tank. I foolishly stored it in my garage where the temperature dropped to about 20F. The rock has some substantial dying over the past two weeks. To combat this loss, I have started a few tanks in my basement to start the cycling process. When I cleaned the rock it actually looked pretty good. Idk how much of the coraline will entirely die off or if it is already dead... but i think it looks pretty good considering the conditions. The live sand is another story. The sand died on a whole different level. (never smelled anything so foul) Just washed it this weekend and plan on starting cycling in a trash can. I have made an inline duct system to air out the trashcan and prevent odors from escaping into my basement. Here are some pics so far...

[will work 4fish]

Once the water test passes and I do a million other things. I will need to break down and move my 72 reef upstairs to make room for the new tank. Finally got a [decent] camera so I figured I would post a couple pics of the current tank. Its been running as a reef tank for about 7 months and is pretty much full. Need more space!

[will work 4fish]

ugh. Its been a while since my last post. Been so busy. Stand is nearing completion. I think it has been thoroughly over built. Need to add a couple more 2x4s and some plywood/foam on top and I will be calling it done... for now. I plan on adding a plywood, possibly cherry finish sometime in the future (sometime). The live rock culturing is going well. Nitrates are finally appearing and ammonia is becoming measurable. Stand should be entirely completed by this weekend. I am hoping to have the stand shimmed in place, last spots of tank polished, and possibly sand cleaned again this weekend. I still need to find a way to get 300 gallons of RODI water upstairs. Im thinking I will get an extension for the 1/4" hose and put the end in a 5 gallon bucket with salt (inside the tank). Heres a picture of the stand so far. Its a little different from the solidworks design but not by much.

[JR719]

To combat the buldge, you might look at acrylic rods, just fix them to the center of the tank, assuming it is acrylic. You might also look into some DuPont 606s polishing compound. Mix and buff really well and you'll get rid of the crazing if it's minor. Just takes time and loads of work.

[will work 4fish]

Juggling work, class, and 300...Progress is super slow. Stand is is place. pretty satisfied with how level it is. still trying to locate a 75 gallon tank to use as sump. Got a long way to go. Tax returns are coming! That will be a big help. JR ive decided to leave the tank as is. It has some bulge to it but it ran like that for some percentage of 10 years with no problems. The seams are in great shape other than a few spots at the top. Im gonna roll the dice on this one.

[Nammy]

Great project, Can't wait to see more of it. Thanks for posting your project.

[Barebucta]

The before and after shots of the tank look amazing. What a difference. Looks like it took alot of elbow grease. I just got an acrylic tank and dred having to do he sanding part. Wow well thanks for posting the pictures.