Polishing acrylic tank, and my battle with coraline.

Macdaddynick1

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Hello everyone. I wanted to make this post to show my progress on polishing an acrylic tank with corals and fish inside.

Some background. The tank was set up about 4 years ago. The tank is tall and full of corals, so it was impossible for me to clean it. A few months in, I pretty much gave up on cleaning the sides of the tank altogether. Both of the sides and the front bottom of my tank quickly got covered in a layer of coraline. The coraline hasn't been cleaned ever since the setup. I picked up a few Halloween urchins and a buddy of mine gave me a few frags that had chitons. Unbeknownst to me those critters absolutely destroyed the acrylic under the Coraline. The acrylic looked so hazed that you could make radion diffusers out of it. As a result, the coraline practically fused to the acrylic and even metal aqua blades were difficult to use. Fast forward a few years and I accidentally picked up a Kingroon 3d printer, and I became obsessed with printing things for my tank. I found a few Mag float attachments on thingiverse but none seemed to work for my application, so after a few trials and errors, I ended up redesigning an attachment to my mag float, that was able to hold two metal aquablades. (cred) It holds onto the glass well enough to scrape the coraline without scratching the acrylic. This thing worked like a charm. ( I'll post the STL shortly if anyone wants it). I was finally able to clean my entire tank, for the first time in ages. However, my acrylic was so scratched up that I could not see anything anyway .
IMG_1443.jpg



This is what I ended up with AFTER cleaning the tank. As you can see most of the acrylic looks really hazy, especially the bottom.
Before Picture.jpg


After some searching, I stumbled upon this video.
.

I went ahead and purchased this set of little micromesh buffing pads.
Capture.PNG
They are about 2 by 3" and fit onto the large Mag float perfectly. I siliconed these sheets to a piece of filter pad and they stuck to the magnet like a charm. I would alternate the direction of sanding with each grit. It is important to move the magnet horizontally for one grit and vertically for the next, it is important not to go in circles. Initially, I was very scared of doing this, but my tank looked beyond repair anyways. After about 6 hours of polishing one side, my shoulder was falling off but the progress was absolutely incredible. What once looked like a wall of coraline, was again nearly perfectly clear.( a few scratches were too deep to take out, but I absolutely cannot complain. The materials to polish the tank cost around 25 bucks and it is a very long but very easy process. The corals, clams, and fish all seemed to be unaffected.

This is what my tank looked after sanding/polishing. (the slight Haziness is from all the detritus that I stirred up during the cleaning. Needless to say, I am EXTREMELY happy with the results, and with my new contraption, I never have to worry about the coraline again.
After picture.jpg


Happy Reefing Everyone.
 

Shirak

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Thanks for the write up! My next tank is going to be 3/4" acrylic. I have a small acrylic frag tank now but my mind is spinning trying to figure out the best way to clean the inside of coralline without scratching the acrylic. Interesting info on the urchins. So I guess some tuxedo urchins are out then? I have one in the acrylic frag tank but I don't worry so much about the tank.
 
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Thanks for the write up! My next tank is going to be 3/4" acrylic. I have a small acrylic frag tank now but my mind is spinning trying to figure out the best way to clean the inside of coralline without scratching the acrylic. Interesting info on the urchins. So I guess some tuxedo urchins are out then? I have one in the acrylic frag tank but I don't worry so much about the tank.
Tuxedo urchins should be ok, I have one and he is rarely gets onto the acrylic. It’s holloween urchins that do most of the damage trying to get the coraline with their beak.
2D6FB99C-FF6E-4939-9320-F56DCB7A315F.jpeg
25C6CFCE-48B7-4062-B5A4-380CC959143F.jpeg


Also these things are amazing. This is essentially Mr. clean sponge that is about 2mm thick. They come in a pack of 15, and you put it under the magnet. It cleans pretty much anything except for the difficult to remove coraline, while polishing your acrylic.
C3E59DF1-00C1-40AF-8594-C75B4D545E89.png
 

Shirak

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OOh ok glad to hear. My small tuxedo urchin in the acrylic frag tank spends most of his time on the walls. There isn't much rock within the tank itself. Interesting you find the metal blade ok to clear the acrylic. I was worried it might scratch so I have been using an old credit card by hand. Not something I was wanting to do on a big 150g DT.
 

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Great progress. I have a quick question, I have acrylic too and it needs polished in a few places. But I just took the tank down to move but it was covered in coraline. Would it be bad to clean the coralline off with an old credit card and spray it with water/vinegar or is that too dry? I don’t want to scratch it anymore

corey
 

SteveMM62Reef

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I got these off of Amazon, over a year ago. If you pick up sand, you will scratch glass or Acrylic.

Roll over image to zoom in
  • 51w0u8kKB-L._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 51sFhYNCb%2BL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 41XCL4EHySL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 41sXiKPc1BL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 41phTFleRoL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 412EAZgtvrL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 51GtVuaxWUL.SS40_BG85,85,85_BR-120_PKdp-play-icon-overlay__.jpg
    VIDEO





FOSHIO 2PCS Plastic Razor Scrapers Knife with Contoured Grip + 100 PCS 1.5 inch Refillable Double Edge Plastic Razor Blades Ideal for Auto Window Tint Vinyl Tool Application​

 

biecacka

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Yeah I keep my magnet away from the sand because the few scratches I have are from that. The tank is empty right now though. What’s the best way to clean it? Spray bottle, or fill it up? I can not imagine I should scrape it dry?

corey
 

zalick

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Hello everyone. I wanted to make this post to show my progress on polishing an acrylic tank with corals and fish inside.

Some background. The tank was set up about 4 years ago. The tank is tall and full of corals, so it was impossible for me to clean it. A few months in, I pretty much gave up on cleaning the sides of the tank altogether. Both of the sides and the front bottom of my tank quickly got covered in a layer of coraline. The coraline hasn't been cleaned ever since the setup. I picked up a few Halloween urchins and a buddy of mine gave me a few frags that had chitons. Unbeknownst to me those critters absolutely destroyed the acrylic under the Coraline. The acrylic looked so hazed that you could make radion diffusers out of it. As a result, the coraline practically fused to the acrylic and even metal aqua blades were difficult to use. Fast forward a few years and I accidentally picked up a Kingroon 3d printer, and I became obsessed with printing things for my tank. I found a few Mag float attachments on thingiverse but none seemed to work for my application, so after a few trials and errors, I ended up redesigning an attachment to my mag float, that was able to hold two metal aquablades. (cred) It holds onto the glass well enough to scrape the coraline without scratching the acrylic. This thing worked like a charm. ( I'll post the STL shortly if anyone wants it). I was finally able to clean my entire tank, for the first time in ages. However, my acrylic was so scratched up that I could not see anything anyway .
IMG_1443.jpg



This is what I ended up with AFTER cleaning the tank. As you can see most of the acrylic looks really hazy, especially the bottom.
Before Picture.jpg


After some searching, I stumbled upon this video.
.

I went ahead and purchased this set of little micromesh buffing pads.
Capture.PNG
They are about 2 by 3" and fit onto the large Mag float perfectly. I siliconed these sheets to a piece of filter pad and they stuck to the magnet like a charm. I would alternate the direction of sanding with each grit. It is important to move the magnet horizontally for one grit and vertically for the next, it is important not to go in circles. Initially, I was very scared of doing this, but my tank looked beyond repair anyways. After about 6 hours of polishing one side, my shoulder was falling off but the progress was absolutely incredible. What once looked like a wall of coraline, was again nearly perfectly clear.( a few scratches were too deep to take out, but I absolutely cannot complain. The materials to polish the tank cost around 25 bucks and it is a very long but very easy process. The corals, clams, and fish all seemed to be unaffected.

This is what my tank looked after sanding/polishing. (the slight Haziness is from all the detritus that I stirred up during the cleaning. Needless to say, I am EXTREMELY happy with the results, and with my new contraption, I never have to worry about the coraline again.
After picture.jpg


Happy Reefing Everyone.

Nice work!

Scott, in that video, has a great step by step write-up that you may have read as well on RC.

Did you start with the 400 grit over everything?

I have VERY shallow scratches everywhere. I'm wondering if I could kinda do the opposite and start with the finest in one section and work my way down until I find the grit that matches my scratches. That way I would avoid starting at the 400 grit unnecessarily. Think that would work?
 

laverda

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I got these off of Amazon, over a year ago. If you pick up sand, you will scratch glass or Acrylic.

Roll over image to zoom in
  • 51w0u8kKB-L._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 51sFhYNCb%2BL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 41XCL4EHySL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 41sXiKPc1BL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 41phTFleRoL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 412EAZgtvrL._AC_US40_.jpg
  • 51GtVuaxWUL.SS40_BG85,85,85_BR-120_PKdp-play-icon-overlay__.jpg
    VIDEO





FOSHIO 2PCS Plastic Razor Scrapers Knife with Contoured Grip + 100 PCS 1.5 inch Refillable Double Edge Plastic Razor Blades Ideal for Auto Window Tint Vinyl Tool Application​

Nice. Auto zone sells one for $3.99. But I like that this kit comes with extra blades. I sharpen my plastic blades for my other scrapers fairly often. It keeps then effective. I also make replacement blades out of scrap acrylic for my tunze magnet Glass cleaner. Square edges let get closer to the very corner in my acrylic tank.
 

laverda

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Yeah I keep my magnet away from the sand because the few scratches I have are from that. The tank is empty right now though. What’s the best way to clean it? Spray bottle, or fill it up? I can not imagine I should scrape it dry?

corey
I would just pour a thin layer of vinegar over it and let it soak for a while before using a cc or other scraper. May take several treatments.
 

laverda

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Nice work!

Scott, in that video, has a great step by step write-up that you may have read as well on RC.

Did you start with the 400 grit over everything?

I have VERY shallow scratches everywhere. I'm wondering if I could kinda do the opposite and start with the finest in one section and work my way down until I find the grit that matches my scratches. That way I would avoid starting at the 400 grit unnecessarily. Think that would work?
I doubt you will save much if any work. Definitely worth a try. Start with the worst scratch. You may even want to go to 320. Sanding wet is less aggressive than dry and the best way to go. You want wet or dry sanding sheets.
 

CMMorgan

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Hello everyone. I wanted to make this post to show my progress on polishing an acrylic tank with corals and fish inside.

Some background. The tank was set up about 4 years ago. The tank is tall and full of corals, so it was impossible for me to clean it. A few months in, I pretty much gave up on cleaning the sides of the tank altogether. Both of the sides and the front bottom of my tank quickly got covered in a layer of coraline. The coraline hasn't been cleaned ever since the setup. I picked up a few Halloween urchins and a buddy of mine gave me a few frags that had chitons. Unbeknownst to me those critters absolutely destroyed the acrylic under the Coraline. The acrylic looked so hazed that you could make radion diffusers out of it. As a result, the coraline practically fused to the acrylic and even metal aqua blades were difficult to use. Fast forward a few years and I accidentally picked up a Kingroon 3d printer, and I became obsessed with printing things for my tank. I found a few Mag float attachments on thingiverse but none seemed to work for my application, so after a few trials and errors, I ended up redesigning an attachment to my mag float, that was able to hold two metal aquablades. (cred) It holds onto the glass well enough to scrape the coraline without scratching the acrylic. This thing worked like a charm. ( I'll post the STL shortly if anyone wants it). I was finally able to clean my entire tank, for the first time in ages. However, my acrylic was so scratched up that I could not see anything anyway .
IMG_1443.jpg



This is what I ended up with AFTER cleaning the tank. As you can see most of the acrylic looks really hazy, especially the bottom.
Before Picture.jpg


After some searching, I stumbled upon this video.
.

I went ahead and purchased this set of little micromesh buffing pads.
Capture.PNG
They are about 2 by 3" and fit onto the large Mag float perfectly. I siliconed these sheets to a piece of filter pad and they stuck to the magnet like a charm. I would alternate the direction of sanding with each grit. It is important to move the magnet horizontally for one grit and vertically for the next, it is important not to go in circles. Initially, I was very scared of doing this, but my tank looked beyond repair anyways. After about 6 hours of polishing one side, my shoulder was falling off but the progress was absolutely incredible. What once looked like a wall of coraline, was again nearly perfectly clear.( a few scratches were too deep to take out, but I absolutely cannot complain. The materials to polish the tank cost around 25 bucks and it is a very long but very easy process. The corals, clams, and fish all seemed to be unaffected.

This is what my tank looked after sanding/polishing. (the slight Haziness is from all the detritus that I stirred up during the cleaning. Needless to say, I am EXTREMELY happy with the results, and with my new contraption, I never have to worry about the coraline again.
After picture.jpg


Happy Reefing Everyone.

That is a huge difference. I have an acrylic tank coming. I'll be sure to bookmark this for future reference. I do think that the lesson I will take from you is to be diligent from the onset... and if I get lazy, hope is not lost. THANK YOU>>>
 

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Nice job buffing that tank. I haven’t had to yet with mine (only 3 1/2 years old). Why not try to prevent coralline from growing on the front panel instead LOL. That’s what I did.
 
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That is a huge difference. I have an acrylic tank coming. I'll be sure to bookmark this for future reference. I do think that the lesson I will take from you is to be diligent from the onset... and if I get lazy, hope is not lost. THANK YOU>>>
Nice job buffing that tank. I haven’t had to yet with mine (only 3 1/2 years old). Why not try to prevent coralline from growing on the front panel instead LOL. That’s what I did.
The funny thing was that, since I got the tank I was trying to be careful not to scratch the acrylic with metal blades, and it was practically impossible to use the plastic blades without spending hours upon hours trying to reach the corners. Little did I know that urchins and chitons were doing a great job at destroying the Coraline along with the acrylic underneath it. Another major source of the scratches is my yellow tang. He gets excited when someone comes too close to the tank, so he flashes and his spikes cause 100s of long scratches on the front glass. With my current toolkit, I will be sure to keep the glass clean and polished. =)
 
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Great progress. I have a quick question, I have acrylic too and it needs polished in a few places. But I just took the tank down to move but it was covered in coraline. Would it be bad to clean the coralline off with an old credit card and spray it with water/vinegar or is that too dry? I don’t want to scratch it anymore

core
I am currently working on buffing a 300 gallon, but dry. That tank had a super thick layer of Coraline that I had to remove. The easiest way I found was to do it is to use citric acid and a metal aqua blade. However, since you are doing it by hand, you will need to make sure to buff the blade with very fine sandpaper to remove all the grooves. Additionally, you cannot press too hard on the acrylic with the blade while cleaning it, or it will cause micro scratches. Although in my trials, vinegar and the aquablade worked too but the citric acid was much much easier to use and it smelled better. Finally, if the tank is dry try to use some wet dry sandpaper and then use Nuevos 1 2 and 3 instead of the micro mesh.

A spray bottle worked great for me, just let it soak for a bit after spraying, and you can easily remove it.
 
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Nice work!

Scott, in that video, has a great step by step write-up that you may have read as well on RC.

Did you start with the 400 grit over everything?

I have VERY shallow scratches everywhere. I'm wondering if I could kinda do the opposite and start with the finest in one section and work my way down until I find the grit that matches my scratches. That way I would avoid starting at the 400 grit unnecessarily. Think that would work?
Don't start backward, just start with the most coarse Micromesh and move up. There are only 9 sheets and the only micro-mesh sheets that actually do any sanding are the first 3, the rest of them just polish. I would definitely not start with 400 grit wet dry if you have minor scratches. Even though in the amazon description they compare 1500 grit micromesh to 400 grit wet-dry, they're not even close. Wet-dry paper is way more coarse than the micro-mesh.

IME My acrylic was really hazy but none of my scratches were very deep. For my next panel, I am going to start with 1200 grit wet dry sandpaper from Harbor Freight, then move on to micro-mesh. Micromesh has its own grit size so 1200 grit wet-dry sandpaper looks to be just a step coarser than the most coarse grit in the micro mesh. You might consider going down all the way to 1,000 but if your scratches aren't deep I wouldn't go past 1200. That's just my experience.
 

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... Little did I know that urchins and chitons were doing a great job at destroying the Coraline along with the acrylic underneath it. Another major source of the scratches is my yellow tang. He gets excited when someone comes too close to the tank, so he flashes and his spikes cause 100s of long scratches on the front glass. With my current toolkit, I will be sure to keep the glass clean and polished. =)
This is what I suspect with my Foxface!
 

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For Headlights, if they are really bad I use 1200 grit soaked in Strong Dawn Dish Soap, followed by 2000 grit, soaked. I use the 2000 by itself, if they aren’t too bad. Then a Plastic Polish to shine them up. The Super Fine Sandpaper and Polish are at NAPA. If the don’t have it check a Body Shop Paint Supply.
 

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Rank was dry. I used 400 wet/dry sandpaper and stepped down 600, 800, 1200, 1800..then novis 1,2,3 followed by some auto polish or wheel polish. Can't remember the name, I think it was maguiers. Turned out great. Twas quite a bit of work. There are some great how to's online
 

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