First crack at Discus-Only tank. Major DIY projects.

[djdirte]

So here it goes guys... I will be setting up my tank in my office at my Vape Shop/Car shop.

Picked up a truvu 60gal for $40. Not completely sure what i wanna do, as far as the rest of the setup, but i guess ill have time to address that as i go along. It's kinda banged up from being in a storage for a while, so the first segments will be my progress as far as reconditioning my tank.

Tank in it's initial condition after rinsing off the dust. It seems like the person i bought it from tried to wipe off all the dust to put it into nicer looking condition, but instead caused quite a few horizontal minor scratches

IMAG1683[1].jpg

Initially, just to do a better assessment, I used my Porter Cable DA polisher with a finishing pad/Meguiars Plastx to see if it would do the trick. Here, you can see the left side compared to the rest. definite improvement already. I thought perhaps a good quick polish would do the trick.

IMAG1688[1].jpg

Closer assessment- I can obviously still see quite a few deeper scratches, they exist both outside and inside. I almost said screw it, n keep it as it is, but I figured I might as well get down with the sandpaper n see how much much of this i can really remove since I have the tank out.

IMAG1686[1].jpg


...okay, that's all for today. Stay tuned for tomorrow(or the whenever i get to it next)

[SNap0283]

If you used a polishing compound with the DA you will need to do a lot of rinsing. Just keep in mind you can use whatever it takes to get the tank looking good as long as you know how to remove any residue before adding fish. Best of luck.

[djdirte]

thanks for the tip. im definitely keeping conscious about the polishing compounds im using. im gonna give it multiple rinses after im all done. gonna fill it with pure tap n i plan to just let it run with the filtration running, minus the filter media, just so any remnants can be washed out. then do a 100% water change after about a day, just as a precaution. then put the filter media on the second day after refilling.

[djdirte]

....i noticed some deeper scratches that i didnt notice at first, so i decided to start with 1000grit sandpaper and do a wetsand.

IMAG1693.jpg
... this is my results after wetsanding with 1000 grit. worked in small areas... 8 passes in total per area. 1 pass = sand horizontally down, then up. then sand vertically left, then right. I used a rubberized sanding block so the sanding will be level and even. Yes, looking at my aquarium in this condition really made me cringe n think that maybe ive made a mistake.. but i had faith that my results will be good, since ive done this to my car's paintjob with great results.


IMAG1694.jpg
.. then progressed to 2000 grit wetsand. 8 passes per area again. dear god my arms are tired now.

i can definitely see progress after all the sanding. you can actually see a lot clearer through the acrylic with after the 2000 grit vs 1000 grit. I did a test buff on one of the sides after the 2000grit and the results look extremely promising. I will polish everything out tomorow and re-post the results

[djdirte]

...on another note, i tried using an electric sander to speed up the process and save my arms from the incessant sanding, but it seemed to have just way too much 'bite' and it seemed i was causing more swirls than smoothing it out. im assuming this may be because the padding on my sander that sits behind the sandpaper is very worn out and uneven, causing uneven pressure/sanding. Hand sanding with a rubber sanding block seems to be the way to go, despite being more labor.

[Kal-El]

I've follow exactly what this video did before and it restore clearity just find. Perhaps this is what you're doing already if not give it a try.

[ericNH]

This is cool, I'll be following this. Thanks for documenting and sharing, this is useful info. My own tank has scratches and needs to be reconditioned. When the day comes I'll have to look into trying this on a glass tank.

[djdirte]

Attachment 94034
.....AAAAND DONE!!!! w000000!!! I did a 2-stage polish to get it nice n shiny.

Used my DA polisher & Meguiars M105 with a med/heavy cutting pad to do the major cutting/polishing. 2 passes horizontal & 2 passes vertical with medium pressure. then 2 finishing passes with very light pressure.

Then repeated with ScratchX & a light cutting pad to do a finishing polish. Also used one of those headlight scratch removal kits w/ ScratchX to do the corners. Luckily i had it lying around in my garage from when i polished my headlights a while back.

I forgot to take a picture between the M105 & the ScratchX, but you could barely tell the difference by the way it looked from afar. up close and at a heavy angle, you could still see a very light matte finish. The biggest difference was the way the acrylic felt when you rubbed your finger across it. HUGE difference in the way it felt. Very smooth after the ScratchX, but your finger would still drag slightly after the M105.

Attachment 94035
a snapshot of the front panel. There are a few very LIGHT scratches, but nothing i'd get into a twist over. Obviously none that are noticeble enough to be seen in this picture

Attachment 94033

A picture of materials/tools used. One thing to mention - I used a clean/different microfiber towel for wipedowns with every single step. It's definitely not a good idea to wipe down a freshly polished tank that has 1000 grit acrylic embedded in it.

One last thing - i rinsed the inside/outside 3 times, using nothing but water, and a clean microfiber towel each time. paid extra attention to the corners/joints. im fairly certain i got everything out, but ill be doing a 100% water change once my tank is nice n cycled.



Tomorrow, i will likely be buying my materials for building my aquarium stand. Stay tuned.

[djdirte]

This is cool, I'll be following this. Thanks for documenting and sharing, this is useful info. My own tank has scratches and needs to be reconditioned. When the day comes I'll have to look into trying this on a glass tank.

thanks for the follow! though im not sure if this method would work on glass.

[rickztahone]

thanks for the follow! though im not sure if this method would work on glass.

No, it wouldn't work with glass in the same manner.

Good project. I'd be scared of any residual chemicals clinging to the tank walls, but you made sure you rinsed it off plenty of times?

[djdirte]

Rinsed / wiped 3 times. Each time with a new microfiber cloth. I'll likely do it again before doing my initial fill. N then 100% water change once the tank is cycled. N I'm probably gonna run a mix of carbon/purigen at the end of my cycle just for good measure too.

[rickztahone]

Rinsed / wiped 3 times. Each time with a new microfiber cloth. I'll likely do it again before doing my initial fill. N then 100% water change once the tank is cycled. N I'm probably gonna run a mix of carbon/purigen at the end of my cycle just for good measure too.

yeah, I was going to suggest that too. Good luck.

[djdirte]

yeah, I was going to suggest that too. Good luck.

Thanks! Im definitely trying to make sure I do everything i can to set up properly before putting some new guys in. The anxiety is killer. haha

[djdirte]

@rick: I noticed you're from pacoima. Are there any places you can recommend that are local to los angeles/orange county area that u can recommend for possibly picking up some juvies? Im trying to avoid having having them shipped. At the same time, its nice to support local breeders/business

[SNap0283]

After all the work you did find a sponsor on here and GET THEM SHIPPED. You will not find discus in your area even close to the quality that you can have shipped. A lot of people are hesitant to have fish shipped, and once they do they never consider buying fish any other way again.