Fazio92 January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 Hey Everyone, I want to buff/polished 2 inside panes (starphire) of my new tank, just not sure how to. There are some residual coraline blotches that i can't seem to take off with vinegar etc... They are only noticeable if you are actually looking, but i figure since its dry why not try to get them out for a crystal shine Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! -Anthony
overklok January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 The marks you see in the are not blotches, but actual etching in the glass from the coraline algae growth. It would be very difficult to get out those etch marks. Use a magnifying glass, you will see what I am talking about.
Origami January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 I've not polished a tank surface, but I have polished my car windshield and polished a clear glass shower panel using cerium oxide and a polishing bob attached to a drill. It was similar to this, except without the drill (which I had): http://www.amazon.com/CRL-Windshield-Scratch-Polishing-Kit/dp/B000WNZ0KA If you want, you can give my kit a try. Just let me know.
Incredible Corals January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 When I was deciding on either acrylic or glass on my new tank I went with acrylic because glass scratches cannot be repaired on most fish tanks. All the research that I did online said that it's very difficult to repair or the repair will weaken the glass and could compromise the structure. It basically came down to a tank that was unrepairable but hard to scratch or a tank that could be fixed but scratches super easy.
Fazio92 January 10, 2012 Author January 10, 2012 Interesting, I haven't tried a razor yet, one bc i don't have one on hand , two, becuase i was afraid to scratch the galss since its softer. If someone would like to come and take a look at it, just send me a PM. I'm, right in reston off the toll road. -Anthony
Fazio92 January 10, 2012 Author January 10, 2012 So i did a little more research and it looks like that it could/should be in fact just be strong calcium deposits (as it is smooth over the glass, not etches). Many have had the same problem as i am and they said that muriatic acid is the only thing that worked and solved the problem. People have been saying that coraline cannot etch the glass, but etching can occur when trying to scrap off with a razor (which i haven't done yet). So i guess i will try that.
Origami January 10, 2012 January 10, 2012 Deep scratches are difficult to buff out of glass. The rule of thumb that I've heard is that if you can feel the scratch with your fingernail, it's too deep to buff out. In addition, if you remove too much glass, you can affect the optical quality and cause some distortion. However, you're unlikely, in using cerium oxide, to affect strength of the glass when removing haze because you're only removing microns worth of glass and there's probably at least that much variation anyways in any panel that you buy commercially (just from manufacturing). Keep in mind that most haze, though, seems to become invisible when water's in the tank. So it may not be necessary to go through all the effort to buff and polish (which is what cerium oxide does). I had an acrylic aquarium, too. While it was easy to repair scratches, it did scratch easily and became a bit of a pain to keep clean because of the limited availability of good scrapers that made the job easy. With the newest setup, I went back to glass.
Fazio92 January 11, 2012 Author January 11, 2012 I just tried the muriatic acid with no success, so it must be micron sized etches I did notice however that they only appear on the starphire panes, maybe because they lack the strength of regular glass? If i were to have only known before i got the tank... I contacted a place that could buff it out, but the quote was more than the tank was worth and that was just to do the two panes. I would do it myself, but i really don't want to make it any worse.
Origami January 11, 2012 January 11, 2012 Might be of interest: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2018912 Scroll to the last post.
Fazio92 January 11, 2012 Author January 11, 2012 Might be of interest: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2018912 Scroll to the last post. Tom, you want to help me buff it since you have experience (assuming since you have to tools to do so)
Origami January 11, 2012 January 11, 2012 Sure, if it's not much of a haze, we could probably do pretty well in 15 minutes to cover several areas. We may just do this manually if the build up is really minor, but just in case, do you have an electric drill or should I bring one? PM me with your availability.
Origami January 11, 2012 January 11, 2012 By the way, do you even see the haze when there's water in the tank? Just checking.
Fazio92 January 11, 2012 Author January 11, 2012 By the way, do you even see the haze when there's water in the tank? Just checking. Just sent you a PM, but i can't fill it yet as i am still building the stand so it's on the floor. You can clearly see the hazing when looking through the tank or when the light hits it. I'm pretty sure you would see blurred objects if it were filled. I took a flashlight and was really surprised when I shot it across the tank as it was more hazed with coralline blotching than i thought.
overklok January 11, 2012 January 11, 2012 (edited) Starphire glass is softer than regular aquarium glass. I have been through this exact scenario, bought muratic acid, nothing worked. When the tank is filled, the etching will be less noticeable. Edited January 11, 2012 by overklok
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