bcoop78 May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 (edited) I decided to re-aquascape in order to move the rocks away from the sides of the tank. Using epoxy, I set up everything just the way I wanted it... Then after I was finished, and was wiping down the tank, ROCKSLIDE!!!! Everything fell.. I rushed in with my hands, and ended up getting stung on my arm- by what I have no clue... So here's my sting and my freshly scratched acrylic: Edited May 25, 2012 by bcoop78
extreme_tooth_decay May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 I decided to re-aquascape in order to move the rocks away from the sides of the tank. Using epoxy, I set up everything just the way I wanted it... Then after I was finished, and was wiping down the tank, ROCKSLIDE!!!! Everything fell.. I rushed in with my hands, and ended up getting stung on my arm- by what I have no clue... Sucky...happens to everyone, though... Nice of your tank to sting you in the shape of a claw. Just tell people it is a tattoo until it heals.
bcoop78 May 25, 2012 Author May 25, 2012 Sucky...happens to everyone, though... Nice of your tank to sting you in the shape of a claw. Just tell people it is a tattoo until it heals. I wish that claw would scratch the itch that this sting is giving me!
Coral Hind May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 Wow, both the sting and the scratch suck. That's why I am not a fan of acrylic.
hbh May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 Sounds odd but try meat tenderizer on it like you would for a bee sting or anti-itch/triple antibiotic cream with pain relievers. I have also taken antihistamine like alavert to help it not itch.
wogga May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 (edited) look very closely at the site of the sting and see if there are any tiny little spikes like that of a cactus stuck to the skin. If so, it's likely just a bristleworm sting. It happens; it hurts; it heals. Bristleworm would make sense. Edited May 25, 2012 by wogga
SunWyrm May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 I LOVE vinegar now because of bristleworms, dissolves their hairs fast - and might work on whatever this was as well.
DaveS May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 Sounds odd but try meat tenderizer on it like you would for a bee sting or anti-itch/triple antibiotic cream with pain relievers. I have also taken antihistamine like alavert to help it not itch. I LOVE vinegar now because of bristleworms, dissolves their hairs fast - and might work on whatever this was as well. Just pee on it...
wogga May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 Just pee on it... That's probably the most scientific approach. Second!
tightline May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 look very closely at the site of the sting and see if there are any tiny little spikes like that of a cactus stuck to the skin. If so, it's likely just a bristleworm sting. It happens; it hurts; it heals. Bristleworm would make sense. lmao luv your outlook on life or bristleworm stings
bcoop78 May 25, 2012 Author May 25, 2012 Oh man... I could really care less about the sting... It's the huge scratch on my front pane that has the real "sting". :-(
wogga May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 Oh man... I could really care less about the sting... It's the huge scratch on my front pane that has the real "sting". :-( Oh. Yeah, those don't heal.
taiscici May 25, 2012 May 25, 2012 Same thing happen to me when i set up my tank, but my scratches are hairlines compare to your. Good excuse to upgrade to another tank
bcoop78 May 25, 2012 Author May 25, 2012 Same thing happen to me when i set up my tank, but my scratches are hairlines compare to your. Good excuse to upgrade to another tank I am thinking about it...
zygote2k May 26, 2012 May 26, 2012 acrylic is easily polished and scratches can be removed with fish and water in tank. I do it all the time. I can remove the majority of scratches but cannot remove a deep gouge.
Amuze May 26, 2012 May 26, 2012 Oh that sucks. Is the scratch too deep to be buffed out? Try that first. There's this tank I found on CL (hope mods dont' mind this posted here). It's not mine and I don't know anything about it or the owner. Just found it. Pretty good deal, although it is acrylic. http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/for/3038272526.html
ArtFully Acrylic (Adam B) May 29, 2012 May 29, 2012 Sorry to hear about the fresh scratch and rock slide Ben . Glass is harder to scratch, but Acrylic is repairable in most cases. Depending on the weight and circumstances its possible glass could have scratched as well under the circumstances. My first go to in times like these is Micro Mesh. It is safe to use in your tank while still stocked. The first link below gives basic instructions on its use to give you an idea of the process. Though these instructions are geared towards countertops the principles are the same. http://micro-surface.com/images/products/inst_0Countertop_Booklet.pdf The kit I would recommend you get is this one (The "Micro Mesh Regular"): http://micro-surface.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=87 For $19 and some elbow grease its certainly worth a shot. Note however, that this kit starts with 1500 grit. You will almost certainly need to start at a lower grit than that to remove the scratch. You don't want to however create more work for yourself by starting out lower than necessary so this is where a little trial comes into play. I would say to start with an 800 grit on a small area and see if a few minutes of sanding (back and forth across the scratch not in same direction) makes any headway. If it doesn't step down to 600 grit and try again. If that still doesn't make headway then go down to 400. If you have to go lower then be prepared for your arms to grow in size by the time you are done. Once you find the right grit that actually begins removing the scratch you will need to ever so slightly increase or "fan out" the sanding as you escalate through the grades so try not to go to far out beyond scratch edges initially. The first grit stage is the one that will need to sand away the surrounding acrylic to be flush to the depth of the scratch. It is the following steps up in grit and feathering that will blend the imperfection away. DO NOT skip any of the grits...go step by step all the way to the 12000 grit and if all goes according to plan you should be relatively good as new pre-rock slide. Let me know if you decide to give this a shot Ben or if I can help further with it in any way. I say it is certainly worth a shot...especially if you have actually *gasp* already considered all out replacing the tank already. I would say that will likely be on the unnecessary side...certainly not without at least giving the repair a whirl. You may be quite surprised. Not to say that you aren't going to spend several hours repairing what only took seconds to happen, but IMHO should be worth it. ----------- Amuze and others regarding the posted CList tank...tread cautiously with that one if anyone buys it. Though it is relatively reasonably priced it is on the verge of what I would deem as "underbuilt" if the main body is actually only 3/8" acrylic as they state. Though 3/8" is "acceptable" for a tank only 20" tall at 48" length in combination with this it would exhibit more bowing and deflection than I typically want to see for long term satisfaction. At that level it will be particularly precarious with a marine setup due to constant need to whittle away at coraline buildup. As a further attachment to this even though the centerbrace is plenty wide the eurobrace rim seems a bit undersized for a 3/8" build in all honesty. With that thickness acrylic it would be better off with a 4" eurobrace whereas it appears to be more like 2" front and back and 3" on the sides. I'm sure the builder did this to try and maximize the access cutouts, but the better recommendation upon order would have been to suggest thicker acrylic in lieu of this. Though acrylic tanks can be built relatively inexpensively and to minimum standards doesn't mean they should be. In retrospect to the other necessary components of your setup the tank and the stand are the two that cannot be easily replaced without a complete system break down...so why would you want to go with a system that is borderline underbuilt when paying a bit more up front will enhance your long term satisfaction in your setup?? Just food for thought and my 2 cents.
zygote2k May 30, 2012 May 30, 2012 Adam makes it sound so easy. I've used the kit that he talks about but the problem with it is that it's hard to use the sanding sheets on a deep tank unless you attach them to an algae magnet. If your tank is deep, I'd recommend using the SeaVisions Super Magnet system. This is what I use on a weekly basis. I'd use it daily, but the magnet is super heavy and gives you a killer arm workout for 2-4 hours.
ArtFully Acrylic (Adam B) May 30, 2012 May 30, 2012 Adam makes it sound so easy. I've used the kit that he talks about but the problem with it is that it's hard to use the sanding sheets on a deep tank unless you attach them to an algae magnet. If your tank is deep, I'd recommend using the SeaVisions Super Magnet system. This is what I use on a weekly basis. I'd use it daily, but the magnet is super heavy and gives you a killer arm workout for 2-4 hours. Well I never said it was easy ....just that it is worth a shot. I built Ben's tank so know that it is only 24" tall and the eurobrace lip in the front is only 3" deep (if I recall correctly) so shouldn't be too bad. The problem with the SeaVisions system is the expense...at over $300 for the "possibility" of repairing his scratch...especially when you also consider they don't even offer the ability to return it if it doesn't work...it would be quite a gamble and would cost essentially half of what he paid for the tank in the first place just to try out.
treesprite June 2, 2012 June 2, 2012 Do you have some type of euphyllia in your tank? They sting big time.
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