Rosco's Reefs February 2, 2013 Share February 2, 2013 A friend is emptying a crashed 300g 6ft bowfront acrylic tank (30 in tall.) His tank has the small holes cut in the top for access, rather than being open. What ideas or tools have you guys used to remove old sand, gravel, etc. from situations like this? We intend to clean it out as completely as possible and then rebuild it from the ground up. Thx in advance. Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind February 2, 2013 Share February 2, 2013 I use a fine mesh fish net to scoop out as much as I can. Then I siphon out the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 February 2, 2013 Share February 2, 2013 Be careful of scratching it. Emptying it depends on the substrate itself, if you van siphon it out then I'd do that, otherwise the net will work pretty well. I've also just taken gallon jugs and cut the tops off to use them as scoops. Round or square both work if t is legible enough o bend and conform. Stupid iPad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 February 2, 2013 Share February 2, 2013 Scoop out what you cab easily then wet vac the rest. Given difficultly getting in to scrub (and scratch worries) I would then give it a soak in dilute muriatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackers February 2, 2013 Share February 2, 2013 Wet/Dry shop vac after siphoning out what you can. As others have said, be careful not to scratch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco's Reefs February 3, 2013 Author Share February 3, 2013 thx, that's exactly what we did. Scooped and then wet-vac'ed. What is the story around the dilute muriatic? What will that do? Clean it better than the reach and rub we were able to do? Thx in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 3, 2013 Share February 3, 2013 Muriatic acid (diluted) will attack coralline or any other calcium carbonate deposits on the panes. I would use a solution diluted to 100:1 for an acrylic tank, which means you'll be using about 3 gallons of the stuff if you fill the tank. You could probably also just use 1 gallon instead of 3 and be patient. Still, this leaves you with 300 gallons of acid water that you need to dispose of. If the panes are pretty clear, I'd probably just not worry about it. If there are minor scratches, get an acrylic scratch removing / polishing kit from Premium Aquatics and, with a little elbow grease, you should be able to do a nice job restoring the panes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 February 3, 2013 Share February 3, 2013 (edited) The corralline and the residual aragonite sand will dissolve with the muriatic. Will then require simply a wipe rather than any scrubbing. Can buy it by the gallon in the paint section at Lowe's Edited February 3, 2013 by Steve175 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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