I gonna need help with this one guys!!

[cichlid savage]

I was at work today and this guy was throwing this away. It actually had water in it before he brought it outside! He gave it to me for FREE!!!! It used to be a salt water tank but the last owner was using it for fresh.

Dimensions 44x20x26
Acrylic reef ready w/ built in over flow (ithink)

First question: What do I use to clean this? it's filthy. I know some chemicals can damage acrylic.

Second question: How can i minimize some of the scratches on 1 side?

Third question can I paint the exposed clear acrylic on the back black if so do I need to use a special type of paint.

There is a lot of stuff in the overflow, I'll have pics of it later and more questions. I have no idea how to use the overflow and I see some plumbing in there.

 

[milkman407]

you a spray paint, it will say for plastic. for the scratches, you can get a fine grade of sandpaper and smooth them out, if it does leave a milky color, you can polish it.

 

[cichlid savage]

I just took everything out of the tank:

1. a no name heater (trash)
2. AC 500 filter (will go on another tank if it works)
3. misc plastic decorations (trash)
4.some interesting looking rock (will clean them up ID them and see if I keep them)
5. The ugliest pink white and gravel (definitely trash)
6. in the overflow there are what I believe to be pumps plumbed in. I left them in place will deal with them later.

 

[maseyferguson05]

Are you sure there is a pump in the overflow? Or is it a drain/standpipe?

 

[cichlid savage]

Are you sure there is a pump in the overflow? Or is it a drain/standpipe?

I dont know I am guessing they are pumps as they are plumbed to 2 spouts that go back into the tank.

 

[Mystix212]

Once you clean out the FREE 100G tank, what will you stock it with?

 

[cichlid savage]

Are you sure there is a pump in the overflow? Or is it a drain/standpipe?

Yes I am sure. I tested them and they flow back into the tank via the 2 spouts on the opposite sides of the overflow.

The tank will temporarily house my silver, jar and clown knife.

can anyone tell me if I can use bleach or vinegar to clean it? I know that some chemicals can damage acrylic.

Here are a cpl of pics after some rinsing. I tried to include pics of the pumps and the spouts mentioned earlier.

 

[maseyferguson05]

That looks like a really weak sump setup, if it were me i would have already ripped the return pumps out, plugged them and just kept the overflow.

What are the last two pictures of? The return?

 

[cichlid savage]

Why does the sump system look week? If you "rip" the pumps out how thn would you get the water out of the overflow? As I described in my post the last 2 pics are the return spouts to the tank from the pumps in the overflow.

 

[Dr Joe]

Alright!!

Cheap at half the price...

First question: What do I use to clean this? it's filthy. I know some chemicals can damage acrylic.

Vinegar, hot water and a soft cloth. Let it soak to desolve the calcioum deposits.

Second question: How can i minimize some of the scratches on 1 side?

Use a plastics polish to polish the scatches not remove them, htere are several articles on here about it so I won't go into it here.

Third question can I paint the exposed clear acrylic on the back black if so do I need to use a special type of paint.

Krylon fusion satin or gloss it doesn't matter since your looking thru the acrylic, not the surface of the paint. Clean with windex to remove oils/grease (polish the plastic first if necessary)first. Make sure it is clean...you don't get a second chance with acrylic.

Dr Joe

.