Picked up a 535

mrrobxc

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2012
4,540
5,543
599
SE PA
Cool. HMU if you need any advice on buffing or scratch removal.
Will do. I think this will need more than novus.
 

mrrobxc

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2012
4,540
5,543
599
SE PA

JK47

Retired MFK Admin
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2008
11,112
3,478
2,555
Washington
Can you tell me what grit you use to sand?
That depends on what you are doing. If heavy scratches or for if it’s a clients tank, I do this:

All sanding has to have a soap/water mix. I use 5 drops of dawn per pint’ish amount of water. Do not use water when buffing.

-600 grit wet sand via orbital sander (this can do more damage if not careful. That grit runs hot so more soapy mix is a good thing for this grit)
-1200 grit wet sand via orbital sander.
-2000 grit wet sand via orbital
-Novus 3 with a buffing wheel via drill (no water)
-Novus 2 with a Mother’s polishing ball (no water)
-Novus 1 to clean up via microfiber cloth.

For cloudy/hazy acrylic I only to the three Novus steps and skip sanding.

I just finished this last night with the above. The client wanted to paint the bottom but look like brand new acrylic.

Crusty old paper is super hard to remove

63E1EB89-652C-476A-83B6-B5E873BB6CF7.jpeg

5C4A102F-69E0-4B85-9F51-621B0403AAA7.jpeg

877A6BEE-7FAC-4F9B-A5B4-A17D544E3983.jpeg
 

mrrobxc

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2012
4,540
5,543
599
SE PA
It has a few deeper scratches inside but it’s mostly just a little hazy.

I don’t have an orbital sander. Is hand sanding sufficient?
 

JK47

Retired MFK Admin
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2008
11,112
3,478
2,555
Washington
It has a few deeper scratches inside but it’s mostly just a little hazy.

I don’t have an orbital sander. Is hand sanding sufficient?
Sanding should not be done unless you have to. Buffing/polishing is all that you need from the sound of it. That is a handheld drill not an orbital sander. If you have a drill you’re set. Walmart has the polishing ball in the car care section. $22 and attaches straight to your drill.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrrobxc

mrrobxc

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2012
4,540
5,543
599
SE PA
So I have a problem. I built my stand too short at 32”. The wood used for the frame are 6x2’s so my clearance is too short for my sump which is 20” high.

I’ll have maybe 2.25 inches of room to run the pipe which won’t work. I need several more inches to make this work especially since my sock holders require an additional 1.5” of pipe.


I’m wondering if I could drill a few 1.25” holes into the stand to run my piping through. How would that impact the strength of the stand? Would that work?

Here are some pics.

JK47 JK47 and wednesday13 wednesday13

5180D3CA-9F3F-4F62-A2AC-422498D4E478.jpeg 7C6DD508-505A-4391-9F2D-68BFE2761AA4.jpeg
 

JK47

Retired MFK Admin
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2008
11,112
3,478
2,555
Washington
So I have a problem. I built my stand too short at 32”. The wood used for the frame are 6x2’s so my clearance is too short for my sump which is 20” high.

I’ll have maybe 2.25 inches of room to run the pipe which won’t work. I need several more inches to make this work especially since my sock holders require an additional 1.5” of pipe.


I’m wondering if I could drill a few 1.25” holes into the stand to run my piping through. How would that impact the strength of the stand? Would that work?

Here are some pics.

JK47 JK47 and wednesday13 wednesday13

View attachment 1315808 View attachment 1315809
Not the end of the world.

-make sure the sump is even away from the walls of the stand. It adds inches under the beam you can use like a crawl space.
-take the bulkheads out of the sock holders. That will buy you 3”. Just run the pipe straight into the hole. They are not pressure lines so a bulkhead is just aesthetic.
-try the above before cutting the stand. It can be done but if you do it would be better to cut in and weld in an inner cup like a c-notch on a car frame. Then the stand integrity will be the same.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DN328 and mrrobxc

mrrobxc

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2012
4,540
5,543
599
SE PA
Not the end of the world.

-make sure the sump is even away from the walls of the stand. It adds inches under the beam you can use like a crawl space.
-take the bulkheads out of the sock holders. That will buy you 3”. Just run the pipe straight into the hole. They are not pressure lines so a bulkhead is just aesthetic.
-try the above before cutting the stand. It can be done but if you do it would be better to cut in and weld in an inner cup like a c-notch on a car frame. Then the stand integrity will be the same.
Thank you. I’ll have to spend some time figuring this out. Learning a lot on this setup.
 

DN328

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Aug 14, 2014
2,416
1,097
164
Fish Tank
Not the end of the world.

-make sure the sump is even away from the walls of the stand. It adds inches under the beam you can use like a crawl space.
-take the bulkheads out of the sock holders. That will buy you 3”. Just run the pipe straight into the hole. They are not pressure lines so a bulkhead is just aesthetic.
-try the above before cutting the stand. It can be done but if you do it would be better to cut in and weld in an inner cup like a c-notch on a car frame. Then the stand integrity will be the same.
I know you may not want to spend more, but remember they have pre-made sock holders that mount nicely to the rim of your sump. It sits lower and allows more room for socks, you can mount anywhere around the sump giving more pipe route options, and pvc runs directly into sock.

Just brainstorming options...
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrrobxc

JK47

Retired MFK Admin
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2008
11,112
3,478
2,555
Washington
I know you may not want to spend more, but remember they have pre-made sock holders that mount nicely to the rim of your sump. It sits lower and allows more room for socks, you can mount anywhere around the sump giving more pipe route options, and pvc runs directly into sock.

Just brainstorming options...
Unfortunately not possible in my case. No filter socks. Just 180 for bio. The mech is an Ultrasieve III. I plan to build a sump from scratch once I free up some space. Sorry for the derail mrrobxc mrrobxc
 
  • Like
Reactions: mrrobxc
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store