GroYurOwn Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 I have been out of the hobby for a few years now. Brother in law is giving me a 46g acrylic tank to get me back in to it. The tank is not drilled, I would like to drill it. I think I have the drilling part figured out, but I cannot figure out how to make the overflow. I don't know where to get the acrylic, i don't know how thick it should be either. I am getting really frustrated and wanted to see if anyone local had any ideas on how to get this done. I would even pay someone else to make one for me at this point. I am at a stand still here. Also, the tank has some scratches in it, any suggestions on easy removal? Thanks in advance, cat wait to get started again! PS any advice on bulkhead and pipe size, or any plumbing in general is helpful. I have never done this before and would like to get it right the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewey McLovit Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Are you in portland now? If so Woody at seahorse has buffers to help with minor scratches inside and out. You can even wet sand the deep ones with wet sandpaper to 12,000 grit and are able to get it looking brand new, well almost it they aren't too deep. With regard to the overflows, are you thinking about putting a corner overflow or you gonna just drill holes in back wall for drain and inlet that will go to sump? There are a lot of options/opinions and i can walk you thru buffing the acrylic. PM with you number and i will call you. Too difficult to explain over phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GroYurOwn Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 That's funny cause i was use at seahorse yesterday. i was also told that TAP plastics has a good kit. I just can't find any sandpaper over 400 grit! thats my biggest frustration at right now. As far as drilling, i was going to go through the bottom with a Durso standpipe, i am pretty committed to that at this point since i already bought all the necessary parts. If there is anywhere i can black acrylic locally i could really use that info too, I would like to get everything knocked out this week. Plus shipping a piece of acrylic is expensive because of the dimensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GroYurOwn Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 That's funny cause i was use at seahorse yesterday. i was also told that TAP plastics has a good kit. I just can't find any sandpaper over 400 grit! thats my biggest frustration at right now. As far as drilling, i was going to go through the bottom with a Durso standpipe, i am pretty committed to that at this point since i already bought all the necessary parts. If there is anywhere i can black acrylic locally i could really use that info too, I would like to get everything knocked out this week. Plus shipping a piece of acrylic is expensive because of the dimensions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 you can look for headlight polishing kits, it's the same principal. about 30 bucks and comes with the full range of papers, the polishing pad, the buffer sponge and the rubbing compound. should do pretty well. as for the drain, consider adding a full siphon in with the durso. you can make full use of the things you bought for the durso and get a better drain. if you add a full siphon drain with a ball (or gate) valve, you can tune the siphon so it drains just the right amount, it will ensure the durso is silent and provide some backup if one gets partially clogged. In reality I'd recommend (and will soon be building) a bean-animal that adds a true emergency drain to those two. just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Someone on reefcentral wanted to know how I got my scratches out, so I'll copy and paste what I said since it applies to you too: I used a product called Novus #3 and a small 6" car buffer from Harbor Freight. I applied the Novus #3 on the inside of the tank with a rag first then polished until all the Novus was off. After doing that 4 times I bought automotive sand paper from Auto Zone; the pack had 800,1000,1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper in it. I wetted the acrylic first then sanded with 800 grit, wiped the powder off and then followed with the 1000 and so on. Make sure to feather out every time you increase the grit. After you're done sanding follow with the Novus #3 as many times as it takes to remove all the cloudiness (it will probably take 4-5 times). Once you are done with the Novus #3 polish with Novus #2 a couple times to remove any small scratches that the #3 may have put in and to help increase the clarity. After all this work you should have a scratch free acrylic tank that looks as good as new. Let me know if you have any questions. Here is the polisher I used: http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-compact-palm-polisher-90219.html Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 You could just add a overflow box using BH's to the back wall and Herbie it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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