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SupraSaltyReefer: Advanced Acrylics 160G Peninsula - House of Tangs

I like acrylic for smaller tanks like nanos or frag tanks (anything easily accessible with arms) but I can only imagine what a chore it is for a big one like yours. At least at public aquaria, you can dive in them. The coralline is where I get scratches too since it's so hard to remove certain species.
 
Darkxerox said:
I like acrylic for smaller tanks like nanos or frag tanks (anything easily accessible with arms) but I can only imagine what a chore it is for a big one like yours. At least at public aquaria, you can dive in them. The coralline is where I get scratches too since it's so hard to remove certain species.
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I would agree with this - I would do acrylic again for a smaller tank that is NOT a peninsula. 6 ft of peninsula is just too much surface area to care for.

The problem is you lose most of the advantages of acrylic with the small tank anyway (weight, strength - not as big of a deal with smaller tanks).

Edit - just realized all this acrylic negativity was happening in Tu’s new acrylic tank journal. Sorry! Acrylic is great in many ways - just ignore my bitter ranting and enjoy your awesome new tank.
 
ReyDeFarts said:
Awesome! Stoked to see this up and running.

So is the "don't use old sand" philosophy from the old days of reefing? I don't fully understand why, if precautions are taken to ensure its clean. I'd go as far as a bleach soak, but is that truly necessary? If I was upgrading a tank that had sand, is all of that sand not excellent microbiology seeding material? Even if I rinsed it clean with fresh s/w, it seems to me it would be good to use. I understand that some sand beds can have a high anaerobic population, which could be rinsed out right?
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Alexander1312 said:
I would still start with fresh sand. Every tank has reached a different balance and what was good in your old tank might not be in your new tank. Saving money upfront might cost more later. Cleaning the sand thoroughly could be a compromise, but how do you know you got everything out? Sand does not cost so much compared to other things.
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IME "Don't use old sand" and only use "New" sand is wasteful. Is sand ever really new? I think a better term is to use "Clean" sand so your fish's do not suffocate from all the crap that is embedded in the old sand. There's a good thread 64 pages deep on R2R with others that have had no issues using old sand. In the case of a tank transfer and reusing some of your old rocks you don't need to keep any of the good bacteria in the sand. You want to wash out all of the detritus and crap to make the sand as clean as possible. Seeding your tank with good bacteria comes from your old rocks and corals that you'll be transferring over.
 
Hey, it was good meeting you finally btw.
SupraSaltyReefer said:
IME "Don't use old sand" and only use "New" sand is wasteful. Is sand ever really new? I think a better term is to use "Clean" sand so your fish's do not suffocate from all the crap that is embedded in the old sand.
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I imagine the same way rocks are reused, the same could be said about sand. Some folks bleach and kill everything on rocks. Then rinse and clean until neutralized. Why can't the same be done with sand. Seems logical to me that the same could be done with sand. Granted a lot of water and effort will be put it to get it cleaned, but for a large tank, it seems like a fair option.

In the past, when cleaning various types of aggregates for my fw tanks, I would create a "back wash" in buckets. Basically, forcing water flow upward. Could do it with just a hose, but a pvc adapter with small holes facing up is the best. I place the bucket near one of my fruit trees so the water doesn't go to waste. It essentially clears out the detritus and lighter particulate matter in a few minutes. The heavy sand stays in the bucket. I go in for extra agitation a few times and it's done. You need a good amount of pressure to accomplish this FYI, but it works. I may need to recreate this in the near future for a couple tank transfers.
 
derek_SR said:
Edit - just realized all this acrylic negativity was happening in Tu’s new acrylic tank journal. Sorry! Acrylic is great in many ways - just ignore my bitter ranting and enjoy your awesome new tank.
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Lol all good, Glass vs Acrylic is a good conversation to have. I've had both type of tanks in the past and weighed the pros and cons before committing to an acrylic tank. Keeping your tank scratch free is something we all struggle with, albeit it's more difficult with acrylic. I plan to keep this tank for a very long time so being able to buff out the scratches if needed was important to me. I wouldn't have been able to do that for glass. Also the fear of a bad silicone seam or chipped corner when moving renders the tank useless so those were my main reasons for going acrylic this time around. I wouldn't have been able to move this tank by myself if it was glass lol.

However, if I know I'll be getting my forever tank and never had to move it I would opt for a drop off glass tank! Seam failures are very unlikely unless it's a Red Sea tank. I just know I'm not in my forever home yet and faaarrrr from settling on my forever tank lol

In regards to everyday cleaning I use melamine foam sponges aka magic erasers. I don't like the scrub pads or algae cutter bags that are used on the Mighty Magnets since I've found they do leave micro scratches. The melamine foam sponges are cheap on Amazon and thrown away after each use or until they break apart. It is a PITA to stick your hand in the tank but I use a arm pit length glove so keeps my hands nice a dry. Luckily I don't ever plan on having a SPS tank so once a week scrubbing should be good enough for me.
 
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ReyDeFarts said:
Hey, it was good meeting you finally btw.

I imagine the same way rocks are reused, the same could be said about sand. Some folks bleach and kill everything on rocks. Then rinse and clean until neutralized. Why can't the same be done with sand. Seems logical to me that the same could be done with sand. Granted a lot of water and effort will be put it to get it cleaned, but for a large tank, it seems like a fair option.

In the past, when cleaning various types of aggregates for my fw tanks, I would create a "back wash" in buckets. Basically, forcing water flow upward. Could do it with just a hose, but a pvc adapter with small holes facing up is the best. I place the bucket near one of my fruit trees so the water doesn't go to waste. It essentially clears out the detritus and lighter particulate matter in a few minutes. The heavy sand stays in the bucket. I go in for extra agitation a few times and it's done. You need a good amount of pressure to accomplish this FYI, but it works. I may need to recreate this in the near future for a couple tank transfers.
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Great to finally meet you too!
That's basically what I did manually. Sat there with a 5g bucket, gloves and a water hose on blast. Great arm work out lol.
I also thought about building a stand for a cement mixer to do the job so I can set it and forget it.
 
SupraSaltyReefer said:
Lol all good, Glass vs Acrylic is a good conversation to have. I've had both type of tanks in the past and weighed the pros and cons before committing to an acrylic tank. Keeping your tank scratch free is something we all struggle with, albeit it's more difficult with acrylic. I plan to keep this tank for a very long time so being able to buff out the scratches if needed was important to me. I wouldn't have been able to do that for glass. Also the fear of a bad silicone seam or chipped corner when moving renders the tank useless so those were my main reasons for going acrylic this time around. I wouldn't have been able to move this tank by myself if it was glass lol.

However, if I know I'll be getting my forever tank and never had to move it I would opt for a drop off glass tank! Seam failures are very unlikely unless it's a Red Sea tank. I just know I'm not in my forever home yet and faaarrrr from settling on my forever tank lol

In regards to everyday cleaning I use melamine foam sponges aka magic erasers. I don't like the scrub pads or algae cutter bags that are used on the Mighty Magnets since I've found they do leave micro scratches. The melamine foam sponges are cheap on Amazon and thrown away after each use or until they break apart. It is a PITA to stick your hand in the tank but I use a arm pit length glove so keeps my hands nice a dry. Luckily I don't ever plan on having a SPS tank so once a week scrubbing should be good enough for me.
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The material of these sponges does not leave any residue in the water?
 
This is what our AI friends have to say about this topic:

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B the Nano Reefer said:
That’s fair, but certainly wouldn’t introduce them knowingly into my tank with delicate livestock. Thats just me though. Never had an acrylic tank, so never been an issue for me personally
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You use plastic buckets to store/mix/transfer water? Microplastics.

I don’t think it’s ever going to become an issue “building up” because you’re also removing them when you do water changes
 
B the Nano Reefer said:
That’s fair, but certainly wouldn’t introduce them knowingly into my tank with delicate livestock. Thats just me though. Never had an acrylic tank, so never been an issue for me personally
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You should see how much comes off when I buff scratches out! My 20 year old clowns seem fine with about 10 years of use in my tank. The trick is to not run it over sharp coralline algae and apply flat pressure with your palm not fingers. Doesn't wear very much with this method.

The Steinhart Aquarium still uses them to clean their acrylic in their systems.

I use dobie pads on the tougher algae spots to apply more pressure.
 
B the Nano Reefer said:
Fairly certain these sponges release microplastics into the water column as they wear down from use, no? Wouldn’t that be a long term concern for the health of livestock?
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I'm not concerned. 89% of my fishes are wild caught so they are probably used to the microplastics in the ocean :D

On another note, imaging all the 3D printed items this reefing hobby has adopted. I don't think it's significant enough to cause issues.
 
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