Light Scratchs

[lock77]

I bought an aquarium abut 2 weeks ago. The previous owner had a nice white sand in it with some black stones mixed in, i did'nt go much on the black stones. Being impatient I rushed in with the kitchen sieve to try and clear the stones not realizing that every sieve full I dragged up the inside of my tank was doing damage. 2 hours later I lay back feeling all proud of my achievement, that is until I put my fish in their new home and switched on the lights. The bottom 2 inches of the glass were covered in scratches.

After the abuse that a rightly deserve for my rookie mistake I would really appreciate any help in the matter as this has in my eyes ruined my viewing pleasure.

Please be gentle!!!

 

[windsor-aquatic]

Without wishing in any way to add to your disappointment, I have to say that over the last 30-odd years I've tried most of the available so-called scratch removal products on the market and have yet to find one that actually removes scratches.At best they make them less obvious, and at worst the actually make them more noticeable. The only guaranteed solution is to replace the front glass. Sorry!!

 

[fluttermoth]

I know it would be a PITA, as you'd have to completely empty the tank, but could you turn it round so the back is at the front? Would save you buying a whole new tank at least.

 

[lock77]

Can't even do that, its a diamond shape corner unit.
Feeling like a right muppet!

 

[Lufbramatt]

Only thing that will touch scratches on glass is cerium oxide powder. Mix into a paste and polish with an electric orbital sander with a buffing mop on. Takes absolutely ages though and have to be careful not to get the glass too hot or put too much pressure on. Not the nicest substance in the world either and you have to wear a mask as its very slightly radioactive lol. You can only reduce the scratches by grinding away the surrounding glass to the same level as the bottom of the scratch.

I've had good results polishing car headlight lenses but it would literally take hours and hours on something as big as a fish tank.

 

[lock77]

RADIOACTIVE!! Think i'll just stick in a couple of more plants and hope it disguises the scratches. Worst of it is i'll always know the scratches are there and it was all my fault!

Cheers for the advice but I'm not going anywhere near my tank with a drill, I've seen how much damage i can do with a kitchen sieve.

 

[Lufbramatt]

Well its not radioactive in itself but it can contain trace amounts of thorium which it is extracted from. You have to eat it though for it to be dangerous.