BaZ Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 will you be able to remove the hoses and pipes for cleaning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 I won't be able to get access to those that are stuck behind the background to remove and clean, but they will all be accessible via the U-pipes for cleaning with a pipe cleaner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 After all the playing around tonight I found a deep scratch in the (now) front of the tank, I hadn't noticed it before tonight and can't remember having done anything that would have caused it. I've done so much playing around in there I can't say for sure that it wasn't there when the tank was picked up, though it wouldn't surprise me after the condition of cabinet. The scratch is probably about 10cm long: Nothing I can do about it now, just wanted to have a whinge . I'm about half a tube of silicone down for this job so far, with only a few small patches sealed. There's a fair few larger gaps around the border so it might end up that I get into a third tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest parallel Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 Bummer Hopefully it will not be noticable once you fill it up with water. fingers cross. Cheers Parallel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 Here's hoping! *fingers crossed* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulochromis Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 can't you get the car windscreen people (o'brien) to come and repair it like they do for chipped windscreens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I've asked them this and the answer is no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 23, 2006 Author Share Posted April 23, 2006 Thanks Jamie, saves me the phone call I was going to make today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest parallel Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Jon, Is the scratch in the middle or on the side? can you use a stick on thermometre to hide it? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 24, 2006 Author Share Posted April 24, 2006 It's about 10cm from the right edge of the tank and about the middle height wise. A stick on thermometre might work without looking too dodgey. The position is such that if you are looking at the tank on dead centre you don't notice it as the line of sight goes through the side panel. My thoughts are to just leave things as they are for the moment and see how it looks once it's filled and in place. I'm just annoyed that: a) It was there and we didn't notice before I put the background in place. OR b) I made the scratch myself. I just called Obriens (you never know what new products have come along) and they suggested using "cerium oxide" (aka jewlellers rouge) to try and remove the rough edge a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Wasn't there a thread about polishing out scratches with some sort of jewelers compound? If it's on the outside just fill her up & decide later, if it's on the inside it might pay to look into it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 24, 2006 Author Share Posted April 24, 2006 I've had a search and haven't been able to find anything about buffing scratches out I'm planning on doing a test fill once the silicone has cured (7 days according to the tube) to also pressure test the background. I'll use this to determine whether the scratch will be noticable once full with water. If it is I'll try to track down some of this jewellers goop and give it a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Ouch. Sorry mate. Thats a nasty scratch.. Scratches look less bad when the tank is filled up with water, but still noticable if you know its there! Love your work. Thanks for the constant updates and the walkthrough!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaZ Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 I've had a search and haven't been able to find anything about buffing scratches out ← Try this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 24, 2006 Author Share Posted April 24, 2006 Try this thread ← Thanks Baz, don't know how I managed to miss that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 25, 2006 Author Share Posted April 25, 2006 It's now passed the point of no return, the top has been siliconed and set for about 24 hours, the bottom has been siliconed this morning. I've used the bottom edge to do a test run of hiding the silicone at the sides with rocks that are similar to the colour of the background. I'll leave them to set overnight and assess the situation tomorrow morning. I'm not sure how well they will remain in place or how many gaps will be left between them, but I've got a feeling that I'll need to add something to fill it in (sand maybe???). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndoboi Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 Id attack the scratch with toothpaste before filling for the first time and assessing the situation from there. You know the scratch is there, so there's no point in leaving it to see what it looks like with water in it. Great looking project BTW. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 25, 2006 Author Share Posted April 25, 2006 I actually gave it a quick go with some toothpaste and tried to put some silicone in this morning. The toothpaste definately took away the rough edge, but didn't do much to remove the scratch. Still waiting the reccommended time for the silicone to completely cure before I know how that went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 you didn't fill the hole with silicone did you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 25, 2006 Author Share Posted April 25, 2006 Actually... I had forgotten that when I was cleaning up around the area when i had made the attempt that I got distracted and went over the target area. I ended up getting into it and cleaning it back out - we had people over today and things are bit of a blur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 26, 2006 Author Share Posted April 26, 2006 Another day and a little more progress... I cleaned up the bottom edge and siliconed both sides this evening. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the rocks covered the silicone along the bottom edge. I got into it with a brush to make sure all loose rocks were removed and it's given a really neat finish (as seen below). The "process" I used was to run the silicone along to seal the edge of the background in place, do the finger thing to smooth is all out and then eye ball to make sure that I hadn't missed any spots. Then I ran another bead of silicon along the finished edge to give the rocks plenty of silicone bed to lie in, dump a heap of rocks in place and then push down. Looking through the glass you can get a good idea of whether the rocks are lying in the silicone or not. I found that by adding more rocks than required it prevented the silicone from getting onto your fingers thereby undoing all the hard work. This picture is of the bottom right side of the tank, the bottom edge has had the excess rocks removed revealing a satisfactory finish. Here's a picture of how the whole tank looks at the moment, I'm letting the rocks set on the left and right sides for a day or two and then i'll give it a good clean out. I'm pretty much all done with this little project now, now all I need is the furniture to sit the thing on and it will all be under way! I'll be trying to track down some of the glass polishing compound and getting the Dremel to work again before filling up to try and take the edge from the scratch a little. Thanks for all the tips and suggestions along the way, you guys are tops Cheers Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 Very professional looking, well done. I can't wait to see what you do with the rest of the setup, it's going to look unreal . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 26, 2006 Author Share Posted April 26, 2006 Thanks Jamie, I must admit that I did see a tank with a fitted background at Auburn Aquarium that gave me a better idea of what I had ahead. I was worried about making the plumbing work but it seems OK so far, only time and water will tell! You've got more faith in my aquascaping than I do, my next post will be about what rocks and how to arrange them for my Tropheus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 I think the best thing to do firstly would be to get some sandstone rocks that look very similar to your background. As far as how you arrange them, it's up to you. Alot of us have very different rock arrangements for our Trophs. I have separate rockpiles whereas others have heavily rocked out tanks, both are successful depending on the dynamic of the colony. I'm sure you'll make it look great, Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 i have been reading this post religiously for some days now without comment! I think what u have done here to share with us your experiences both good and bad is so encouraging! I wish more people could spend the time to do this. It really helps the newbies out there to see that this can be done. I guess it was lucky that u had a delay in getting your Ts and furniture otherwise u wouldn't have had the time to achieve all this!! And the great thing is u are doing all this for a nice colony of Tropheus! I hope u will be able to continue this live documentary of your tropheus tank setup in progress! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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