Possible 29g oceanic 2gen revival.

[Lazyfish]

I have an old oceanic biocube tank. I got this thing in late 06 or 07. It is the second version with higher back wall to prevent fish getting in the aio section and slightly difrent back chambers. This was my 3rd teef tank it ran 4 or 5 years it was my first aio it's been off line ever since. Weather or not this revival works or not is dependent on the tank. It has some unsightly scratches on the front because like an idiot I had some old equipment shoved inside of it and gouged the glass. So far it dosnt seem to be leaking with 2 inches of water inside of it. So I will fill it first and see if it holds. I have been reading up on scratch removal if I can get them out or to the point they dont bug me I will build a sturdy mostly open worked stand with shelving for it. If this works out I will be moving the content of my 10g into this tank. The 10g has 2 large scratches in the front panel that are driving me a little nuts. If this works I may try to salvage the 10 for later use. I was looking for a lid for it im not sure if this will even work at this point but we shall see if I cant find a lid I will have a replacement made for the top section I had before that was broken while in storage. I plan to use my ai prime hd on this tank and a spare pump along with the skimmer that's on my 10 the chamber 1 model was done back when I first got it to accommodate the intank media basket it's an older version but should still work.

 

[Lazyfish]

These are pictures of when I had it set up originally I still have the blacker ice female clown from like 2009 or so the grey tail striped clown died from ick and my original male blacker ice went carpet surfing. I also still have the green Kenya, red shrooms and brown pallys and grandis pallys and a tiny leather off my original from back in 2006/07. If this works out I may move my giant gorg into this tank to give it more room. For some reason one fts from when I first set it up wont upload....

 

[Lazyfish]

This is the tank curently. I hope it dosnt start leaking on me and that the scratches come out otherwise this isnt gona happen.

 

[Lazyfish]

So far so good on leaking but it will have to sit over night I tried some of the techniques I saw on some light scratches on the outside of the tank this evening....I am very much not impressed at all with any of what I tried infact I think I have some minor new scratches in one spot I tried...

 

[BluewaterLa]

scratches can be a huge pain.
If its glass then once filled you wont see the scratches or barely notice them until they get some algae build up.
I would leak test the tank for a week with tap water and place a piece of cardboard under the tank which will act like a leak detector in that if it gets wet by any amount you will notice easily.

 

[Lazyfish]

I've got it on concrete right now. Once I get some card board I'm going to try it To check for small leaks I would otherwise miss. I usualy leak test new tanks 3 days. I guess a week would be better with one this old. Most scratches are minor but a few are kind of deep and highly visable even with just water in the tank. My 10g has 2 deep nasty big gouges in the front glass and it affects viewing and is quite anoying they are so deep I dont think they will come out of that tank. The scratches in this one are more in the corner than center of the viewing area and not nearly as deep. I'm hoping I can get them out and put the contents of my 10g in this tank. If I cant get them out and depending if it leaks or not i may just keep it to use it another time as a freshwater tank. I hate cleaning coraline out of gouges in the glass. Freshwater algae is much easier to get out of scratches and accumulates less frequently. I'm realy hoping I can either buff them out or improve them to an acceptable level.

 

[clsanchez77]

Oh man that sucks to hear. I like seeing old tanks given a new life, but honestly, all the money we spend on these systems, the glass aquarium is one of the cheapest parts. Fixing scratches on glass is not for the faint of heart. There are a couple of ways to do it and both require some elbow grease. Then, on smaller tanks, the glass is so thin, you will most probably break it attempting the repair. If the glass is tempered, you will highly likely break it.

Option one is grind scratch out of the glass using cerium oxide. You are literally removing glass for the depth of the scratch, which will distort the viewing through that portion of the glass. If the glass is shallow, as in you cannot feel it with your finger tips or finger nails, then this is feasible. If you can feel the crack, then it is too deep.

Option two is the fill the scratch with fiberglass resin, let it cure, then sand it down level with the glass. Fiberglass resin is soft compared to glass so this works well, but the crack must be deep enough the receive the resin, or you will just sand all of it out. In this approach, less is better. Do not use epoxy for filling scratches - this is not a repair - as it is too hard and does not sand well. For cracks, do use epoxy, but again, getting into tanks are so cheap compared to all the other equipment, crack repair is not really worth the risk.

 

[Lazyfish]

I figured it is worth a try to get it going rather than spending the money on a new tank if it works that is. If not I'll probly just keep it for fresh water if it's not leaking...if it dosnt work I'll probly buy a nuvo because I alredy have equipment that will fit those tanks and wont need new media baskets skimmer or mounting brackets ect.

 

[Lazyfish]

There were no grossly obvious leaks last night so I scrubbed the tank and also managed to get out most of the small scratches it has 5 larger deeper ones that I couldn't get out but 3 of the 5 are hardly noticable with water I dont think they will be seen at all the other 2 do look a a good bit better. They arnt nearly as big or deep as the ones in my 10g. I dont see any distortions in the glass and it dosnt feel like that much was ground off. I'm going to fill it again tonight and put it on the cardboard I found for a few days hopefully no minor leaks show up
jewelers rouge seems works ok for the very light scratches so far but I'm also useing salt baking soda and coconut oil to make a coarser grinding compound it seems to be working ok too. Tooth paste did not work and gave me some more light scratches to remove. My dremel died on me a few times it takes a long time.

 

[Lazyfish]

Check it out! the big scratches are almost not even noticable now with the water in it and I cant even find the little ones. If nothing else I've learned to get out small to medium scratches to acceptable levels. Now we wait and see if it leaks. Any tips on getting rid of that coraline if it passes the leak test? I thought about taking a razor to or soaking a rag in vinegar and laying it ontop to soak it prior to scrubbing that stuff thats left is realy realy seriously thick.

the glass isnt cloudy it's on the outside probly coconut oil I think my phone has some on it too.

 

[reefMD]

Id probably get a new one. The new biocubes come with LEDs which is a very nice upgrade and they are only about 300$ shipped. assuming it last you another 10 years thats only 30$ per year.

 

[Lazyfish]

Well its leaking... ugh! At least I learned how to get scratches out. Gave me something to do while I'm on qt with the covidat least. I like movies and video games but after nearly week of it non stop I need to move around and do something else. I was trying not to spend alot on an "upgrade" more of like I cant stand looking at giant scratches any more so I want something thats not gouged up than a desire for a major upgrade. The biocube 16 is nice and is about 300 shipped before media baskets wave maker/powerhead, pump having top made because the lighting isnt that great using my own light and building a stand about 150$+ more I priced it out with various other sizes and options fluval, waterbox, c view. I thought about just replacing the 10g with the same thing but I would like at least a few more gallons if im going to all that trouble of taking it down and all. I want something that can use as much of of my existing equipment as possible.
I can get nuvo 14 penensula for 199.99 shiped is a bit larger than my 10 and will fit all my equipment literally all I would need is to have a top cut and that's around 15 bucks and build the stand so I guess I'll probly be setting up a 14g nuvo penensula in the near future. Guess I'll sell the accessories I had laying around for it to someone who's got an old biocube.

 

[BluewaterLa]

stinks that the tank started to leak, will say your positive outlook on learning something new is great !
appreciate you sharing your experience here with everyone.

 

[clsanchez77]

Sucks about the leak. I was pretty damn proud you worked the scratches out.

The new biocubes come with LEDs which is a very nice upgrade and they are only about 300$ shipped. assuming it last you another 10 years thats only 30$ per year.

If only wives worked that way LOL

 

[reefMD]

Sucks about the leak. I was pretty damn proud you worked the scratches out.



If only wives worked that way LOL

HAHA good point!