Re: Acrylic tank scratches and neighbors with good intentions

[Kate Breimayer <kate@munat.com>]

well, at least she didn't try to drain it and scrub it with a scouring 
pad and then use bleach on the gravel etc... just trying to look at the 
bright side here, some people actually do that sort of thing. Don't 
suppose it is symmetrical, like can you flip it around so the scratched 
part is on the back or is the back a solid color? Think when I get my 
acrylic tank I will look for one with clear acrylic on all 4 sides...
Every time I leave anyone who is not a fishaholic  like me in charge I 
have something like this happen, usually not as expensive though. 
Usually it's "Your fish looked hungry so I fed them all extra 
bloodworms" and it's Murphy's law, only the ones I most valued will get 
bloat ... I think my fish are better off going a week without food than 
going a week with an overfeeding well intentioned neighbor. Cat is more 
of a problem, you can't leave them alone. Whether to tell her or not you 
might sleep on, it could be delicate. If you don't tell you will be 
angry and it could mess up your friendship. Do tell and depending on how 
she takes things she could be angry. Ultimately you will likely have to 
tell her because she will ask why you drained the tank, hauled it out in 
the yard, and spent 2 solid days buffing and polishing the tank while 
loudly cursing and possibly blasting heavy metal or some other 
irritating and anger infused music with the speakers aimed primarily at 
her house... she's gonna notice that.
The fine scratches should come out, the deeper ones are more of a 
problem and they will provide perfect homes for algae. I would shop 
around and maybe call a plexi place first, and see what it costs for you 
to buy the stuff vs having them do it in the shop. If they can do it 
with a tool cheap enough maybe is worth sparing you the work, and the 
neighbor might go in on it or pay for it outright.$30 seems like a lot 
for it but I guess I haven't looked at this stuff since the early 90's, 
we used it at a frame shop for buffing scratches off laquer and also 
used it on guitars. It's slow work and hard on the hands and arms. Bet 
the acrylic shop will be able to tell you what product is best for fish 
and cheapest.
Good luck!
Kate B

Darcey Harding wrote:

> Aaaaag! My kind neighbor took care of my cat while I was back east for a
> funeral, and I'm sure meant every good in the world when she found the magnetic
> algae scraper blocks and decided to have a serious go at the algae-covered front
> of the tank.
>
> She also dragged the scraper along the bottom, caught up a bunch of gravel, and
> scratched the HELL out of the front of the tank. The whole inside front of the
> tank is covered in a squiggly fine haze, interspersed with deeper scratches.
> This is a 125T acrylic tank.  Or was. Oh god, I am in pain! Is there hope for
> this tank?
>
> (Do I tell her?)
>
> Darcey
>
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