72g RR AllGlass Bow Front Restore

Here's the deal. My wife forced me to buy a used RR AllGlass 72g Bow Front
I know, we just started a 20g SW two months ago and thats a lot of work in it's self. And I'm building a 10g sump for it to boot.
But she made me buy this tank. Old and well used it is. Has scratches, a broken center brace and much salt/calcium build up.

I am really looking forward to making this a complete restore project for over the winter.
My plan looks like this:
1.) Figure out if it is possible to make the tank rimless. Remove the plastic rim and cross bar. Replace cross bar with either glass or acrylic. Take the edge off the glass rim (have done this in the past with exposed glass backsplash for a kitchen remodel).
2.) Research and attempt to remove as many scratches as possible.
3.) Clean out and re-seal all seams.
4.) Drill secondary return on opposite end of tank from overflow.

This should be enough to keep us busy until January/February then we can start planning the sump/fuge plumbing. And start the LR curing.

During all the restore we plan to pick up and build the hardware side for a tank this big (tubs for mixing water, RO/DI, all the stuff to make keeping a tank).

To much? Any suggestions? Advice?

Will have pics of tank Wendsday night

 

I'm waiting on a reply for the same kind of tank but in better shape

 

well at least the 72g is easier than the 20g you get some relax time with that . do u plan one keep the 20g going? if not u could use it for the sump

 

i had a marineland tank with a broken top rim and i called them up and asked for a new one shiped to me and they did with no charge, its worth a try?

 

here is an article that might help you with the scratches
BAS ~ Removing Scratches From A Glass Tank
Knowing that you have a bowfront tank, its gonna make your life a bit more difficult

Anyway the basic idea is to use cerium oxide (jewellers polisher), an electric drill a wool buffing pad, in order to buff the scratches
Personally I tried it myself too but it took too long. The miss wanted to see the fish move in the tank soon so in the end i just let the scratches be

Here is my advice from my experience
Use an electric drill (i used a battery powered one which gave me 15minutes of poor buffing.
If in case you decide to leave the scratches as they are, i would advise you to not point the lights directly on the glass as it will make the scratches more obvious.

i hope this helps

 

Dont remove the brace, bad things will come of it. Also with out a center brace i would not even use that tank.

 

I would tend to agree with this. 72g is pretty big, and that's a lot of water pressure pressing against the tank walls without a functional center brace to support them. If there is a way to repair that, I would put it on the top of my list. Smells like it might be a receipe for disaster, but if you decide to go with it I hope all the best for you.

 

i work for a company called caswell inc we carry a glass polishing kit and a few other things that mite be useful thanks JOE