Aqua-Tech 5 gal hex?

[Sundancex]

I was originally looking to get a new tank but a friend of mine offered me this tank for free. Of course I wasn't going to pass up a free tank! It's not in the best of shape, there are some scratches on the acrylic and it has yellowed a bit on the edges, but I think it should work fine for now. She gave it to me with some Marineland filter cartridges. From what I understand, this tank and the Marineland Hex 5 are the same exact tank, the Aqua-Tech one was just made exclusively for Wal-Mart, who has now stopped carrying the tank.

Now, I'd like to get some live plants for this tank, is there a bulb I should look for? I haven't even checked to see if the bulb I got with the tank still works. Actually I haven't checked if anything works...the tank is currently outside soaking in water.

Does anyone have this tank or the Marineland version? What can you tell me about it?

[MSG]

I have the hex tank, but I'm positive I'm missing certain vital pieces of the filtration system. What I do know is it's some sort of under gravel system.

• The hood for the hex should use a standard old fashioned light bulb.

Eventhough I don't use the tank to house live fish, due to all the scratches from the previous owner, I just use it to store various fish related decorations.

The hood for this Hex tank I still use, but one of the first things I've done with that hood that I highly recommend is swapping out the original standard light bulb out with a 26 watt CFL that is equivalent to a 100watt bulb.

• CFL's run a lot cooler, but the 26watt CFL's do get slightly hot to the touch.

• Standard light bulbs get way too HOT, and will MELT the clear cover that goes underneath light hood to keep moisture from getting to the bulb.

Due to it's design, the hood generates more heat than normal, but that clear bottom cover is a essential piece that gets lost/melted/broken.

[Sundancex]

The hex 5 I have isn't an under gravel filter. It's overhead.

Anyway, I think the tank is too wrecked to salvage at this point. The acrylic is so scratched in some places you can barely see through it. It's a pity though, the filter looks pretty decent, it has a biowheel! Back to looking for tanks...glass preferably, I think!

[kfryman]

Salvage as much as you can, filter if it works. Keep the tank, if you ever want more a community, you can then use that as quarantine so your other fish don't run the risk of disease.

After having acrylic tanks, they are a pain, cleaning you have to use soft sponges so it doesn't scratch so you end up cleaning it longer. Glass is probably the best in my opinion for smaller tanks, when the tanks get big, as in like a 100 gallons or more on a custom tank, acrylic is obviously the easiest way.

[Sundancex]

I'm planning on keeping it for a bit and using it to house Castiel until I can find the perfect tank. At the moment he is in a 1 gal bowl so this will definitely be an upgrade, even if it is scratched up.

[zzrguy]

Originally Posted by Sundancex

The hex 5 I have isn't an under gravel filter. It's overhead.

Anyway, I think the tank is too wrecked to salvage at this point. The acrylic is so scratched in some places you can barely see through it. It's a pity though, the filter looks pretty decent, it has a biowheel! Back to looking for tanks...glass preferably, I think!

You can try the 3M headlight repair kit that might get most of the scratches out. {pep boys , autozone}

[goldfishyman]

Actually they do sell an acrylic tank repair kit. Rainbow Lifegard Acrylic Scratch Repair Kit was the only one I could search up. It used different grits of sand paper and then had a liquid polish.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lifegard-Aquatics-Scratch-Removal-Kit/dp/B00019HKBC/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1342883002&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Rainbow+Lifegard+Acrylic+Scratch+ Repair+Kit"]Amazon.com: Lifegard Aquatics Scratch Removal Kit: Pet Supplies[/ame]

Is it worth $35 to try and repair this tank? Thats up to you. You could do it on the cheap by going to Ace hardware and picking up some 800grit, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 5000, 8000, 12,000 grit. Or what ever they have between the 800 to 12,000 grit range. Make sure to get a foam sanding block and to wet sand with water in the tank or running water to prevent over heating the acrylic and to remove debris from the sand paper so that it doesn't prematurely wear out the sand paper. Make sure you buy wet/dry sand paper so that it doesn't dissolve the paper backing. You start with the roughest grit 800 and work your way through to the 12,000 grit. You should sand vertically then on the next grit horizontally and then switch back to vertical etc for each paper change.