I need to buff the inside of my empty tank to get some scratches out. How big is big enough to climb into tank? I have been leaning over the side, but its a little painful. I have a 210 gal tank and realize that is about 1600lbs of water (and i dont weight quite that much) but also the water is spread over more surface

Thanks you
Jason

Since you are buffing, I assume the tank is acrylic.
You should be able to climb in with no problems, but I would use something to distribute your weight evenly.

I'd use a sheet of Styrofoam under a sheet of plywood.
The styro will protect the acrylic from the wood, and the wood will evenly distribute the weight.
Make sure the tank is fully supported on an even, flat surface.

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150G, 1 shovelnose sturgeon 8", 1 polypterus endilicheri 9", 1 leopard ctenapoma 4", 1 Distichodus Sexfasciatus 6", 1 Farlowella acus algae eater 8", 2 silver dollars, 2 tank bred angelfish, 1 clown knife 11", 1 Jaguar hybrid syntadonis 4", 6 African cichlids 3+"

The tank is on its stand, so whatever support it provides. Its actually a glass tank. I had read using cerium oxide would work getting small scratches (cant feel the scratches but can see them)

The biggest tanks I've dealt with are 155G's.. I'm pretty sure the tank bottom is recessed from the perimeter of the tank / trim itself. I for one would not stand on the middle of the tank if that's the case. What I would do is get/borrow a pair of saw horses... tip the tank so that the top rests on the horses and the base on the stand..
Yes.. cerium oxide will remove the surface scratches in glass tanks.. don't know anything how it works with Acrylic.. Since your scratches are so slight, it shouldn't be much of a problem... Once ya figure out how to do it properly, come on by and do my 155G!.. Good luck and please,, update on your resolution. Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

Its a big tank to risk getting a crack in and sort of defeats the whole point if you do. I suggest getting in the tank, especially whilst on the stand is a big risk and if it does go there will be more than the tank damaged. I agree with williemcd, get some help to lay the tank on some strong saw horses and then you can lean in to do the buffing. Take care to avoid more scratches. Let us know how you go.

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Chris
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I second (or third or fourth) the "don't do it on the stand" suggestion.

I can only think of about 8 different disastrous scenarios with that. LOL

If you go with the saw horse idea, Id still lay a thick piece of plywood on the horses, then lay the tank on that to lean in and buff.
Simply to prevent stress points on the glass at the crossbeams.

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150G, 1 shovelnose sturgeon 8", 1 polypterus endilicheri 9", 1 leopard ctenapoma 4", 1 Distichodus Sexfasciatus 6", 1 Farlowella acus algae eater 8", 2 silver dollars, 2 tank bred angelfish, 1 clown knife 11", 1 Jaguar hybrid syntadonis 4", 6 African cichlids 3+"

Yeah, the bottom is recessed compared to the trim. That was one of my concerns. Tank is hhhheeeaavvy... father in law almost put his back out helping me move it to the stand... wish i would have noticed the scratches when it was on the ground. I think if i were to buy another tank on craigslist, i would definately take a bright light so i could look for scratches.. quite annoying.

I may give it another couple hours of standing on the ladder leaning over. If that doesn't work, i will have to take it down. Tank seems a little heavy for sawhorses. Also, i heard it wasnt good to lay it on its side since the glass is so heavy. Is this not true?

Thank you
JAson

As an easy out?.. perhaps the other long wall doesn't have as many scratches, flip front to back!!... My 155G is estimated at over 400 lbs empty... My neighbor who helped me hump it deals with coils of sheet copper of that weight and is sure the 155 is heavier..

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

And even further.....don't worry about it. One of my 125s has hundereds of scratches (bought used) courtesy of years of using a magnetic algae scraper.

Also, have you filled the tank yet to check and make sure it holds water? While doing so, do the scratches even show? Often scratches disappear when the tank is filled.

Agree, why bother trying to get scratches out, chances are they won't show when its filled with water, especially as you didn't notice them when you bought it.

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Chris
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I have filled it. Thats how i found the scratches. They stare at me.. getting right under my skin.. Maybe they wouldnt be noticeable if it had fish and plants.. but still.. i had it filled for a week and that whole time i debated whether or not i should try and get them out. At the end of the day, i would sit there and stare at the scratches instead of the fish.. so i figure before its fully set up, might as well try and get them out.

Jason.. I'm with you... I've got a 155 with my discus in there and my main focus is on the scratches... BUGS the livin devil outta me!... My blem is that the substrate is clay based and it takes a while to settle once disturbed.. plus housing the discus in the re-hab period... Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

Let me close this thread in saying i did not try climbing into tank, i tried buffing leaning over tank for several hours (maybe 8 in total).. did not make a difference. Bought new tank, old one for sale on craigslist.

what did you do in the buffering effort?... curious minds wanna know!.. Bill in Va.
p.s. One of my 155's is probably closer to 300 lbs. the other one is a high end tank.. very thick glass and I'm sure well over 400 lbs... Been around too long to take a "general rule of thumb" and apply it across various manufacturers... Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

I had used cerium oxide (mixed into a slurry) on a buffing pad attached to a drill. Apply pressure and move around the scratch for hours on end. Part of the problem may have been i was using a cordless drill and the battery would die after 20 min.. luckily i had 2 so i could do a solid 40 min of buffing before i had to stop for a couple hours.. i repeated this for about 2 weeks... on again .. off again.. the glass polished like a champ, however when i held up my bright light directly to the glass, i could still see the scratches..

Maybe if i had more patience it would have worked (i have read articles elsewhere saying they had success), but with no visible improvement, i gave up.

I live in florida