Acrylic Fabrication Q & A

[Frosted_reef]

Thanks for all the replies! I hear you as far as the amount of work that it would take to remove those overflows, and likely the clairity wouldn't be up to my standard. I will just have to figure out how to make these two corner overflows work, my current tank is running a bean animal set up and I am very pleased with how quiet it is.

 

[fishues]

Hey all. I just got my first acrylic tank, and was hoping that someone here could tell me if the spot in these pictures is a place where the acrylic did not fuse properly, and if I can fix it with some Weld-on. Here are some pics.

I have not filled it with water. It's just been uncrated, and had the cling-wrap taken off.

 

[lapin]

Hey all. I just got my first acrylic tank, and was hoping that someone here could tell me if the spot in these pictures is a place where the acrylic did not fuse properly, and if I can fix it with some Weld-on. Here are some pics.

I have not filled it with water. It's just been uncrated, and had the cling-wrap taken off.

I would first ask the manufacture what they think.
Top me from this picture it looks like a large air bubble.

 

[fishues]

I would first ask the manufacture what they think.
Top me from this picture it looks like a large air bubble.

Done! Thank you for your reply. It looks like they smeared a thicker weld-on product along the inside seams of the tank, and the entry point of that air pocket is facing the inside of the tank. The lifetime warranty they provide stipulates that you cannot move the tank once it is set up. To me that leaves some wiggle room for them to get out of almost anything. They also state that the owner must pay to have the tank shipped back to the manufacturer. I am just hoping that they give me some tips, or sanction a specific mode of repair, that will not void the warranty.

Do you think it is possible to poke a tiny hole in the silicone-like outer seam, and squirt in some weld-on 4 or whatever would work best to fill the pocket?

 

[lapin]

If it was me and I wanted to fill it for some reason, I would drill a very small hole in the seam. I would fill it by injection. A thin mix of solvent and acrylic chips. Weld on 16 might be thin enough to inject it with a syringe.
This can make a mess and will void the warrenty . If it makes a mess then sanding and polishing will be needed to clean it up. You can not wipe excess when wet.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

There is no way in he-- that I would send a tank to someone looking like that. That is a major seam error.

Essentially, that is a result of improper edge preparation or an issue with the solvent and/or material itself. It also could be a variation in the thickness of the outer panel (the face the edge of the other panel was bonded to) which cause that panel to not have very good contact along that section of the joint. It looks like the weld joint was placed under stress of some sort prior to being fully cured and it started to peel apart.

The pool of solvent in the bottom of that corner appears to be Weld-on 40. I don't know why that would be necessary in that location. If they were trying to shore up that area of the joint in question, they would have tipped the tank so that it was sitting on that vertical edge so that the WO40 would pool along that area of the seam. Are there other similar pools of solvent in the other corners?

 

[fishues]

There is no way in he-- that I would send a tank to someone looking like that. That is a major seam error.

Essentially, that is a result of improper edge preparation or an issue with the solvent and/or material itself. It also could be a variation in the thickness of the outer panel (the face the edge of the other panel was bonded to) which cause that panel to not have very good contact along that section of the joint. It looks like the weld joint was placed under stress of some sort prior to being fully cured and it started to peel apart.

The pool of solvent in the bottom of that corner appears to be Weld-on 40. I don't know why that would be necessary in that location. If they were trying to shore up that area of the joint in question, they would have tipped the tank so that it was sitting on that vertical edge so that the WO40 would pool along that area of the seam. Are there other similar pools of solvent in the other corners?

Thank you Turbo. All of the corners have what I would consider a major flaw, at least aesthetically. It took four months to get the tank and stand delivered. I'm wanting to ask for my money back honestly, but if there is any way that this tank can be repaired and be structurally sound then I may keep it. I've had recent deaths in the family, and other financial burdens. I can't even really afford to send the tank back for him to fix it.

Images:
Top Right Front Corner
Top Right Front Overhead
Top Right Back Overhead
Top Left Front Overhead
Pool at the bottom Right front corner
Smaller pool at the Left front corner

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Wow.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Almost looks like the tank was assembled with some type of thick solvent instead of a capillary action solvent. How big is the tank?

 

[fishues]

Almost looks like the tank was assembled with some type of thick solvent instead of a capillary action solvent. How big is the tank?

It definitely looked odd to me. It's 60" x 18" x 24". The vertical panels and bottom are 3/4". The top is 1/2''.

 

[dadarara]

Took me a few days to read all the 76 pages.
Is there an youtube video for a full process of building a sump with baffles maybe? that would be a great help for anyone the English is not their mother tongue..
Thank you very very much for all the great advice sharing

 

[lapin]

Not a youtube but helpful

Constructing an acrylic sump | Melev's Reef

To build a sump yourself, you'll need the proper tools and a flat work surface. Be sure to check out my tools page: http://melevsreef.com/articles/acrylic-work-tools-i-use , so gather up some of these items and read over the pages here on Melev's Reef. I share quite a bit of information to help...

www.melevsreef.com

This will show you how to weld. It takes practice to make a clean bubble free seam.

A lot is in the edge prep work.
I dont know of any complete guide on you tube that go from raw acrylic sheet to finished product.
A lot of videos do not weld correctly or prepare seams or use pins ect...

 

[dadarara]

is it a good idea to use some wax lubricant on the saw blade while cutting the acrylic ?
if so, I would appreciate a link to amazon for the brand you are using

 

[Lowell Lemon]

is it a good idea to use some wax lubricant on the saw blade while cutting the acrylic ?
if so, I would appreciate a link to amazon for the brand you are using

No you will just have to clean the edge of wax before getting a proper bond! We never used wax ever...whose idea is that anyway? Use a blade made for cast acrylic to get the best cuts then finish with a router bit made for acrylic. Online store in U.S. called FTM has the right tools.

 

[lapin]

Freud LU94M010
I do not use a lubricant

 

[dadarara]

looking to buy Methylene Chloride
stumbled on the bellow website
there are multitude of different products.
which one is the right one please?

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalo...ch partialmax&lang=en&region=IL&focus=product

 

[Justin_Reef]

I got a custom tank made 84"x30"x18" tall (16" waterline). Looks like a flawless build but it was made from Chemcast GP and now that I found this thread, I am very worried. On the first page there is a statement about tanks made from this material 'exploding'. Should I be talking to the manufacturer and looking to return this? Can someone point me in the direction of proof that this happened (I am not going to say 'I read it on the internet').

Any advice would be appreciated as I was planning to fill this up this weekend. That will be put on hold obviously. This was pretty expensive for me to buy so this has now become very stressful.

 

[Justin_Reef]

The manufacturer is saying they have never heard of this issue. They do not exclusively build aquariums but I could not actually find an acrylic builder in Canada so this was my only option. The builder would like to know which company had the issues and exactly what they are. They are not denying it is an issue but just that they had no idea. They told me that if it is an issue with crazing and stress in the seams that they feel like annealing the tank would help.

Does that make sense? They have offered to throw it in their oven overnight (much more technical explanation than this but I don't remember the process) and then return it to me. I just have no idea if that makes sense or not.

I never mentioned in the previous post but the tank is 1/2" in case that makes any difference.

 

[Cabinetman]

The manufacturer is saying they have never heard of this issue. They do not exclusively build aquariums but I could not actually find an acrylic builder in Canada so this was my only option. The builder would like to know which company had the issues and exactly what they are. They are not denying it is an issue but just that they had no idea. They told me that if it is an issue with crazing and stress in the seams that they feel like annealing the tank would help.

Does that make sense? They have offered to throw it in their oven overnight (much more technical explanation than this but I don't remember the process) and then return it to me. I just have no idea if that makes sense or not.

I never mentioned in the previous post but the tank is 1/2" in case that makes any difference.

I’ve never heard of that brand. I’ve only ever used acrylite and marga cipta.

 

[Justin_Reef]

@Turbo's Aquatics do you have any input on post 1517 or 1518? I am hoping to be able to provide the tank builder with some more info as soon as possible. Thanks.