600 unconventional build method will it work or am I creating my own Katrina

[olemos]

Everyone’s question when building a bigger tank is, glass or acrylic.
After seeing many acrylic tanks, I came to the conclusion, that for me acrylic will not work, as the front panel easily gets scratched, but I do like the weight factor and the ease of drilling or adding something to it .
My Idea is to get the best of both, so why not build a acrylic tank, with the front panel in glass.
I thing this can work , what are your thoughts? can this work or am I creating my own Katrina disaster?

Here is the plan, the tank will be all with 1" thick acrylic, it will have a 1"x3" acrylic border in front, the glass will sit behind this border and will be set in place with silicone.

 

[aclos3]

You may have an issue with bowing. Acrylic bows a lot more than glass does under the stress of the water. Do you think the silicone will hold given that the acrylic and glass will "move" differently when loaded with water?

 

[olemos]

normally the bowing occurs in the center, so I'm assuming there will not be movement other then the compression of the silicon at the point where the glass meets the acrylic

 

[alien9168]

Very interesting Idea!!

I really like the sounds of this! I cant wait to see how it turns out.

Im sure this thread will gain alot of momentum!! Everyone is going to be interested in this idea

 

[Chihuahua6]

Silicone does not adhere to acrylic properly so you will not be able to seal the tank this way. Acrylic tanks are joined at the seams with solvent to melt the pieces together to form a permanent bond. Glass tanks are joined with silicone because it adheres to glass.
If you want a lighter tank with a glass front that you can DIY, why not build a plywood tank? That's what I'm doing.

 

[chainsaw5vent]

you may want to look into scratch resistant acrylic. hockey rink acrylic may do the job.

 

[dgasmd]

Looked into it before with disappointing responses from manufacturers. If lighter is something you want to consider, make it out of fiberglass instead with a glass front. Easy to do, dirt cheap to build, and light weight with allt he same drilling properties you are looking for. Durable too,

 

[olemos]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8020839#post8020839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chihuahua6
Silicone does not adhere to acrylic properly so you will not be able to seal the tank this way. Acrylic tanks are joined at the seams with solvent to melt the pieces together to form a permanent bond.

Yes i know that, the silicon is basically to make the edges of the glass water tight, the acrylic brace in front, is what will keep the glass in place.

 

[olemos]

dgasmd-
That is one option that sounds very intresting and also has the potential of working.


chainsaw5vent-
We all at one point or another fall behind on maintenance, and there is nothing easier then just running a blade over the glass for it to look like new.

 

[Acrylics]

The idea works quite well and is commonly used in virtually every fiberglass tank in public aquariums. The silicone does nt have to be structural by any means as it simply acts as a pressure gasket, using the water pressure itself to hold the glass firmly against the acrylic - using the silicone as a simple gasket.
It's kinduva PITA to actually build though to be honest as the glass has to be installed prior to the last panel being glued on. This means that the silicone does have to hold the glass in place for a while. The common adhesive for this is DC795 which takes longer to cure but sticks to acrylic better than any other silicone I know of.

HTH?
James

 

[jman77]

How about this


http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/22430/cid/4431

 

[thor32766]

wow that is going to be a sweet tank!

 

[olemos]

jman77- that is close to the idea but it will have to be something costume made as I’m working with existing walls and space.
This is what I will be replacing, the yellow line is the outline of the existing tank, as you can see it’s offset in the wall due to columns and beams, the new tank will have to fallow the same line

 

[Gwalker]

James pointed out the problems you will have for the most part. You will also have additional costs due to the width of the tank (42"). If you go down to a 36" width you can use standard size acrylic sheeting, which will be much cheaper than oversized stock. I would think with your application a fiberglass tank with a glass viewing panel would be more cost effective than using acrylic. It would also be easier to build on site.

2cts

Gary

 

[Acrylics]

Hiya Gary, nice to see ya again
Olemos,
If you do decide to go fiberglass (not a bad idea) and to have it made for you, give a call to Waterdog Products in El Cajon, CA. They build some great fiberglass tanks. The ony disadvantage that I'm aware of in doing this is that it requires more advance planning as most of the penetrations should be known prior to construction as they are (usually) glassed in.

James

 

[Gwalker]

I would also say Waterdog Products would be a good choice. I recently got back from assessing a job site at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They have two fiberglass exhibits that we will be disassembling and shipping back to OKC. One is 30,000 gallons and the other is 13,000 gallons, both were fabricated by Waterdogs. The overall quality of fabrication on these tanks looked very good. If they can build these sizes, yours should be no problem. They also had many nice acrylic jelly tanks that have that "envisions" look, very nice.

Gary

 

[downset]

Intresting idea,Best thread title I have seen in a while lol

 

[Chihuahua6]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8022735#post8022735 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acrylics
The idea works quite well and is commonly used in virtually every fiberglass tank in public aquariums. The silicone does nt have to be structural by any means as it simply acts as a pressure gasket, using the water pressure itself to hold the glass firmly against the acrylic - using the silicone as a simple gasket.
It's kinduva PITA to actually build though to be honest as the glass has to be installed prior to the last panel being glued on. This means that the silicone does have to hold the glass in place for a while. The common adhesive for this is DC795 which takes longer to cure but sticks to acrylic better than any other silicone I know of.

HTH?
James

I knew about the idea of using the silicone as a gasket but I thought you still needed good adhesion to prevent any moisture from creeping out. I guess I learned something new, which is a good thing ; )

 

[Acrylics]

Amanda,

You are correct, there does need to be good adhesion and the 795 will provide this, not structural strength mind you but it will stick well enough. The silicone is applied rather liberally (up to 1/2" thick & over in some cases) to allow for deflection.
I use 795 quite often for semi-permanent attachment of mesh filter screens, flow plates, etc. to acrylic.

James

 

[olemos]

James- If I go with acrylic, what type of cement to you recommend, most people say weldon #40, but from what I understand it is a little bit harder to work with since it is a two part mixture.