Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

sean04 said:
James (Acrylic), Floyd,

If I cut a slot the same width (15 3/4") as the top cutout as pictured in my original post. How can I reinforce that top euro (taking into account) that my external overflow box will be 25" wide centered across the back?
Click to expand...

It's not about reinforcing the top euro. The euro reinforces the vertical walls of the tank, preventing excess bowing and relieving stress from the other joints. The cutout on the top of the tank essentially removed that support to a certain extent.

So where you're currently at is finding a way to reinforce the back wall of the tank, really. Adding an overflow box bonded across the entire back of the tank, and as 'shallow' as possible would be your best bet. The point is that you want a structural member perpendicular to the back wall of the tank and parallel to the slot, and as close to the slot as possible. But adding one say 6" or 10" down from the slot would probably be OK as that member would be absorbing the majority of the tanks' desire to bow.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong James :spin3:
 
Hey guys can I use 1/4 for this sump or should I use 3/8 acrylic?
sump2.jpg
 
Floyd R Turbo said:
It's not about reinforcing the top euro. The euro reinforces the vertical walls of the tank, preventing excess bowing and relieving stress from the other joints. The cutout on the top of the tank essentially removed that support to a certain extent.

So where you're currently at is finding a way to reinforce the back wall of the tank, really. Adding an overflow box bonded across the entire back of the tank, and as 'shallow' as possible would be your best bet. The point is that you want a structural member perpendicular to the back wall of the tank and parallel to the slot, and as close to the slot as possible. But adding one say 6" or 10" down from the slot would probably be OK as that member would be absorbing the majority of the tanks' desire to bow.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong James :spin3:
Click to expand...
Not really, but there isn't much support for the front, which is pulling on the center brace. Personally, I would reinforce that top slot and try to cover the slot and 1/2-1" of overlapping area. Problem is that the top is most likely flame polished and "may" craze if you add solvent to that area. One would ideally like to have that center brace fan out a little to distribute load better.. but that all depends on how much work one wants to put into it, and what it's worth..

This is one of those times when I'd have to pause and take a good look at everything and make damned sure this is what you want.. if everything goes well - perfect, but if something goes bad - could kill the tank..

James
 
OPTIX acrylic

OPTIX acrylic

Hi Acrylics:

My local glass shop has the acrylic i need, but all they could tell me is that it is called OPTIX by Plaskolite. Is this an extruded product? Since reading a lot of this thread (but not all) I only remember reading that Polycast and Plexi G were the product to buy. Please comment.

Thanks,

Rick
 
Acrylics said:
Not really, but there isn't much support for the front, which is pulling on the center brace. Personally, I would reinforce that top slot and try to cover the slot and 1/2-1" of overlapping area. Problem is that the top is most likely flame polished and "may" craze if you add solvent to that area. One would ideally like to have that center brace fan out a little to distribute load better.. but that all depends on how much work one wants to put into it, and what it's worth..

This is one of those times when I'd have to pause and take a good look at everything and make damned sure this is what you want.. if everything goes well - perfect, but if something goes bad - could kill the tank..

James
Click to expand...

James/Floyd,

Thanks for your inputs.

James,

So do I not need to be worried about the slot that I will cut out in the back and I should be more worried about top euro brace and the support for the front of the tank? If so, if I try to reinforce the top brace by covering the slot, how can I determine if the top is flame polished?

Thanks in advance.
 
sean04 said:
So do I not need to be worried about the slot that I will cut out in the back and I should be more worried about top euro brace and the support for the front of the tank? If so, if I try to reinforce the top brace by covering the slot, how can I determine if the top is flame polished?
Click to expand...
If the tank is well built to begin with, they're usually not a problem. But if you have a tank that is questionable at all, may not be the best candidate. I don't know the tank so I can't judge :)
To check for flame polishing, look at the machined edge of the slot. If it's rough and bumpy or has tool marks but still shiny and polished - then it's flame polished. Every other method of polishing will result in a smooth edge and no tool marks. The only other time an edge might be rough yet shiny would be if it's laser-cut, but I know of no tank mfr that uses this method as it inherently stresses acrylic.

James
 
Hi :

Sorry if this question was answered somewhere within and I missed it.

I am able to get a piece of black 1/4" acrylic for no cost. Can I make an overflow out of it and attached it to my glas tank which is drilled on the bottom? You should know that it it EXTRUDED. I figure it might still be okay becuse the water on both sides of it will greatly reduce the pressure.

thanks,
Rick
 
Hello Acrylics:)
What euro-bracing would you recommend for a tank that is 96"x24"x24"x1/2" thick?
After searching this thread and others, I'm thinking something along the lines of a 4" flange with two 6" cross braces should be enough. Three openings would be 16"x25.3" with a 2" radius in all corners. Please advise, thanks!
 
Maine_fisher said:
I am able to get a piece of black 1/4" acrylic for no cost. Can I make an overflow out of it and attached it to my glas tank which is drilled on the bottom? You should know that it it EXTRUDED. I figure it might still be okay becuse the water on both sides of it will greatly reduce the pressure.
Click to expand...
Can you? yup, extruded makes no difference :)

03LightningSVT said:
Hello Acrylics:)
What euro-bracing would you recommend for a tank that is 96"x24"x24"x1/2" thick?
After searching this thread and others, I'm thinking something along the lines of a 4" flange with two 6" cross braces should be enough. Three openings would be 16"x25.3" with a 2" radius in all corners. Please advise, thanks!
Click to expand...
It'll hold water if you do your job right :) only downside is that it'll bow a little more than you want to see, not like bulging out but a little more and you'll tend to get more scratches due to this deflection. If you could use 3/4" at least for the front and back - I think you'll be much happier, much longer :)

James
 
okay I think i glanced thru the last 50 pages.

If I were to do 96x36x30, that would be 1" acrylic? what kind of bracing am i looking at?

if i drop the height from 30" to say 25", what would change? could i do 3/4" then?

at what height can the top eurobrace be around 8" sides and 6" front and backs with no center brace?

btw, i'm not building this myself. i'll be shopping for a professional builder.

i'm hoping for a 84-96"L, 30-36"D, and 25-30" tall.
 
okay i couldnt edit due to the maintenace. skip the above.

Does this sound okay for a 96x36x30"? this will be for a FOWLR.

1" acrylic front/side panels
3/4" back/bottom/top bracing

7" bracing front/back
8" sides

8" center bracing

1 center internal overflow 2-1.5" drain, 2 1" return.

any suggestions?
 
Quick question, if im looking to make a nano cubed tank, 24x24x12, should I use 3/8 inch so I don't have to euro brace?

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
 
Alright, I just seen a series on youtube about building a tank from acrylic and the guy installed all of the sides onto the bottom, glueing the bottom without pins and glueing the sides vertically. I have not used this method and nobody here seems to do this either. This method sure seemed easier, not having to handle an assembled rim, only having to handle individual sides panels. So the questions are: Can you do a bottom seam without pins and why do most people not do the vertical seams, vertically? He seemed to get some bubble free joints.

I have the feeling that the answer is going to be about soak time of the solvent.
 
Last edited:
Well, you "can" do it that way, but it doesn't mean you should. Think about it this way; would you rather do it the way that someone on YouTube says you can do it, or would you rather do it the way that someone like James with 20 years of experience does it?

vertical seams might be possible with WO16, which has it's purposes but is not recommended for doing critical joints, but WO 3 or 4 or the like are water-thin and would tend to run out of the joint.

Pins method allows for a soak period which bites into the acrylic longer and this means a stronger bond. Bonding the joint with a lip that you later trim off also allows for a fillet to form once you pull the pins, which helps make for a bubble free joint as well. I'm guessing that this video showed the guy bonding all the panels together so that the corners are flush (no trimming needed afterwards). It's difficult to get a truly bubble-free joint doing it this way, because as the solvent evaporates the air will 'suck in' a the joint. Hard to show this on a youtube video. The center of the joint will be bubble free, but along the edges of the joint (a few hours later) these will start to show up.

If you do a joint without pins, and just wick the solvent in, it will bond very quickly, almost instantly, which means little solvent is used, little soak time, and minimal 'bite' into each sheet = weaker joint. Not saying that joint will fail, but do you want to risk it?
 
Munching Urchins

Munching Urchins

So, a couple of large urchins decided to teethe on two walls of my tank.
It's down and dry and waiting for repair. (it looks like the surface is frosted)

I'm not sure what grit to start with. I've done a lot of work on fine cabinetry but haven't ever done the same with plexi. I'm concerned that I'll end up with more trouble than I started with.

Anybody have a grit selection preference for polishing?
How fine do you go?
PM me if you'd like. Thanks
 
It all comes down to what is your biggest/worst scratch. A rotary buffer like this one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-...ed-polisher-sander-92623.html#pr-header-92623

With a polishing pad like this one

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4781

and a compound like this one

http://www.meguiarsdirect.com/product_detail.do?q=4729

I have to double-check on the pad and compound, I have 2 of the pads and 2 types of compound that I bought to polish a tank and never ended up doing it, but these were recommended to me by the guy that did the polishing of the tank on one of the recent LA Fishguys videos. One of the compounds will take out up to 1500-2000 grit scratches, the other takes it down to a mirror shine. The compound above is one of the two, I just don't recall which one it is. I don't know how badly urchins tear up acrylic, maybe someone else with experience can chime in, but my guess is that you can probably start with a very fine grit wet/dry, say 1200 or even 1500 just to even everything out, then hit it with the 'cutting' polish (heavier grit) on one section and see if that takes it all out. Maybe even just skip the sanding and straight to the polish...I'll take some pics of what I have and post them in the next day or so. I got them at an auto supply store, "Auto Body Supply" which is now "International Refinish Products"
 
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