Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
If you know that the tank is in full contact with the stand, then no. Otherwise it's not a bad idea to put down foam.
Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
Redbellyjx
New member
Hi there, I am looking to build something similar to this. The sides and baffles are PVC, and the front *I believe* is acrylic.
what solvent do I want to use for welding acrylic to pvc?
what solvent do I want to use for welding acrylic to pvc?
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
That is a "dreambox" from Royal Exclusiv in Germany.
http://royalexclusiv.net/index.php?language=en
They do not use solvent welding for their sumps, they use hot gas welding.
Saw these guys at MACNA at the Premium Aquatics booth and totally wanted to pick their brains but had no time. Their lids are PETG which apparently is 100% warp free. I got a sheet of the stuff ($300!) and rough cut a square and put it over a filter sock tower and they weren't lying - it doesn't warp.
http://royalexclusiv.net/index.php?language=en
They do not use solvent welding for their sumps, they use hot gas welding.
Saw these guys at MACNA at the Premium Aquatics booth and totally wanted to pick their brains but had no time. Their lids are PETG which apparently is 100% warp free. I got a sheet of the stuff ($300!) and rough cut a square and put it over a filter sock tower and they weren't lying - it doesn't warp.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
You can solvent weld PVC and acrylic using a weld-on product, 2007 I believe, but why bother, IMO it's not as strong of a bond and you're not saving any material cost...I'm not sure why the RE guys chose to build their sumps this way except for looks. I don't know what advantage there could possibly be for HGW over correctly performed solvent welding.
Redbellyjx
New member
Thanks for the tip! I was going to try building an acrylic sump, and then I saw the royal exclusive sump and the one offered by reef octopus, and thought, DAMN those look clean.
camaroboy8691
New member
bumping one of my posts to give an update ,.
i put this tank together back beginning of jan of this yr , finally 10 months later , it is full of water , i put 1/2 gussets along the bottom inside and that was it , im still alittle worried becuase of the bubbles in the seams , but i think ill be ok ..... for those curious these posts are back around the 3096 range on this thread
Da Maui life
New member
I built a sump and ATO out of ½" rigid PVC board. Weld-On 2007 solvent is designed for rigid and foamed vinyl (PVC) but not acrylic, it will not bond No. 16 will bond both PVC and acrylic together. See Weld-On technical data sheet, 2007 and 16 .
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Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
I have bonded grey type 1 PVC sheet to acrylic using weld-16. I would NOT RECOMMEND this for any pressure vessel use. The bond is very weak.
John, I have a 125 gal. rimless tank that has been up and running for about 4 months now. I want to add a goby to this tank but also know that they are notorious jumpers, and I'm really hesitant about placing a cover screen on this tank as I feel it will detract from the rimless look. Do you think it is possible to fabricate a cover screen utilizing clear acrylic for the frame and clear mesh for the screen? Thank you.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
The short answer is yes. Making it look pretty is the hard part. Also making it warp free.
Who is John?
Who is John?
Da Maui life
New member
I have done the same with 16 for a View sight on my ATO.
Weld-On's TDS does not show PSI data for PVC however list it as "œespecially formulated to bond acrylic plastic. It can also be used for bonding styrene,
butyrate, PVC and polycarbonate, as well as other plastics and porous surfaces."
Da Maui life
New member
Jeremy, you can check out this link below,I recently removed some minor scratches from sand and typical micro swirl marks from normal cleaning on the out side of my acrylic tank. All the products used was from Meguiars, recommended by "˜Floyd'
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22051797&postcount=5
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
...but not for pressure vessels. It's not a strong structural bond, IMO. Playing with fire.
Da Maui life
New member
I would be willing to go out on a limb and say for my view sight located at the top of the 6 g ATO tank, pressure on the 1"œ diameter ¼" acrylic disk would be nil at best, nor the bond effected. But I understand your point/concerns.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
It looks like the acrylic disk is on the inside, so that would be held on by pressure pushing the connection together.
But if one were to say make a sump with a PVC bottom and bond acrylic side walls to that, that is the situation where it becomes a structural bond issue and WO16 is horrible for that, even with acrylic on acrylic.
But if one were to say make a sump with a PVC bottom and bond acrylic side walls to that, that is the situation where it becomes a structural bond issue and WO16 is horrible for that, even with acrylic on acrylic.
Da Maui life
New member
You are correct.
Edit:TDS for WO 16 vs WO 3 acrylic on acrylic has a PSI difference of 800 PSI @ one week that is some what more.
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Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
That one I read has #3 or #4 at 2500 @ 1 week and 16 at 2200...?
Thanks Floyd. Isn't he the OP
Da Maui life
New member
That's interesting as I see what your saying the TDS I'm now looking at for 16 #3 is dated /07 perhaps I was looking at an outdated source or the wrong values?
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