Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

I'd do it from 1" sides and 1/2" bottom. You'll get minimal bowing. Yes, some, but not much. Some little top corner braces would go a long way to minimizing any chance of failure. I know I've build many 72 x 12" frag tanks this way with nary a problem.

This is one of those cases where doing it rimless might be actually a little cheaper than with a perimeter flange depending on how you source your materials. I know from a shop's perspective; you'd also be saving the cost of the top material, and labor in machining and gluing and flushcutting. But with a little added cost in the vertical side material.. often a wash or actually cheaper to do it rimless.

HTH,
James
 
So for for a tank that's going to be 30"x18"x13" would 1/4" acrylic be thick enough? Also would a center brace be needed?
 
Where's the cheepest place to order 3/4" acrilic for a coldwater marine aquarium? (USA) probably going to need a full sheet.

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So for a tank that's going to be 30"x18"x13" would 1/4" acrylic be thick enough? Also would a center brace be needed?
 
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If it were a sump with baffles, probably would be OK, but it's better to do 3/8" walls generally, that's just my opinion. Quite a bit of strength added for little extra. Could probably get away without a crossbrace, but it never hurts to have one.
 
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A little mess up where two side panels meet. Any thoughts on how to make this look better? So far all of the seams came out nicely with no bubbles, etc.
 
Hey guys any idea on how to make this more aesthetically pleasing? The joint in question is a side joint( the aquarium is sitting on its side)

4280ff59f89cdfd657624058262b55aa.jpg
 
I apologise for not being clear. I am looking more at the overlap since it occurs where two sides meet. If the overhang occured at the bottom, I would assume I could just router it off, but this side, I'm not so sure.

Any advice is appreciated.

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That's what I figured you were asking about, just wanted to be sure / not assume

I'm not sure that issue is really "fixable". Aesthetically, you could create a small dam and pour in some Weld-On 40 and then router that so that it's flush, but that's a lot of work for not much benefit.

Or, you could wet sand that end to round off the corner and then blend that sanding line into the face of the side panel, which would get rid of the ridge. But there will be quite a bit of sanding and polishing involved to get that looking "clean". That would probably be easier than the WO40 method, or maybe just as difficult/time consuming/expensive

A few comments though regarding your jigs, the use of corner clamps and bar clamps probably isn't the best method

Corner clamps are made for the assumption that you want the 2 pieces to be flush on the outer corner. This is not the case with acrylic, you want the bottom piece to overlap so that you can have a fillet formed on both sides. The one you show looks like a Bessey which would allow this but on the inside corner, there is a point that would prevent the fillet from forming on that side, where it's critical. Even one without that is not necessarily ideal due to the nature of the welding process. It's difficult to explain, but it's just not the best tool to use.

Bar clamps are usually not needed if you use a proper base underneath the joint. Also you can't use them if you have the proper base. Then, you don't want to use them because you don't want to necessarily squeeze out all the solvent (resulting in a "dry joint") in the process of getting the joint tight (meaning, making sure the 2 pieces are in full contact).

What you want to do to solve all of these issue is use a 90 degree jig that sits along the entire inside of the joint and clamp the vertical piece to that. Then underneath the joint, use foam-covered MDF strips, shims to even out the joint, and pins in the joint to create the gap. You set up the whole joint dry, with the pieces in their final positions, do your shimming, then once the joint has full contact, you clean the surfaces & blow them off, insert the pins, run the solvent, wait ~20 seconds or so, pull the pins, and adjust the joint so that everything is square, then momentarily loosen each of the clamps between the 90 degree jig and the vertical piece to let the piece settle, if needed. Then don't touch it for 2-4 hours, and don't route for 20+.

You can see examples of the 90 degree joint and foam boards here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390652
 
That's what I figured you were asking about, just wanted to be sure / not assume

I'm not sure that issue is really "fixable". Aesthetically, you could create a small dam and pour in some Weld-On 40 and then router that so that it's flush, but that's a lot of work for not much benefit.

Or, you could wet sand that end to round off the corner and then blend that sanding line into the face of the side panel, which would get rid of the ridge. But there will be quite a bit of sanding and polishing involved to get that looking "clean". That would probably be easier than the WO40 method, or maybe just as difficult/time consuming/expensive

A few comments though regarding your jigs, the use of corner clamps and bar clamps probably isn't the best method

Corner clamps are made for the assumption that you want the 2 pieces to be flush on the outer corner. This is not the case with acrylic, you want the bottom piece to overlap so that you can have a fillet formed on both sides. The one you show looks like a Bessey which would allow this but on the inside corner, there is a point that would prevent the fillet from forming on that side, where it's critical. Even one without that is not necessarily ideal due to the nature of the welding process. It's difficult to explain, but it's just not the best tool to use.

Bar clamps are usually not needed if you use a proper base underneath the joint. Also you can't use them if you have the proper base. Then, you don't want to use them because you don't want to necessarily squeeze out all the solvent (resulting in a "dry joint") in the process of getting the joint tight (meaning, making sure the 2 pieces are in full contact).

What you want to do to solve all of these issue is use a 90 degree jig that sits along the entire inside of the joint and clamp the vertical piece to that. Then underneath the joint, use foam-covered MDF strips, shims to even out the joint, and pins in the joint to create the gap. You set up the whole joint dry, with the pieces in their final positions, do your shimming, then once the joint has full contact, you clean the surfaces & blow them off, insert the pins, run the solvent, wait ~20 seconds or so, pull the pins, and adjust the joint so that everything is square, then momentarily loosen each of the clamps between the 90 degree jig and the vertical piece to let the piece settle, if needed. Then don't touch it for 2-4 hours, and don't route for 20+.

You can see examples of the 90 degree joint and foam boards here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390652
Oh man, I wish I had seen the thread you linked to before I started! Either way, I really appreciate the input and will consider my options and whether attempting to fix is worth the effort for something superficial, as the joint appears to have welded well.

Again, many thanks.

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If you are wary about it, you can always reinforce the joint along the inside. This is not difficult, but it's tricky to make it look good. I guess it depends on what you are using it for, if it's a nice display tank, then you might just run a bead of weld-on 40 in the corner, that can be done easily and won't look too out of place. Or, add a gusset (which will look more obvious)

Then again, it might be OK as is.

What are the overall dims of the tank and what will it be used for?

What thickness material is being used?

What brand material are you using?
 
Dimensions are 26L x 16W x 10H

Thickness is .5in for the sides and .25 for the bottom.

Plexiglas g


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