redneckgearhead
Active member
Its crystal clear, even on the edge. What is AR coating? I was thinking frag tank or something like that. Yea there is no paper on it.
Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
James I snuck this post in while you were responding to one of mine. I have been trying to learn about the different types of MC available. One of the suppliers I called couldn't answer me, they are now talking to their supplier, and on and on. I have a Cole-Parmer catalog and for MC there's about 2 dozen different types. So as long as the assay says "99.9%" then it's good, regardless of anything else listed? It's weird, they list stuff as "pesticide" but the CAS# is the same as all the rest, and the % is very high, so I think that's just marketing or code compliance or something. I didn't know if you had any insight on this. If you don't mind, do you have an exact catalog number or product code, etc that you get, and where do you get your from? perhaps that will help nail down the exact version of MC that I need my supplier to find (they don't carry Cole-Parmer, or I would just use the one that I posted earlier that you said was fine).
AR = Anti-reflective. I would not build a frag tank out of anything that you didn't know for sure what it was. Check out this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2001860
It's how I found this thread. The guy built that tank out of the wrong stuff, Chemcast GP, it's prone to bursting. You need to use Polycast, Acrylite GP, or Plexi-Glas G.
redneckgearhead
Active member
Thanks floyd, that seals the deal. No tanks from this stuff.
AR also = "abrasion resistant"
It's a micro-thin spray coating that is inert to virtually all solvents.
http://chemproductsusa.com/display_product.php?product=D0835
is the MC I use, it's listed as 99% as it is a lab-grade, but the lots are assayed at 99.9%
too many listings for different products using CAS numbers
James
It's a micro-thin spray coating that is inert to virtually all solvents.
http://chemproductsusa.com/display_product.php?product=D0835
is the MC I use, it's listed as 99% as it is a lab-grade, but the lots are assayed at 99.9%
too many listings for different products using CAS numbers
James
gods child
New member
good evening sir. is 1 inch ok for a tank 8ft x3ft x3ft ? thank you sir for your time
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
You can create an account on Evonik's website here:
http://cyro.custhelp.com/
And then use this thickness calculator
http://cyro.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/133
Or download the excel file and run it.
According to their calculator, you would need 1.354" material with a closed top cutout access holes, like most tanks you see) and 2.031 for open top
http://cyro.custhelp.com/
And then use this thickness calculator
http://cyro.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/133
Or download the excel file and run it.
According to their calculator, you would need 1.354" material with a closed top cutout access holes, like most tanks you see) and 2.031 for open top
gods child
New member
Are you saying I need 2inch thick for the top???
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
James can probably answer that better since he's built tanks that size. The next size up from 1.354 would be 1.5". There's a safety factor thrown in there too, so I think depending on how you design and build it, you might be able to get by with thinner material but I'm not the expert here.
Sorry I just caught what you were getting at. There are 2 parts to the calculation, with an open-top (that mean there is no top to the tank, or 'rimless') then the entire tank would need to be 2" material. If you add a top (with cutouts for access, almost every tank is made like this) then 1.354" or 1.5" material is needed.
Sorry I just caught what you were getting at. There are 2 parts to the calculation, with an open-top (that mean there is no top to the tank, or 'rimless') then the entire tank would need to be 2" material. If you add a top (with cutouts for access, almost every tank is made like this) then 1.354" or 1.5" material is needed.
gods child
New member
Thank you sir Turbo.God bless an have a good night ,an enjoy your weekend
FisheysGirl
New member
Hello! I basically just joined RC so I could ask Acrylics a question regarding my freshwater aquarium. I bought a used 540 gallon ******* aquarium for my freshwater puffer. The dimensions of the tank are 96 x 37½ x 36 and I want to re-seal the entire tank due to it being old and seeing lots of little cracks. I have talked to lots of people about what to use to re-seal the seams. Many have suggested that I used WO 40 and another person said to use WO 20. Which would you suggest for this project? Thank you so much for helping people and thanks for taking the time!
Yep it's fine provided it's braced properly. 3" (min) eurobrace and (3) 6" crossbraces, the eurobrace on the 36" end should be 4"+. Yields you 4 top openings measuring ~17.5 x 30". If you want just 3 top openings, increase the eurobrace to 4.5" and 2 crossbraces. This will yield 3 top openings measuring ~24 x 27". In either case, you can expect about 1/8" (maybe a bit more) deflection provided the material is 1.00" If you use a 24mm material, it's thinner so you can expect a little more deflection.
HTH,
James
You can't "re-seal" the tank. The best that you can do is reinforce them as best you can. For this, you'd need a healthy dose of Weld-on 40 in each corner. The problem with doing this in your tank is that I fear those little cracks are actually something called "crazing" which are little stress fractures. The addition of Weld-on 40, esp in substantial amounts is that it could worsen the crazing.
Is there a real *need* to try to repair/reinforce the tank? Just being old doesn't mean any joints are failing or even about to. I have tanks that are 20+ years old still in service, so age itself should not be an issue
James
Where is "closed top" and "open top" defined? euro-brace? cross-bracing?
for what deflection rate are they speaking? Are the input numbers OD or ID? or water level? there are quite a few other flaws in the formula. Including the specifications they use for their own material - one is off exactly 100% (double that spec for the real number) and so on. I wish there was a good calculator - it would make my job a li'l easier, but there just isn't one. This one is okay as a guide to some extent, but not to be counted on, IMO James
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
I was hoping you would chime in. You're right, they don't say anything about what the definition of "closed top" means. And which number is off? Are you talking about on their excel spreadsheet?
So how do you calculate the required thickness? Seems like a good calculator would be reasonably easy to create. I'm an engineer, and any good one should be able to figure that out. I would hope I would be able to.
So how do you calculate the required thickness? Seems like a good calculator would be reasonably easy to create. I'm an engineer, and any good one should be able to figure that out. I would hope I would be able to.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
From the spreadsheet
So for gods child's question, what thickness material would you use?
whatever that means. I suppose a 2x factor could have been thrown in there to release themselves from any possible liability.
So for gods child's question, what thickness material would you use?
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
I don't know if you can do very much with a tank that is old and starting to get those little cracks. It's not like a glass tank where you can re-seal the seams. I suppose you could try to reinforce the seams, and that might help (WO 40 I think, but verify that w/Acrylics)
One thing about the ten e cor tanks (RC blocks their name because of some old dispute) is that they are guaranteed for life. So if it fails or looks like it might be, as long as the tank has not been modified, they might replace it for you. Worth a call before you do anything to it.
No, the formula from which the spreadsheet is derived.
These days? experience, really. This is really all I've been doing for the last coupla decades. I do have a formula or two from Rourke's Formulas for Stress & Strain which, when combined with a few others, does well for a rimless tank. But for tanks with bracing, there are quite a number of variables.
1" does fine provided it's braced fairly well. 1.25" or better, depending on application for most public aquariums, and a few hobbyists as well.
James
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
James,
I have a partial sheet of 1/4" Plexiglas-G black and it says "Made in Mexico" on it. Is this going to be OK or is there a domestic stock of Plexiglas-G that should be used? Likewise, are there foreign and domestic producers of Polycast and Acrylite products as well?
I have a partial sheet of 1/4" Plexiglas-G black and it says "Made in Mexico" on it. Is this going to be OK or is there a domestic stock of Plexiglas-G that should be used? Likewise, are there foreign and domestic producers of Polycast and Acrylite products as well?
All Plexi-Glas G is made in Mexico, nothin' to worry about
All Polycast is made in the US. As for Acrylite GP, well, 1/4" 4 x 8' sheets are either already, or going to be be made in China. I know some already is but can't get anyone to confirm *absolutely* how much of what is and what isn't. I hear rumors that all of it will be, but again, can't say with any degree of certainty.If you buy a sheet of Acrylite GP and it measures 51 x 100, it's made in the US. If it measures 48 x 96, it's made in China. This is about the extent of what I'm being told at the moment.
James
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
China? Dammit, first drywall now acrylic sheets. I don't trust any China products anymore. I'm going to have to really watch what I buy. I'm trying to find a good supplier somewhere within a 4 hour radius of Des Moines (so I can drive and save freight) since my local place doesn't carry a good cast material.
