Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

[bchbum189]

Not to the acrylic itself, i would be more worried about the adhesive failing due to high humidity and salt, then the adhesive falling into the water.

 

[mpdharley]

Thanks! This will be holding something on outside. Other than, if water came down the side, the adhesive shouldn't get touched by the water.

 

[bchbum189]

outside is perfectly fine then.

 

[nu2reefva]

hey bchbum189 i live in chesapeake virginia can you help me with a few questions on acrylic fabbing im trying to start local and build some tanks for myself and also had an offer from some freinds who want to buy some.
my first question is where do you get your acrylic its so expensive everywere.
next is im going to build a corner unit with bowed front is this a good idea will this bend distort the acrylic and mess up the field of view.
any help would be great and if you could show me stuff your building that would be awesome, just glad to find a fellow reefer in virginia.

 

[felix morales]

Hello All

l just cut my 3/8"acrylic pieces for my sump/refug 40x16x15 also l'm waiting on my order of weld-on #4 & #16 and applicator bottle. l read up the pin/wedge method of gluing my question is with piece should i glue on first side to front or back or side to the bottom or front or back to bottom??? also the bubble traps should i use pin with wo#4 or just #16 with weight on it??

NEED INPUT.

 

[BeanAnimal]

nu3reefva

You will need to look for local plastics distributors. They supply the local sign shops and industry. They may give you a hard time or a horrible price if you do not own a business that is involved in fabricating with plastics. It never hurts to ask though.

Trying to buy from the sign vendors never works. They are usually very arrogant and add huge markup to anything they sell. Expect them to quote $500-$800 or so for a sheet of 1/2" cast (if they will even talk to you)

A bowefront acrylic tank is not the best idea for a starter project. The material will have to be heated and formed. If you just bend it and weld it, there will be a lot of extra stress on the joint and it will likely fail (bchbum or acrylics may correct me).

Bean

 

[BeanAnimal]

Glue up the sides first, then attach the completed walls to the bottom. It is much easier to true up an uneven bottom than it is to fit the last piece onto 2 sides AND a bottom.

You will have to give some thought into how you build the bubble traps. They will need to also have a snug fit to the sides so that they will weld properly. The #3 or #4 should be fine. You will use the #16 if you have a slight fit problem. Again, bchbum or Acrylics may have a better explanation.

Bean

 

[bchbum189]

felix glue as follows
side and baffles to front, then flip and glue to back
glue top to front/back
glue bottom to front back

I would use the 4 throughout the whole tank, then fill any errors you may have with the 16 when its all said and done.


Nu2reefva, sorry i missed your post, as bean animal stated, bow front is not the best first tank as you will need a very nice oven setup to accomplish this bend. I own SP aquatics acrylic fabrication in Va beach by VA beach TCC, please feel free to come by and check us out, ask some questions, but even we dont mess with bowfronts as they more hassle than worth.

Acrylic is going to be very expensive locally until you can order large enough lots, thats why i buy in bulk, $100k plus at once. Try calling AIN plastics. Norva and plastic king will just turn their nose at you and tell you your going to fail. Dont mind them.

 

[felix morales]

thank guys.

just to make sure glue all 4 walls first then start glue one bubble trap at a time plus refug wall i made then the bottom then the 2" lip top i have for it.
l'm hoping that what you mean?

 

[bchbum189]

no, while gluing in the baffles after you have the 4 walls in will work, it is much harder to do.

Glue the ends and all baffles to the front panel, then glue the rear panel to that.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I will try and dig up photos of my large sump build to illustrate the steps when I get home.

 

[RokleM]

This is how I did it:

One side and ends:

Baffles:

Flip it over and do the other side. The trick here is if the tank is big enough, you can do a baffle at a time gluing. If it's a smaller tank, you have to move quickly and do them at once.

Bottom:

 

[felix morales]

i think the photo did it. hahaha.

you guys or the best!!!!

l'm still waiting on my supply i post pic then l'm done.

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

 

[BeanAnimal]

Thanks for saving me the trouble rockle!

 

[Icefire]

I just got some methylene chloride with an applicator bottle to repair a leaking skimmer.

I tryed in some acrylic and PVC, it's me or that thing is way too volatile to be used as "glue" ? It's some Plexicolle, 100% methylene chloride.

Any special way to apply it? only put some let stand/dry?

 

[bchbum189]

i know methylene chloride is the active ingredient to wo 3 and 4, never just used plain that though. Acrylics is the guy to ask about that as he makes his own glue.

 

[nu2reefva]

thanks beach bum im gonna try to come to your shop what are your hours and adress please.

 

[overflowin]

ok, so i finished the construction of my new sump last night, just wanted to ask how long i should let it cure up before i do my first water test? i know its in this thread somewhere, and i know i've read it here but i've also read other time frames varying from 4 to 48 hours. any input from the experts?

 

[RokleM]

For small cheap projects, I gave it two days. For my large sump, I was told 7 days, so I went with that to be on the safe side.

 

[ReefEnabler]

same. I waited a few days even before routing off the flashing on the outside edges when my tanks were done.