Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

[Acrylics]

Felix,
I can't say with any degree of certainty but it *appears* kinda iffy IMO
That said, I've seen far worse hold for a long time so... hard to say with certainty. If possible, try to tilt the tank with that corner down and fill with WO-40.

Spleify,
Either a router with template and pattern bit or hole saw should also be fine. If using a hole saw, use a 50:50 solution of Palmolive and water and do not stop the cutter in the kerf. Remove the saw often to clear chips and to slow heat build-up.
Personally, I'd use the router, much faster if you're comfy with them

James

 

[spleify]

Thanks James. Do you have a picture of the template and pattern bit you use?

What's kerf?

Thanks

Spleify

 

[Acrylics]

don't think I have any pics here at home I'll try to get something tomorrow.
The kerf is the groove the hole saw makes before it actually goes through the piece.

James

 

[spleify]

Sweet!! Thanks!

 

[Calvin20]

Hi Acrylics

I have great doubt on which thickness to choose for my set up. its going to be 48x20x30 with a top, to add strength.
From what I've read in this thread, I would go for 5/8 (~15mm) or 3/4 (~20mm), but according to this website: http://www.aquariumsource.com/product.php?productid=715 I can do it with 3/8 (~10mm).. Can I hold on to the 5/8 or do I need to go up to 3/4 ??

Thank you for a very enlightening thread!

Calvin20
Denmark

 

[subshop]

JAMES, ON A TANK 72" x 36" x 30" deep how thick should the acrylic be to avoid having a center brace , and having a 6" rim all the way around the top. Using the tank calculator on the acrylic site i came up with 1" thick acrylic for a tank with a top.
Another question: i recently went the the LFS and talking to the fellow behind the counter we were talking about tanks and pro and cons of acrylic and glass. He stated that acrylic would cloud over time. In all the reading I have done here I never read anything about that. Is he just trying to talk me out of acrylic to make a sale or is there any truth to this. Thanks in advance for your reply, neil

 

[felix morales]

thank you James
but which type of applicator should i use with the #40 also had anyone ever used blue pvc cement on acrylic seams??

 

[Acrylics]

Calvin20,
5/8" would be good, though thicker is always better

Subshop,
1" will be good at that size with 6" perimeter flange though IMO the crossbracing *really* does add a good bit of structure and is always adviseable.
Acrylic only clouds if not taken care of properly. Tell him to take a look at any public aquarium, almost always *all* acrylic.

Felix,
Go to a pharmacy and get a syringe, I'd probably do 60cc for something like that. There are other sources as well but for $2 at a pharmacy - kinda can't be beat

HTH,
James

 

[madmike]

James
What size patern bit do you use? Do you remove most of the material with the bit? What speed do you run the router at?

Thanks

 

[Acrylics]

Madmike,
I have and use several different ones from 1/2" diameter to 1.125" diameter. I normally drill all holes before I glue anything together so I only drill with the pattern bits if doing additional holes after the fact. I normally do remove most of the material with router bits whether they be flush cutters or pattern bits.
I always run all routers at full speed when dealing with acrylic.

HTH,
James

 

[madmike]

Great thanks! I have a used 225 that you built that I am putting a closed loop on and wanted to cut the holes using the router for the clean look but wasn't quite sure how...thanks for the tip on the double sided tape!
Mike

 

[Borge]

Subshop,
1" will be good at that size with 6" perimeter flange though IMO the crossbracing *really* does add a good bit of structure and is always adviseable.
Acrylic only clouds if not taken care of properly. Tell him to take a look at any public aquarium, almost always *all* acrylic.

Acrylics: Acrylics will cloud if strained, however this is just on the surface, but it will happen, this is microscopic cracks in the surface area witch will be easy to polish away..
Direct sunlight will also take care of it, given time, you'll have a misscolored one. yellowish I believe.
I recon theres some differences withing brand names and pricetags here, but still. Plastic is plastic.

 

[subshop]

JAMES, THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY. It really didn't sound as though he was being truthful as much as being a salesperson! Another thing he said was that removing algae from the acrylic would be difficult even using the scrapers made for acrylic. Stated that even fish picking at the algae on the acrylic would cause damage to it. And when i said that at least acrylic was repairable, as far as scratches were concerned, his comment was to use toothpaste and a toothbrush to repair the scratched glass. Thats when his comments began to smell fishy (pardon the pun) or shall i say like b.s. Thanks again, neil

 

[Acrylics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12288513#post12288513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Borge
Acrylics: Acrylics will cloud if strained, however this is just on the surface, but it will happen, this is microscopic cracks in the surface area witch will be easy to polish away..
Direct sunlight will also take care of it, given time, you'll have a misscolored one. yellowish I believe.
I recon theres some differences withing brand names and pricetags here, but still. Plastic is plastic.

Ah but the statement as I read it was that acrylic tanks themselves will cloud without regard to strain or sunlight. IME it takes a good bit of strain to get the "micro cracks" which I'd argue is a non-issue if material thickness is adequate. My personal background is building tanks for public aquariums where tanks are generally overbuilt as insurance against condensation (temperate tanks) as well as general/public safety, this material thickness "upgrade" would be adequate to handle such strain without material degradation. This is the type of thing I try to bring here, make the structure good enough to not have the deflection and structural issues and these things are rather moot.
With regard to natural sunlight; well UV is an aging accelerant, this is understood. What caused much of the yellowing in the past was a reaction between Cadmium and UV, since Cadmium was removed from the material some 15yrs ago to meet European food contact regulations - hasn't been a real issue. Most mfrs in the US anyway guarantee their materials to not have such issues for many yrs.

Subshop,
Your salesman is correct in that scraping coralline is a pain on "massed produced" tanks, engineered just good enough to hold water but without any deflection tolerances. This deflection allows for panes that are not flat thus making cleaning difficult. His statement as a general or blanket statement is false IMO when referring to all acrylic tanks IMO. Again, if the tank is made thick enough to not have the deflection problems - you won't have nearly as bad of a time cleaning it. That said, it should be noted that cleaning coralline on an acrylic tanks does have to be done with care.
There are however fish, snails, and urchins that can cause damage, there is little conflict to this. One does have to be a little careful with livestock.
Toothpaste is a commonly used abrasive to clean very minor scratches in glass, a rough equivalent to using Novus 2 on acrylic.
This comes down to a personal preference which is debated time and time again. Some folks like glass tanks and some folks like acrylic tanks. There are indeed pros and cons to both but really comes down to a personal preference for standard aquaria. I try to avoid this debate anymore

James

 

[subshop]

JAMES, Thanks again. I didn't mean to open a can of worms. Just wanted to make a well informed decision. My past experience with tanks had always been with glass. Back in my day acrylic was a no-no for the previously stated reasons. But, as with all technology, improvements in material quality and experience in material characteristics changes that. neil

 

[MADtanks]

James 72X36X12 frag system... would 3/4" be adequate for rimless setup? I used the calculator but i am afraid since it does not account for width of the tank that maybe it wont be adequate.

Thank you.

 

[Acrylics]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12291814#post12291814 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by erickrm
James 72X36X12 frag system... would 3/4" be adequate for rimless setup? I used the calculator but i am afraid since it does not account for width of the tank that maybe it wont be adequate.

Thank you.

IMO 3/4" will hold just fine but will bow a little, I make similar sized frag tanks from 1".
FWIW, width is irrelevant, could be a mile or an inch front to back, material thickness for the long panels would be the same


HTH,
James

 

[MADtanks]

Thank you very much James it helps a lot specially the last part thanks again.

 

[Sango-chu]

James, hi. Just got my heavy damage removal kit in and have a few questions. First, let me show you the tank I plan on using this on:

I plan on getting it home and FIRST laying it on it's side on a runner rug in order to work the insides.

Sooooo, my first question is:
1. I easily felt some scratches with my fingertips inside but not everywhere ~ do I start withe the 3500 grit and then once all the parts that are NOT screwed up are apparent, so I then go back over the problem areas with the 220 grit, then the 400 grit down to the initial 3500 grit? OORRRR

2. Should I just do the whole thing with the 220 even thought it may not neceassarily need it (know is sounds funny but I wondered if the sections needed to be 'worked' simutaneously or just work the areas according to its immediate assessed damage.

3. Can I use an orbital sander? The kit's asking me for an angle polisher with a max of 2500 rpm's ~ which, of course, I don't have.

4. Is this angle polisher JUST for the buffing portion or for ALL work done with the kit?

5. I DO have a variable speed 19.2 v craftsman drill that can easily host the bolt in the hook-loop backing pad that came with the unit

Can I use it?

Sorry, shade-tree mechanic in my just HAD to ask a question... :eek1:

Any other pointers will be HIGHLY appreaciated!!!!

I guess I can practice on the BOTTOM of the tank....if I screw it up, I can always bury it; literally.... :rolleye1:
Thanks

 

[ReefEnabler]

hey guys, wanted to check something with you all.

A while back I made a few acrylic tanks using 3/8" material:
a 50G fuge (36x18x18), 50G mixing tank(same), 35G frag(36x18x12), and I'm about to make a 15g RO resevoir and 30G QT tank.

I havent used any of the tanks yet since my build is taking forever. But I've water tested all the tanks I made and they hold water.

The brand I used is Chemcast GP cellcast. At the time I made the tanks I thought as long as you used 'cell cast' then you were good. But now I am seeing some reports that chemcast is one of the worst cell cast acrylics (imported from mexico), and some people have even called it unsuitable for aquarium use.

Anybody know the bottom line on this? I've already spent several hundred dollars and countless hours making my various tanks. They all have a 2" eurobrace.

Do you think I will be OK since I'm well within material thickness/bracing recommendations? It would stink to have to remake them!

Thanks for any tips
Ryan