Acrylic fabrication questions? I can help!

Luis,
I don't have any experience with the kit you are using, so unfortunately I cannot be of any real help with regard to the kit or the tooling it may/may not require :(
Personally, I'd do the mass clean-up using the finest you can, then go back and touch up smaller areas with the coarser grades, but that's just me :)

Ryan,
From all accounts I've seen, Chemcast is not as good as once thought. Even most the mfrs who were using it have stopped and gone back to Cyro or Polycast due to too many joint failures. It needed a few yrs on the market to prove itself one way or another and unfortunately, something is wrong with their process or QC or something. I've seen quite a few joint failures with this material and based on this, I simply could not recommend it for aquaria or any other pressure vessel. In most cases, the tank is fine for a period of time (6 months to a yr) and then "pop"; catastropic joint failure. Hopefully your experiences will differ. I'd hope that if 1 in every 50 tanks has a joint failure - yours will be one of the 49 that don't :) (FWIW I don't know that it's 1 in 50, I just picked a random number)
That said, I don't think it's one of the worst (there are a few that are far worse) but I'm particularly leary of anything not made by the "big 3" when it comes to aquaria.

James
 
Thanks James

thats too bad. and I just ordered more cell cast acrylic and picked it up this morning.

when I was at the plastic company I saw a big sheet of acrylite GP and thats what got me thinking to go look up the brand I had. The plastic company didn't even go over different possible brands with me. Would that be grounds for them to refund my money for cut-to-size sheets?

maybe I will use my tanks for now and replace them as I can :P The idea of a 50g tank having catastrophic joint failure does not sound very nice to me.... but at least all my acrylic tanks are in the garage in a fishroom where everything has 2 coats of epoxy paint.


just so I'm sure, the big three are?
Acrylite
Polycast
Cyro?what?
 
Last edited:
James,
would adding extruded triangular rod into the corners of my tanks help reduce the chance of seam failure with chemcast? or would those joints be just as weak/prone to failure?

Just wondering if theres something I can do to salvage what I've already done.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12301433#post12301433 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Acrylics
Luis,
I don't have any experience with the kit you are using, so unfortunately I cannot be of any real help with regard to the kit or the tooling it may/may not require :(
Personally, I'd do the mass clean-up using the finest you can, then go back and touch up smaller areas with the coarser grades, but that's just me :)

James
Click to expand...

Yea baby, but that's why the YOU is getting 1,000's of emails cause your "that's just me" seems to be working better than my shade tree mechanic, who has no clue...
I'd always take the "that's just me" over the "have no clue" anyday...

Thanks James, will keep you posted.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12301596#post12301596 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyanBrucks
would adding extruded triangular rod into the corners of my tanks help reduce the chance of seam failure with chemcast? or would those joints be just as weak/prone to failure?
Click to expand...
My initial thought is that it would help reinforce it but can't answer as to how much, but I can't help but think it could only help.
Just wondering if theres something I can do to salvage what I've already done.
Click to expand...
Understood, and it really does come down to either the gussets or pour a thick fillet of WO 40 or leave it alone and keep a watchful eye on it.

Luis,
Good luck with the project, and please do keep us posted. I'm always looking for feedback on the kits, esp those that I haven't used :)

James
 
the WO40 sounds like a good idea. I just ordered 2 pints.

maybe if I wrap the tanks in duct tape several times? (kidding) :lol:


thanks
 
Building my own sump

Building my own sump

I am looking to build my own sump. I found a local glass shop that stocks 1/4" 4x8 sheets. I do not have the plans finalized but I am thinking about a 48"x16"x16" (or maybe a 30").

Anyway...

My understanding is that the seems should always be horizontal when putting it together. What is the best order to put it together? Four sides, then the bottom, then the air traps and interior dividers?
 
I posted my assembly here. From what I've seen, it's pretty standard and I believe follows the process Acrylics uses. He had a thread somewhere around here about building a simple tank...
 
Acrylics,
I just cut some baffles with teeth from my sump. How can I edge finish them so the edges are smooth? Wet sandpaper? If so, what grit and how would you smooth the inside of the teeth? Thanks.
 
I know James will give you the good answer, but i would say that would be structurally safe, and looks very good.

Kim
 
Apex,
What is the purpose of making the edges smooth? the method depends on the purpose. As far as smoothing the edges of teeth, I wouldn't. If there's any slag (melted on acrylic) just scrape it off with a chisel and call it good IMO :)

Doahh,
Looks good to me :)

Hi Kim,
Nice to see ya again, hope you're doing well.

James
 
Acrylics,
Thanks. I wanted to try and smooth them out, so that algae won't have as much to grab on to as it flows over the teeth. I had another overflow box made and the edges were all smoothed out, as if finely sanded or polished. When I cut the teeth and edges for my DIY, they are kind of dull and rough. I thought I read somewhere that you can finish off with wet 600grits sandpaper. No?
 
Is there a general rule for which thickness to use when building a sump? Say use 1/4" up to 30" x 12" and use 5/8" for any bigger?
 
Apex,
You can use any sandpaper you need to if you are just wanting to smooth them out for that :)

Gtstricky,
IMO it's all design dependent. A sump with a perimeter flange will generally require thinner material than a "rimless" design. A sump with crossbracing will generally require thinner material than one without. A design with baffles will *generally* require thinner material than one without, and so on. If every design were to include similar features, then general rules could easily be established.
That said, most people use 1/4" for anything right around your 30 x 12" numbers, and go up from there.

James
 
I built my sump this weekend. I water tested it this morning and I have a little drip in one corner. I have weld-on #4 and #40 on hand. Should I try to get a pin in the seam and use the #4 with some wight on the corner to get it to seal or should I use the #40 and just load up the corner (like caulk)?
 
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