acrylic fish tank repair Help ASAP can It be fixed????????

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

seam went on me at abought 4 am today on my tank.


tank a few weeks ago.

busted seam pic...

Euro bracing that let go..

 

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

What # weld-on should I use hear ?????????


thanks

SWC

 

[BeanAnimal]

Can you describe the amount of separation? How long in total? Etc. The fix may require a "Patch" to bridge the gap. Bonding old acrylic can be tricky (it has absorbed water). Is the entire area dry?

 

[BeanAnimal]

I suppose other questions need to be answered as well.

Age of tank?
Manufacturer of tank?
Is the tank on a perfectly level and planar stand?

 

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11527107#post11527107 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
Can you describe the amount of separation? How long in total? Etc. The fix may require a "Patch" to bridge the gap. Bonding old acrylic can be tricky (it has absorbed water). Is the entire area dry?

4 to 6 inch break at the seam The gap is 1/16 th.

I am working on moving all my live stock, and rock out of the tank.

 

[Acrylics]

Once the water is removed, the tank will need to be removed and placed on it's front and thoroughly clean the affected area. If you can, let it dry for a period of time to get moisture out of the acrylic. Then, use a thin solvent such as WO4 to try to get some strength back in the joint, being very careful not to let the solvent run around the joint and onto the face. A gusset should then be placed in the corner, the guesset should be at least the thickness of the acrylic, so I'd guess 1" should be used. You can either try to glue this in using WO4 or 16 but the best bet would probably be 40 in this case. All JMO

I can't really make out the eurobrace crack but that would be a separate operation. If you have a clearer pic, it would be helpful.

HTH,
James

 

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

Age of tank?

I have had it set up for 6-7 months


Manufacturer of tank?

A local reefer that has built many tanks with no problems. (I now LEASON LEARNED the hard way hear......) The tank is coming down I dont trust it any more. I am going to take it to a local plastic shop that does acrylic work all the time, & see what thay can do with it for me.


Is the tank on a perfectly level and planar stand?

Yes the tank, and stand are level. I also have the pink foam under the tank.

And one more pic from yesterday.

 

[maxalmon]

I have no idea on what to do, just wanted to say "great idea using the clamps"!

Pretty smart idea, at least it stops any further splitting and allows you time to move inhabitants

 

[Lunchbucket]

Sorry to hear. Hope that you can get something figured out For now looks like a Rubbermade stock tank will be your tank for a little while

Lunchbucket

 

[spazz]

was this a single piece top or was it strips of acrlic that were glued together to make a top? alot of tops that are built with strips have this problem. i would take the tank back to the guy who built it and demand that he fix it. its not that old of a tank and he should have a least a 1 year warrantee on the tank. if he is a fly by night builder he wont warrantee the tank and you will be forced to have it repaird at another acrylic shop that may charge you more than its worth to repair it.
this is why its better to spend the mopney to have a tank built with a single piece top on it. you may save a little money having it braced with strips but if the person who built the tank does not have a clue how to reinforce the bracing it will break like that tank did.
im sorry to hear about your problems. it sucks when things like this happen. the problem is that people say they know how to properly build a tank and then dont properly brace the top and that results in the tank bursting or the panels bowing out.
how thick is th acrylic in that tank? is it 1/2" or 3/4" it looks really thin but it hard to tell in the pictures.

 

[SALT WATER CRAZ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11545067#post11545067 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spazz
was this a single piece top or was it strips of acrlic that were glued together to make a top? alot of tops that are built with strips have this problem. i would take the tank back to the guy who built it and demand that he fix it. its not that old of a tank and he should have a least a 1 year warrantee on the tank. if he is a fly by night builder he wont warrantee the tank and you will be forced to have it repaird at another acrylic shop that may charge you more than its worth to repair it.
this is why its better to spend the mopney to have a tank built with a single piece top on it. you may save a little money having it braced with strips but if the person who built the tank does not have a clue how to reinforce the bracing it will break like that tank did.
im sorry to hear about your problems. it sucks when things like this happen. the problem is that people say they know how to properly build a tank and then dont properly brace the top and that results in the tank bursting or the panels bowing out.
how thick is th acrylic in that tank? is it 1/2" or 3/4" it looks really thin but it hard to tell in the pictures.

its 3/4" yeah it was it strips on the top.

 

[spazz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11561291#post11561291 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SALT WATER CRAZ
its 3/4" yeah it was it strips on the top.

that is why it let go. you can fix it and then reinforce all the joints on the top so it dont break again. the top is such an important part of a tank. it holds the sides from bowing out and keeps the seams from spliting like that. if there strips are not reinforced by lamination it will bow like that. also the other problem with that design is the corners are square and not radiused. this causes more stress in the very corner. if it was a radiused corner it would have spread our the pressure around the whole area and not have caused the seam to split like that. all good acrylic tank manufactures like james "acrylics" makes single piece tops so the tanks dont have blow outs. sure they cost more. but you dont have these kinds of problems.
im sorry you had this happen to you. and im not trying to rub your nose in the poo. im just stating the facts so other who read this thread will realize its better to have some one like james build there tanks than a local club member who has done some acrylic work here and there and thinks he knows how to build a tank.

if you go to an acrylic shop and have them fix that seam with weldon 40 and then reinforce the top properly so it does not have weak spots it will be fine. the sides are thinck enough acrylic for that tank. its just the top that has the weak spots in it.
other wise go back to the guy who built it and have him make you a better tank with a properly made top on it. then just pay the difference in price for the top. if he is a stand up guy he will work with you and make it right. if he is not that im sorry for your loss.

 

[FFrankie]

Bummer man! Great info Spazz. I am having a tank built by a pro instead of doing it myself. And i am quite good at working with acrylics and glass. A tank that big is better left to experience. I hope this is a quick fix for you. Your tank is beautiful.