acrylic thread

[jbrown11352]

I cant seem to find the big thread on building an acylic tank can someone please point me to it? I just attempted my first tank and I cant get any seams without bubbles. I am using weldon 16 in the tube. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I'm getting frustrated with this.

Thanks, Jason

 

[ErikS]

The big one is here. To find older stuff you have to change the "view threads for X days" settings at the bottom of the page.

Acrylic Thread

#16 is probably the reason for the bubbles. When it dries it tends to shrink quite a bit & suck in air = bubbles. I've had some success clamping the pieces to avoid this but generally I just use #4 for water joints.

 

[jbrown11352]

Thanks! I have Weldon 4 as well, I think I'll give it a try. Do you know of any other methods besides the pin. If so could you shed some light on it? Also with the pin method and weldon 4 what is your method of applying the #4 as it is very thin? Do you put the pins down first or after? How much do you apply? If it squeezes out especially on the inside how do you remove it?

Thanks in advance,
Jason

 

[juststartingout]

You can use twist tie's for the pins. You will have one sheet laying flat and one sheet vertical. Place the pins (twist tie's under the vertical sheet about 5-6" apart, make sure the peices are square and @ a 90 degree angle. You will need an applicator bottle (found @ TAP Plastics and elseware) to apply Weld-On 4 into the joint (you can see it fill the joint) let it set for about 45 seconds if using cellcast material, gently slide the pins out and apply downwards pressure and let sit making sure that all edges are lined up. I have used bags of sand layed over the material for downward pressure (so no air gets sucked in during the drying process resulting in bubbles). Good Luck! This may be a good thread to overview...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=390652

 

[1234]

As juststartingout mentioned the twist ties work great, remember to strip some of the paper off.
After I pull the ties out I don't add any pressure, just remember to have a nice "fillet" when you add the #4 in the seam before you pull them out.

On those applicator bottles, don't get a needle that too thin - it'll clog up on you. I use the needle with the black plastic near the bottom forgot what size it is. The trick is to squeez the bottle before you apply and if it comes out too fast, let go a little and it'll slow down or stop.


good luck

 

[GoldStripe]

The best advice would be to read throught the big acrylic thread(s) and go to melevsreef.com. He is very experienced when it comes to working with acrylic. I am building a sump now and have his website practically memorized.

 

[GoldStripe]

Another thread to check out is this one . The three acrylic gurus are in that thread as well. I posted in that thread and got responses back so they still watch it. Hope that helps.