Anyone have experience with acrylic repairs/ deep crazing?

[Tango451]

Thoughts on this plan:

220 gallons:

Remove ~60% of water (removing water because of the reaction from weld-on 40 and weakening the acrylic before it sets)

Leave it vertical with ~40% water in (it's a friend's tank and they do not want to break down the whole tank)

On the outside corner showing deep crazing into the seam (8 of them in the group) will apply a small square or circle (maybe 3 in x 3 in ) of 1/2" acrylic with weldon-40 over deep crazing area. Will also apply another small square of 1/2" acrylic on the adjacent with 1 deep crazing (don't want to give it a chance to develop more).

The tank will not be removed from the stand under this plan, and the added acrylic will be held in place until set.


Pictures can be found here (There are four): http://imgur.com/a/81Gw2 - do you think this is deep crazing caused from stress?

Will this strengthen tank, weaken the tank, cause the tank to break/ cause pressure to develop somewhere else?

Any recommendations, suggestions, flaws in this plan etc?

Any other plans/ideas?

 

[ichthyman]

From personal experience DO NOT try to repair a joint while an aquarium has water in it. The result will likely be much water on the floor. I can not stress enough how much of a bad idea the above plan is. Under duress, I've done near exactly the above. The catalytic cement weakened the joint enough that panel separation occurred and out poured the tank's contents.

Also from the pictures, those appear the be fractures not crazing. I would empty the tank immediately and find the stressor of the material. Much easier to do so now under controlled setting than when the material fails abruptly.

 

[janes_mw]

From personal experience DO NOT try to repair a joint while an aquarium has water in it. The result will likely be much water on the floor. I can not stress enough how much of a bad idea the above plan is. Under duress, I've done near exactly the above. The catalytic cement weakened the joint enough that panel separation occurred and out poured the tank's contents.

Also from the pictures, those appear the be fractures not crazing. I would empty the tank immediately and find the stressor of the material. Much easier to do so now under controlled setting than when the material fails abruptly.

Listen to this advice. You are on a train wreck. These are fractures and definitely not crazing. Don't let this turn into a tank on the floor.

 

[naterealbig]

Tang,

I second the above two comments, based on personal experience. I had a tiny leak in a 4'x4' frag tank. While applying the Weldon, the entire panel broke loose, and I was very lucky I didn't get hurt. Remember, Weldon is a solvent, and will soften any acrylic in the area. This happens through capillary action, and thus, is a very uncontrollable mechanism.

If you are going to do the work (which I would not do on such a large tank) do it empty. We understand the intention is admirable, but relationships can change quick when 40,000-50,000 dollars worth of damage is done to a home.

Best

 

[Tango451]

Will not work on it with water in it. Do you know though if 10% of water is left in so it doesn't need to be drained dry? And do you know if that repair method would work listed above?

Also if they are fractures on the front panel and not the seams what are some reasons it would cause it to fracture? When fractures look like that, what is an estimated time frame to drain it/ get a replacement?

 

[ichthyman]

Will not work on it with water in it. Do you know though if 10% of water is left in so it doesn't need to be drained dry? And do you know if that repair method would work listed above?

Also if they are fractures on the front panel and not the seams what are some reasons it would cause it to fracture? When fractures look like that, what is an estimated time frame to drain it/ get a replacement?

The definitive answer is DO NOT work on the tank while water is in it, UNLESS you do not mind a leak. Again, the aquarium should be broken immediately and repaired correctly, IMO a new panel is needed, or replaced entirely.

In my experience, material failure has always been from material stress brought about by improper leveling of the aquarium at setup. I would be willing to bet, something was either cattywampus at set up or is now so. Not only level front to back, left to right but also corner(s) to corner(s) must be aligned. If originally, level and flat doesn't mean it still is. Foundation settling, Florida - land of sinkholes and crappy construction, to inadequate stand support - you won't know until a logical thorough examination is conducted.

 

[naterealbig]

Yes. Cattywampus.