Custom Acrylic Work--El Paso Area

S Helinski

S Helinski

Active member
Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the El Paso area, and I'm hoping to set up a tank soon. I'm from Buffalo, NY, and I've been in the hobby for over 11 years now. I've had just about every type of salt water aquarium imaginable, propagated various corals for many years etc... I hope to get to know some of you and make some reefkeeping friends in my new neighborhood!

Anyways, I'm wondering if anyone here does custom acrylic work? As in, constructing reliable tanks and sumps out of acrylic?

Please PM me if you're good with acrylic--I may have some work for you!

Thanks,

Steve
 
Steve (S Helinski),

Welcome to the club and as Beto (bmw-zoan) said, to Hell Paso!! :lol: We would love to have you join us in the STARS club and be an active member. Great group of gals and guys who love this hobby. And, we would love to have your knowledge since we can all learn different ways of doing things and methodologies from one another.

You also have quite a bit of LFS at your disposal here. I think that Aquarium Concepts has the capabilities to make a DT/sump for you. They just opened up and believe they make custom tanks. Give them a ring. Here is the thread of the local LFS' here:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1964745

Anyways, welcome to the southwest were the sun is always shining and you get to wear shorts year around!!!! People are friendly here and it isn't called chili or sauce down here or Pace Picante Sauce, its called salsa. You also get to flavor what is almost authentic (sorry, if it isn't from Gaudalajarra on south, it isn't truly real authentic Mexican food) Mexican food. Well its gotta be better then Buffalo!!! :lol:
 
icon_welcome.gif
Steve!!!

Jay
 
Welcome Steve. It is nice to have you come to the STARS forum and join us here. I look forward to meeting you and having you join all of us at the STARS meetings.
:wave:
 
Correction he does not make the tank he has someone that makes the tanks for him. Sorry about that i just was a little disappointed when i went there and wanted to talk shop and he did not know what a router was. But other then that i think he is a very nice guy with some awesome prices on live stock. The only thing else i can suggest is the acrylic needs to be thicker since i would not want my tank to be bowing. But besides that fact the craftsmanship looks quality. Thanks

Steffen Sparks
 
puffin04 said:
Correction he does not make the tank he has someone that makes the tanks for him. Sorry about that i just was a little disappointed when i went there and wanted to talk shop and he did not know what a router was. But other then that i think he is a very nice guy with some awesome prices on live stock. The only thing else i can suggest is the acrylic needs to be thicker since i would not want my tank to be bowing. But besides that fact the craftsmanship looks quality. Thanks

Steffen Sparks
Click to expand...

hmmm interesting, seems like we were all under the assumption that he did them. for good reason.
 
No i was talking to him about what router he was using with what table and if he had to modify his table or build his own to accept bigger sheets. I then ask him what bit brand he was using with what size shank, RPM, and feed rate. I was just curious and in truth looking for advice. He told me he has a shop that makes them for him. From what i could get gather as he described to me is that its a CNC machine shop with probably 3 axis milling machine with one hell of a big table travel. If those tanks are CNC made they are more precises then doing it by a router. Thanks

Steffen Sparks
 
Hi guys,

S Helinski welcome to El Paso!
PNavarro170 you are right, we built our tanks!. Steffen misunderstood my information. I said that I don't cut or glue my tanks or acrylic works by myself because my guys do it. I have my own acrylic business and I never mentioned that I buy in another stores.
Steffen, certainly I didn't answer some of your questions about details of my equipments or process , ask to a Chef how to make his recipes and wait for his answers... I am pretty sure that wasn't your intention to provide wrong information to people, so please be sure before talking about the other works. If you have any question, dude or even a claim, fell free to contact me.

Luis
 
Forgive me if i seem negative in anyway. I was just curious as to what type of equipment and bits that you where using. I have exceptional experience with a router and also CNC machinery. I am in the process of purchasing another router and was deciding on going with porter cable and also will DIY my own table since it seems that the tables are too small to except some of the longer pieces. As far as "glue" i usually use weld-on 3,4, and 16. Weld-on 3 and 4 is very runny but it seems to have the best bond to the acrylic. I use weld-on 16 because it is more of a gel and good with fixing leaks.

I also do glass work as well. What i use is a commercial grade silicone called RTV 103 or 108. It is 100% silicone and it has the best bond strength. The only thing that sucks is it is hard to get a hold of and a bit expensive if you dont have a business account with some of the local companies. I usually acetone all the glass before i proceed and also mask the sides of the tank to obtain that clean finished look.

If you like to keep secrets that is ok. I was just trying to make conversation so if it offended you in anyway i am sorry. I was just excited to talk shop with someone since everyone looks at me crazy when i talk about this stuff. lol

Steffen Sparks
 
S Helinski,

Im from PA but spent some time in buffalo! Also some in Batavia. Seems I run into someone everyday from NY or PA. Welcome to the southwest where you top off 5 gallons a day!
 
well i could see maybe steffen coming off as someone in el paso who is competition so he didnt want to talk shop. not realizing himself that luis would come off as not knowing what he was talking about.
 
Well i just received a call from Glass Cages today and she wanted to know how i was doing? I replied that the whole town is shut down, power is out, and i am currently wrapping my tank in blankets! How is back east? lol Well Andy's and I's tank will be in on Feb 8th at 1pm. I just ordered the glass for the 100 gallon wide so we will be putting it together. I will be taking pics so a write up will follow. If anyone would like to see how it is done, you are more then welcome to come by. Thanks

Steffen Sparks
 
Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'll soon be checking out the local stores and seeing what everyone can frag!

Still trying to figure out what I would like to do tankwise...

I've been contemplating an all-in-one tank, but honestly, I've also been dreaming about creating my own version of the "Volcano Tank." Either path is a major change from my current 120g with 150g rubbermaid sump!

Here's the volcano tank thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1823130

Thanks,

Steve
 
That is pretty neat idea! It looks like a rimless aquarium from glass cages. Still reading up on the 15 pages. Thanks for sharing with us!!!! :)

Steffen Sparks
 
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