100% normal… i have 200-500gals… they all do this over time regardless of a 1/2” top sheet all the way up to 1.5” top sheet full or braced. No worry there
Acrylic seam repair/ assessment
- Thread starter Johnpeck1
- Start date
100% normal… i have 200-500gals… they all do this over time regardless of a 1/2” top sheet all the way up to 1.5” top sheet full or braced. No worry there
These are all pretty “normal” on older tanks also… its the sharp corners of the cuts vs. the upward bowing pressure… just always the weakest link in top brace/sheet construction. If ur overly worried u can put some square patches on top or up underneath. More important to take care of ur initial back seam and the floor of the tank 1st tho. If u have some glue left over from all that can always use it there.
Thanks for the talk off the ledge!
So, the sheetrock on top of the tank was wet when i pulled off the hood. Couldnt come up with an answer other than the fact its pressed against the top of the tank so the condensation builds up on the pieces of glass i use to cover the hole. You think thats from salt creep? Im gonna cut some of that out a little so theres a space btwn the tank and the thin piece of wood and sheet rock. I'll flex seal whatevers left. It will all be covered by the hood. Take a look at the pic. I cant even get the glass top over the entire opening. At one time i tried to bead silicone to keep the moisture off the wood but it didnt do sh. That flat piece of wood sitting on top of the tank isnt supporting anything right? I think thats just how they framed it out.
Those 2 cracks go over the side panel. I will send another pic. I was going to brush the weldon over the crack and maybe a patch across the top or bottom. Bad idea? Where exactly would i drill the hole? The crack isnt into the front panel, it stops where it was seemed.
And what do you think about a couple more rods for under the top along the front/ back and sides. I could hold it in place with a couple of vice brace thingies. Again it would be hidden by the hood. I would go two 30 inch across the front and two across the back and a 18 inch for each side. Nothing around the curve. Would that give everything more support?
Damn man, this has been nuts. I was worried about the fish but i got a eheim and a hang on filter running with the filter media from the tank and a powerhead. I was gonna separate the 2 tangs and put one in a long 40 gallon but 2 other hang on filters crapped out on me so everyone into the pool. Threw in a heater. They seem to like there new setup. All that rock work gave em plenty of space to themselves. Checked ammonia levels, so far so good.
Im gonna try to do it all in one day so i only poison the family once. How long is the house gonna stink? My wifes *****in about the smell of the empty tank...i aint got the heart to tell her.
Cant thank you enough. Im gonna name my next born Russ or Piker or Ohio. Btw, i just figured out that your carvings on @creekpikerlures are the master for the molds for your lures. Bro thats amazing detail to get a lure! I truly thought it was just artwork. Badass! The pics are nuts!
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This is worse to me than the tank repairs lol… u def. need some good lids. Id get a piece of twin wall polycarbonate, run a strip of weather stripping around the permitter to make a seal and that will trap any moisture from raising up/going into the wall there. They really gipped ya there how they did that lid into the wall ?
… rip er out lol… 100% just condensation/water splashing. Stupid whoever did that for sure. Should have been a piece of glass or acrylic underneath it before the wood/sheet rock. Heck, even a layer of plastic would have prevented that.
wednesday13
Ok Russ and whoevers left following this....I did it!!! I think it cane out pretty good. Touched the tank in 3 places with the glue by mistake but only 1 is visible when the hood goes back on and about the size of a quarter at the very top. Russ, your directions were perfect! I used painters tape to make cleaner lines. Also taped up some plastic bibs in the tank. But make sure you hang em below the blue tape or when you pull the blue tape off, everything will come down...i pre thunk that up. I made the mistake on the 1st area of not removing the blue tape rightaway. You really have to do it immediately otherwise pieces of blue get caught in there (just like you said). I scraped out that corner and reglued it. I went over the bottom rods with the squeeze bottle. Took a little more than 100ml to do. I think you use more with bottle than the brush. Mixed it up figure 8s for 3 minutes. It gets milky white. Thicker than syrup, maybe pancake batter. I used plastic measuring cups and measuring sppons from dollar tree. Each batch needs a new cup and a new brush because it gets stuck in there. For a buck, just use a new one. Get 6 of everything. I suggest spend a few bucks on the brushes. The dollar tree ones were too thin so the glue dripped off too easily. Thats where my eff ups happened. I had a few ones from Michaels i used first and they were much better. After bottom, the 2 vertical braces. Painted up the tank and rods (scuffed everything up the night before. Shop vacced it and cleaned with dollar store nail polish renover) then pushed them in place. I didnt want to tape em in after the 1st tape debacle. They probly were good just pushing em in but i got 6 tension curtain rods for 20 bucks on amazon (i need em for my basement anyways) and just gave em a liitle extra support. Brushed the seams. I did put rods along the 4 top sides under the lid and attached to the tank walls. Used $5 platic F braces for wood from harbor freight to hold em in place. In the back where they jipped me by putting sheetrock right to the edge of the opening in the lid, i used the curtain rods again. Glued the tank and the rods and pushed them in place and brushed the seams. Painters tape was a big help, but painstakingly long to get it straight, holding the rod in place and leaving space for both seams for each rod. I didnt tape the inside bottom because i had enough of it and figured the substrate will cover it anyway. I did put a patch under those cracks and put some glue on top.
I took some pics of the job. I think it looks better in person though. Tell me what you think and dont be afraid to sh__ on my parade. I must have over 20 hours in this between moving the fish to prep work. The whole gluing took me about 3 1/2 hours. Gotta go slow and be careful. As soon as you rush or start getting tired, domething gets screwed up. Didnt smell sh through the vapor mask, but it was tough to wear for that long. Windows open, one fan in window blowing out, huge floor drying fan blowing towards window. Kept all bedroom doors shut and with rolled towel on the floor. Smell was gone today.
I just want to thank Russ for all the tutoring and typing. Youre an amazing dude to walk me through this! Gonna wait 2 weeks, then fish go home. They look happy in their stock tank with all their rock caves.
Big shout out to @creekpikerlures . Check that out if u want to see some extreme talented sh. This guys fixing 500 gallon tanks, carving and creating his own lures, catching SICK looking fish, working a day job and spent days talking me through manic depressive rants and ultimately fixing my tank! Cant thank you enough bro! Would love to fish with u one day. If youre ever in Joisy, give me a shout!
By the way, you mentioned giant tanks a few times, what are you keeping in them?
Ok Russ and whoevers left following this....I did it!!! I think it cane out pretty good. Touched the tank in 3 places with the glue by mistake but only 1 is visible when the hood goes back on and about the size of a quarter at the very top. Russ, your directions were perfect! I used painters tape to make cleaner lines. Also taped up some plastic bibs in the tank. But make sure you hang em below the blue tape or when you pull the blue tape off, everything will come down...i pre thunk that up. I made the mistake on the 1st area of not removing the blue tape rightaway. You really have to do it immediately otherwise pieces of blue get caught in there (just like you said). I scraped out that corner and reglued it. I went over the bottom rods with the squeeze bottle. Took a little more than 100ml to do. I think you use more with bottle than the brush. Mixed it up figure 8s for 3 minutes. It gets milky white. Thicker than syrup, maybe pancake batter. I used plastic measuring cups and measuring sppons from dollar tree. Each batch needs a new cup and a new brush because it gets stuck in there. For a buck, just use a new one. Get 6 of everything. I suggest spend a few bucks on the brushes. The dollar tree ones were too thin so the glue dripped off too easily. Thats where my eff ups happened. I had a few ones from Michaels i used first and they were much better. After bottom, the 2 vertical braces. Painted up the tank and rods (scuffed everything up the night before. Shop vacced it and cleaned with dollar store nail polish renover) then pushed them in place. I didnt want to tape em in after the 1st tape debacle. They probly were good just pushing em in but i got 6 tension curtain rods for 20 bucks on amazon (i need em for my basement anyways) and just gave em a liitle extra support. Brushed the seams. I did put rods along the 4 top sides under the lid and attached to the tank walls. Used $5 platic F braces for wood from harbor freight to hold em in place. In the back where they jipped me by putting sheetrock right to the edge of the opening in the lid, i used the curtain rods again. Glued the tank and the rods and pushed them in place and brushed the seams. Painters tape was a big help, but painstakingly long to get it straight, holding the rod in place and leaving space for both seams for each rod. I didnt tape the inside bottom because i had enough of it and figured the substrate will cover it anyway. I did put a patch under those cracks and put some glue on top.
I took some pics of the job. I think it looks better in person though. Tell me what you think and dont be afraid to sh__ on my parade. I must have over 20 hours in this between moving the fish to prep work. The whole gluing took me about 3 1/2 hours. Gotta go slow and be careful. As soon as you rush or start getting tired, domething gets screwed up. Didnt smell sh through the vapor mask, but it was tough to wear for that long. Windows open, one fan in window blowing out, huge floor drying fan blowing towards window. Kept all bedroom doors shut and with rolled towel on the floor. Smell was gone today.
I just want to thank Russ for all the tutoring and typing. Youre an amazing dude to walk me through this! Gonna wait 2 weeks, then fish go home. They look happy in their stock tank with all their rock caves.
Big shout out to @creekpikerlures . Check that out if u want to see some extreme talented sh. This guys fixing 500 gallon tanks, carving and creating his own lures, catching SICK looking fish, working a day job and spent days talking me through manic depressive rants and ultimately fixing my tank! Cant thank you enough bro! Would love to fish with u one day. If youre ever in Joisy, give me a shout!
By the way, you mentioned giant tanks a few times, what are you keeping in them?
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Yessssss! This just made my day haha… appreciate the shout out to my current endeavors and kind words my man! The curtain rods were super smart! Just perfect lol… not too much tension to hold ur rods in place but just enough. U really did well across the board. I enjoy that u dove in, thought it all out and executed as much as u possibly could with 1 pint! Even taking care of every crack and up under the top of the tank, damn lol… i was gettin worried i havent seen u post. Glad u didnt give up. This is a most exellent ending to this thread/story. Told ya u could do it haha ??… u def. exceeded my expectations for a 1st timer using 40… u learn quick tho as u work with it just like anything and it really shows whats possible with a bit of time reading, minimal funds and alot of effort! Really enjoyed reading this.
Plenty pike in Jersey ??… lol… if im ever around ill let you know ?, i do have some family there.
As for me “fish keeping”… i dont do much of it these days. Small planted 37gal “decoration” in my living rm and alot of bad memories ??… used to keep everything… salt to fresh, sharks to coral, guppies to 52” catfish. Tanks i swam in…Had a bad run in with state “wildlife authorities” a few yrs ago after a law changed and it really killed it all for me. Typical tragedy ?. Turned it into a positive with my lure making… Just chase monster pike in the woods now and stick to the shadows ??
??. If i ever move, i have a 3,500gal tank half built ill set up. Might be “back” one day…maybe haha…
wednesday13
Thanks for all the congrats! The whole thing was mentally and physically exhausting. Hanging upside down on one leg from a ladder is a blast!
Wow! How the heck did State Wildlife get involved? Its gotta be a sick story! What are you not allowed to keep?
Take a look at these seams. One is under the lid, one is the verticsl rod, one is the bottom. When the light is on them, you can see lines (crazing?) and maybe bubbles. Are these well done? Is that what its supposed to look like?
Thanks bro!
Thanks for all the congrats! The whole thing was mentally and physically exhausting. Hanging upside down on one leg from a ladder is a blast!
Wow! How the heck did State Wildlife get involved? Its gotta be a sick story! What are you not allowed to keep?
Take a look at these seams. One is under the lid, one is the verticsl rod, one is the bottom. When the light is on them, you can see lines (crazing?) and maybe bubbles. Are these well done? Is that what its supposed to look like?
Thanks bro!
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Correct, just a bit of “crazing”… happens when the glue gets hot during the cure. Cple bubbles here and there never hurt anything either. They look pretty clean honestly. Patches even with rod are harder to get perfect than just pouring fillets. U did pretty well. Esp. For ur 1st go at it. She should hold for another 30+yrs easy ?? if not indefinitely now.
As for my run in with “the authorities” all from just a picture. All they need for a pre issued warrant for search/seizure is 1 picture… They patrol social media and forums like these looking for cases… i purchaced a wels catfish in 2012 legally and “documented” it here for yrs… obama put a federal import ban on them in 2016 with his “lacey act”… my wonderful state of Ohio furthered this law/ban by making it illegal to possess the fish all together even tho it was bought legally within my rights and was still “federally” legal to possess. State always trumps federal law as we know. Crock of chit across the board. Lol… hence my “no pictures policy”. Nothing is guarenteed in any state. New “lists” are made every year and all they need for a pre issued warrant is a picture. U can never guess what was legal one year and not the next so IMO no pics, no problems even with legally bought fish. I had no problem keeping fish alive for 10+ yrs… whats the point of raising animals that long if they can be taken away at any given time by the state and killed ??
. Having people ready to shoot u over something as stupid as a catfish “deemed dangerous animal” is pretty ridiculous also. Only peace of mind i can have is to have no fish here at all. if ur ever bored search “silurus glanis overdue upgrade” here on the forum and the “end” of my fish keeping days is there.
Is there a tip or trick to pouring the Weldon so it doesn’t get too hot and craze or bubble?
