Acrylic Construction Help

[ShaneRiordan]

Going to be embarking soon on a trip that will surely test my patience. I will be building my own acrylic tank, as I believe it will be cheaper than buying one. I plan on going about 150-200 gallons, but need a little bit of help from the best "forum-ers" out there.

Does anyone have any experience with the building of acrylic tanks? ANY experiential tips, do's or don'ts, would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!

 

[ozzyboo]

Thats a hell of a tank to cut your teeth on,do you have any experience working with acrylic?
If not do a fair few practice joints on scraps of acrylic as it is very easy to get it wrong.
Have a look here loads of good advice on working with acrylic and tips to make the job easier.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

I am sure there are some guys on here that will be able to give good advice on the subject good luck with your build.

 

[MyGiants]

Up to 30" tall you can use 1/2". Only thing I'd make sure is all the seams are fully cemented without any air bubbles or air gaps.

 

[ShaneRiordan]

Thats a hell of a tank to cut your teeth on,do you have any experience working with acrylic?
If not do a fair few practice joints on scraps of acrylic as it is very easy to get it wrong.
Have a look here loads of good advice on working with acrylic and tips to make the job easier.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

I am sure there are some guys on here that will be able to give good advice on the subject good luck with your build.

I do have experience working with acrylic, just not tank related. Thanks for the link!

 

[ShaneRiordan]

Up to 30" tall you can use 1/2". Only thing I'd make sure is all the seams are fully cemented without any air bubbles or air gaps.

I was thinking the 1/2" would be perfect. What brand apoxy do you suggest using? I don't want the water to put too much pressure on the seams. 150 gallons is something like 800 pounds of water, right?

 

[bubbles123]

Take a look at Joey02's thread: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307773

He's got quite a few instructional type videos on his youtube page as well.

 

[ozzyboo]

I was thinking the 1/2" would be perfect. What brand apoxy do you suggest using? I don't want the water to put too much pressure on the seams. 150 gallons is something like 800 pounds of water, right?

I would not suggest using epoxy at all,if you do please video the filling and have plenty of buckets at the ready.
You need to use acrylic cement that will chemically bond the seems,weld on seems the be a popular brand, i think 3 or 4 are nomally used for tank construction or a thicker version is weld on 16

 

[twilight zone]

I was thinking the 1/2" would be perfect. What brand apoxy do you suggest using? I don't want the water to put too much pressure on the seams. 150 gallons is something like 800 pounds of water, right?

I have limited experience with working with acrylic but I've talked to people that built huge tanks before that held water and looked good. The two piece of acrylics is not glue to together. It's a solvent that chemically welds the two surface together. The two piece of acrylic is lifted with a spacers like straightened paper clips. That allows the solvent to evenly fill in between the two pieces of acrylic. That allows the two surfaces to chemically melt. It doesn't take long for the surfaces to melt. When the spacers are removed, the two piece will have to be clamped down to dry. Of course you have to use a square to make sure the two pieces are perpendicular otherwise you will have a slanted wall to the fish tank. When clamping, you should use some kind of wood or metal rail that would give equal pressure on the length of the acrylic. Maybe some kind of sponge tape on the rail will allow more even pressure just in case there are inconsistencies on the rail surface. Without the clamps, air pockets will form in the joints. I'm not sure how many days it take to dry before it can be unclamped. Of course a router with a flush bit is used to remove the extra acrylic to give it that clean look. The edge will be very sharp after the router. The manufacturers use a hydrogen torch to flame polish the router edges but that causes stress fractures in the future on the acrylic surfaces and joint de-lamination. Sanding and hand buffing is the best way but very time consuming. That is about all I know. Good Luck.