Has anyone ever glued back together an acrylic tank?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I'm pretty sure on what needs to b done.
Nice clean edges, and the ability to keep everything square. Not sure about the hot and cold thing.
I'm not going to lie. I've never done this before but i can't pass up this deal.
Thats why i had to ask, has anyone done this before?

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Oddball? Would the pin trick b an acceptable way to float?
And is the hot panel , cold panel a must; in every bonding procedure ?

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I've seen the pin spacers used to assemble up to 300 gal tanks. I saw a couple of tanks built with the hot copper rod/cold aluminum rod technique and they were a 500gal and 650 gal. I have to assume that a 960gal would need the latter technique as well. I'm not 100% on what's used today. It's been a while since I've seen actual acrylic tank builds.
 
Oddball said:
I've seen the pin spacers used to assemble up to 300 gal tanks. I saw a couple of tanks built with the hot copper rod/cold aluminum rod technique and they were a 500gal and 650 gal. I have to assume that a 960gal would need the latter technique as well. I'm not 100% on what's used today. It's been a while since I've seen actual acrylic tank builds.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see. Good info. Thanks Oddball. It makes sense that the thicker panels would need a little extra work to get a good bond.


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I think you would be hard pressed to find a pro that would take on the project and this isn't something that I would want to cut my teeth on. With a used tank, I'm sure there would be some deflection, so the panels would not be 100% true. I saw some people ask a pro acrylic fabricator the same question on you are asking (on a reef forum), and he said there is no way he would even consider it. The larger the tank, the more certain you need to be that the acrylic itself is of high quality and that the welds are strong. Working with used acrylic would add some complexity/uncertainty = liability into the mix that would probably prevent most people from taking the project on.

Out of curiosity, what are the dimensions of the tank and how thick is the acrylic?...and if you don't mind sharing, how good of a deal is it?
 
Unless they are just giving this tank away, you may be seriously underestimating this task. I have a bunch of 60 gallon acrylic tanks at work that we keep at body temp for testing and I have seen seams seperate that have been modified. When it's brand new sheets it's one thing to assemble, but after god knows how many times filling and emptying, plus the heating/cooling, you are begging for disaster here.


Call a pro shop in your area and ask or PM me and I can have you talk to one of the shop engineers at California Quality Plastics here in Socal. They won't spend a lot of time on this, but they can at least tell you if it's feasible.
 
Well , the price was $1000, but they're giving me $500 for an old scratched up 320 i have. The dimensions of the 960 are 100 x 60 x 36 inches. It's made of 1 in acrylic. Except for the top, it's doubled. If anything, maybe i could use the acrylic for a plywood tank. But I'm not letting this go for $500 cash!
I'm definitely going to seek more advice before i start building.

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Build a place so you dont have to cut it at all, I have worked with allot of acrylic and still would not try cutting it up. But if you can do it right it could work, I would just never want to take a perfect tank and cut it. you can always sell it and find a truck to bring it to me, Ill pay. that would fit perfect for my place, but that tank has to be a beast in weight, 2 inch top and 1 inch all the rest of the way around, you will not have fun moving it, well a crane will do it well, thing is probably 2000 pounds. but a nice tank :-)
 
I just talked to a guy on the phone, that built acrylic tanks, and he says i worry too much. He said make sure the panels are clean and square with fresh edges, and i shouldn't have any problems .
I need to take all this advise in consideration . I Just wish i new someone that accomplished this before

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Check out uarujoey on youtube he has some step by step videos on how to build acrylic tanks.

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