Ugly acrylic monster bracing questions
- Thread starter mrunlucky07
- Start date
Brought the tank in at the end of the day today. Acrylic is nice for moving around. It feels lighter than a 55. It does look huge now its inside. Not sure what the principal will say yet.
Started making the top braces today. I was going to put braces on the ends and 3 spaced out every 18", but that would not leave enough room to squeeze in the HOB filters I am pulling off the other tank. I ended up making four 3" wide braces. I also went for the screw and glue (epoxy) method. I am going to take the screws out of one tomorrow and see if I can break the bond. If it holds I will put the screws back in and go with it.
Started making the top braces today. I was going to put braces on the ends and 3 spaced out every 18", but that would not leave enough room to squeeze in the HOB filters I am pulling off the other tank. I ended up making four 3" wide braces. I also went for the screw and glue (epoxy) method. I am going to take the screws out of one tomorrow and see if I can break the bond. If it holds I will put the screws back in and go with it.
ZX12R
Ouch, I wish I'd caught this thread before you screwed the braces in. It looks like the seams have screws in them, which is really unusual - usually drilling small holes into plexiglas and putting screws in results in slowly radiating cracks from the hole. There are special screws for the purpose actually that have a shoulder on them so you can't tighten them up against the plastic, they just gently hold it in place. I hope you don't have any problems!
One of those "where were ya yesterday" Oh well, no biggie. If it starts to crack I will sell it for $50 back to someone for reptiles. I thought it was pretty odd (and ugly) that whoever originally made it used screws. There are no cracks from the original screws so they may have did it correctly, mine on the other hand, time will tell. I am not looking to get more than a winter or two out of the tank...hopefully it works.
Well I took the screws off a brace and was able to pry it off, so no go with the epoxy. I ordered a 5oz tube of weld-on#16 that should be here in a few days. So start over. Hopefully the few holes I drilled will not plague me. They are in the 1/2" reinforcement strip that runs the inside edge of the tank, so at least they are not in the tank walls itself.
Back to the original question, how should I run the bracing? Same as before, but with the right solvent this time? Or something different? I have a 24"x30" piece of acrylic and the 4 pieces I already cut to work with. So not enough to run the length of the tank, just the width.
Should I double the width of the braces to 6"?
Back to the original question, how should I run the bracing? Same as before, but with the right solvent this time? Or something different? I have a 24"x30" piece of acrylic and the 4 pieces I already cut to work with. So not enough to run the length of the tank, just the width.
Should I double the width of the braces to 6"?
The braces should be good and strong. You can widen them to 6" if it makes you more comfortable. I'd be tempted to glue strips about 2" wide around the perimeter as well, sort of like eurobracing. If you're going to put a heavy wood frame around the top edge as well, it should be more than enough, even without the simulated eurobracing.
As for the holes, they should hopefully be OK, especially with the bracing glued back over them. The real problem is the constant concentrated stress generated by a screw head, along with differences in the thermal expansion rates of steel and plastic.
As for the holes, they should hopefully be OK, especially with the bracing glued back over them. The real problem is the constant concentrated stress generated by a screw head, along with differences in the thermal expansion rates of steel and plastic.
Thanks, I appreciate it. I will leave the screws out the second time around. When I get back in there again next week I will try and lay it out with bracing around the rim. I should have enough acrylic for 2" the perimeter , and the 3" for the cross bracing. I was also thinking of running 1" tall strips down the edges of the cross braces to make it like a U channel so they would be strong in both tension and compression. Overkill, or not?
I ordered 5oz tube of the weld-on. Will that be enough to do the whole perimeter? The adhering area will be 1" by about 200" if I go the whole way around.
I ordered 5oz tube of the weld-on. Will that be enough to do the whole perimeter? The adhering area will be 1" by about 200" if I go the whole way around.
The weld-on came and I think I have the bracing sorted out. I ran the four 3"' braces across the width, and then a 2" strip down the front and 1.5" strip down the back. Feels completly rigid. Its pretty amazing how well the acrylic joins with the correct adhesive. I filled it 3/4 of the way up and am going to let it sit for a few days to see if any problems arise.
Yup, its on the second floor.
Yup, its on the second floor.
