Weld-on #40 and #42
- Thread starter wednesday13
- Start date
Was hoping he would see this hehe, but I see now that the thread is very old u_uMaybewednesday13 will see the last few posts and help.
Newbie here... I have a 75 gallon glass aquarium I've bought and built a stand for. Turns out I'm much better at building stands than I am working with acrylic. Found this thread looking for how to fix seams in leaking acrylic aquariums. Here's my stand, A water bridge I'm attempting to build for my son's two guppy tanks and a little 15 gallon tank that is going to have water pumped in from my 75 gallon and waterfall back in. In there will live some algae, copepods and maybe a mangrove. Anyway thank you for the all of the information, my 40 should arrive today and hopefully save my test builds ?
Thank you! It's been fun learning to work with the Weld on 4 and 16 and now 40. Figured I'd start small and play around with it plus my Mandarin needs pods so there's that. Maybe I can stop spending 50 bucks a month to feed the little guy (or girl)
Hey guys i am about to use weld 40 for the first time for my 300 gallon acrylic tank for my seems it has a little crazing and I just t want to insure the tank will last me a few years i just have a few question and hopefully some one can help me .so I am kinda of in a time crunch I've seen people say to do one seem a day could I do two seems a day with out messing anything up ?also when I put masking tape do I rip it out once im done or in like 30 min after I pour it
You can pour as quickly as an hour between seams. If possible jump around to opposite sides of the tank/area like u would with welding to dissipate heat. If you cant its not super detrimental with 1/2”-3/4” material. Ive poured a gallon in one day on one tank before, it crazed 1-3” per seam. Nature of the beast tho in some cases. The important part is to not use the tank for 72+ hrs after ur last pour/glue up to ensure it cures all the way.
Another big one is to sand the seams ur working on a bit so the glue bites and wipe it clean with mild alchohol or nail polish remover WITHOUT acetone. At the least make sure the areas are clean even if u dont sand.
I do not recommend masking tape. Any glue that goes down is there to stay. If you wipe it its going to make a bigger mess. I do mention using tapes in this sticky, its for different reasons tho like taping on patches or using it to damn the glue in areas if needed. Not like when doing silicone for a glass tank. Pour ur seams right out of a mixing cup across the seam. Its pretty self leveling when ur tank is tipped at 45’s. If for some reason u need to spread it out i like to use the back of a metal spoon to make a pass across the pour to even it out if needed. Usually not needed tho.
Any pics of the crazing/tank? The “crazing” 40 causes from heat is small micro fractures in the surface of the acrylic. Its not detrimental like larger cracking or seam seperation. Just cosmetic/unsightly.
Any more ?’s, feel free to ask… and wear a good respirator… and ventilation, ventilation, ventilation lol
… if ur indoors mixing the glue in a bathroom with exhaust fan is helpful and put the tank lids on or throw towels over the top to trap the fumes when u have to close ur windows and what not. The smell will dissipate over a few days.