Weld-on 40 to fill gaps

[Graphic]

Previous owner on my tank down sized the width and shortened the overflow. The aquarium glue is failing on the overflow, the rest of the tank has not been tampered with.

Tank has been empty for a few years. I wanted to test to see if the tank is okay and it’s leaking. I expect the entire overflow area to leak if I don’t rectify it.

The area that I would be fixing is the entire back wall of the overflow. I could possibly remove the entire wall but it might be difficult.

Can I strip and clean the outside area and apply weld-on 40 on the outside, or do I need to rip it apart and and weld the pieces together. This is literally only the overflow in the back.

Basically can I use weld on 40 to fill gaps and the outside of the seam?

 

[tlindsey]

Previous owner on my tank down sized the width and shortened the overflow. The aquarium glue is failing on the overflow, the rest of the tank has not been tampered with.

Tank has been empty for a few years. I wanted to test to see if the tank is okay and it’s leaking. I expect the entire overflow area to leak if I don’t rectify it.

The area that I would be fixing is the entire back wall of the overflow. I could possibly remove the entire wall but it might be difficult.

Can I strip and clean the outside area and apply weld-on 40 on the outside, or do I need to rip it apart and and weld the pieces together. This is literally only the overflow in the back.

Basically can I use weld on 40 to fill gaps is what I need to know?

wednesday13
twentyleagues

 

[Graphic]

My goal would be to strip the glue on the back and plaster weld-on 40 over all of the seams on the overflow

 

[wednesday13]

My goal would be to strip the glue on the back and plaster weld-on 40 over all of the seams on the overflow

pics would def. help… when u say strip glue… are u referring to silicone on acrylic? If so it should come off fairly easy with a paint scraper blade or razor blade then a good cleaning with a very mild acetone/nail polish remover. Do not use regular acetone. U need nail polish remover with a small percentage of it or it will damage the acrylic. Even sanding off any remaning bits of old silicone/glue will work as the weld on 40 will make the acrylic/sanding marks clear again. Ur idea sounds very plausible. 40 is a great product, it can fill gaps up to 1/4” very easily and it will bite into the old acrylic well. Try and get some pics posted so i can further help gauge what u need to do ?

 

[Graphic]

I just want to scrap the aquarium epoxy off and weld the back of it vs trying to rip the panels off, unless that will still pose risks.

The picture with my finger I can’t really get my hand inside of it unless I rip it off.

 

[Graphic]

This is what was used. You can see it’s brittle in the pictures. In some areas it’s solid and strong. Where it’s kind of translucent it’s brittle. When I pull and push on the back wall of the overflow it’s strong and doesn’t move.

 

[wednesday13]

? wow thats a mess lol… classic case of using the wrong materials ?… Best advice i can give is start scrapin. Or just start waging war with an electric sander. U def need to get every bit of that crap glue off of there. Personally id cut the entire box off. And just use the drilled holes in the back of the tank. Is it even acrylic back there? Some of that black material looks textured. If its any kind of poly made plastic nothing will ever stick to it as it’s petroleum based. No bueno… to me that black stuff looks like “marine star board” no glue will ever work and thats probably y it failed in the 1st place. If at the least, the overflows on the outside… just use the bulkheads on the inside of the tank to make it water tight and run ur plumbing down through that abomination of an overflow lol… of that texture is just paint ur in luck, will take alot of sanding to get down to the acrylic but thats the best case scenario. Usually im pretty encouraging on these types of repairs, to me that def. looks like star board tho and it will never work if it is.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

2 part epoxy is great stuff, but I'm pretty sure it's not the right thing for that use. That's probably why it has the * next to the aquarium.

 

[Graphic]

Will Weldon 40 work for marine star board?

the thing was completely fine but it was cut to be moved out of the house then re glued with something else. The material is smooth on the inside and it’s welded to the tank in the area it wasn’t modified.

 

[wednesday13]

Will Weldon 40 work for marine star board?

the thing was completely fine but it was cut to be moved out of the house then re glued with something else. The material is smooth on the inside and it’s welded to the tank in the area it wasn’t modified.

no, #40 will not adhere to marine star board or any oil based plastic. any petro based plastics need to be heat welded together i.e. polyethylene, polypropylene, abs… u cannot heat weld petro plastic to acrylic in any way either. Its like oil and water… they just dont mix…. Something just isnt adding up here lol… to me, that box did not come on that tank… i can see patches and different types and pieces of materials. If it were simply cut off and put back on it would no look like this. Whats it look like on the inside of the tank?