Acrylic Fabrication Q & A

[cromag27]

Cool. Just wanna make sure it'll be safe

safe. just clean it out good when you’re done.

 

[lapin]

You could to a cross hatch pattern like you see on sports fields; *-}
They also make a rattle can of frost spray for glass tables. Might spray that on the bottom outside as long as you dont slide the tank and scrape it off

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Cool. Just wanna make sure it'll be safe

The only thing I see in your plan is that at 1000 grit you may not even see a frosted look once you put the water in. You may have to experiment with courser grits to get the frosted look you want. Do a section and add some water to see if you are getting the look you want before you go all in. Just a suggestion.

You could also do the outside bottom to get the frosted look and the only water that might affect it would be water that spilled and wicks under the tank. Yeah that happens often.

 

[Wowkuh]

The only thing I see in your plan is that at 1000 grit you may not even see a frosted look once you put the water in. You may have to experiment with courser grits to get the frosted look you want. Do a section and add some water to see if you are getting the look you want before you go all in. Just a suggestion.

You could also do the outside bottom to get the frosted look and the only water that might affect it would be water that spilled and wicks under the tank. Yeah that happens often.

Thanks I appreciate it, I wasn't really going for a frosted look. Just to get rid of soo much reflection from lights. I may go down to 600 grits or maybe 800. Not sure yet. And paint the bottom outside with a tan color. Thoughts?

 

[lapin]

Question. How will you keep the bottom clean? Algae will want to grow on the bottom just like the side panels. Very hard to run a mag cleaner over the bottom. Even harder if it has been sanded and has areas that wont scrub clean.
Instead of painting the bottom just put a colored thin sheet of acrylic under it.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Question. How will you keep the bottom clean? Algae will want to grow on the bottom just like the side panels. Very hard to run a mag cleaner over the bottom. Even harder if it has been sanded and has areas that wont scrub clean.

That is why I suggested the outside bottom of the tank. The matte look will show through and the bottom will remain smooth.

 

[Wowkuh]

Question. How will you keep the bottom clean? Algae will want to grow on the bottom just like the side panels. Very hard to run a mag cleaner over the bottom. Even harder if it has been sanded and has areas that wont scrub clean.
Instead of painting the bottom just put a colored thin sheet of acrylic under it.

Thats actually a great question. I currently have a 180 g bare bottom thats basically covered in coralline, but when i did have algae. I just simply used an extended algae scrubber to clean it up. As time went by, coralline took over. But theres still spots of open acrylic with no coralline on the bottom which is why with my 500g I wanna paint the bottom. Those spots that shine through will look like sand (sorta) lol.

 

[lapin]

Thats actually a great question. I currently have a 180 g bare bottom thats basically covered in coralline, but when i did have algae. I just simply used an extended algae scrubber to clean it up. As time went by, coralline took over. But theres still spots of open acrylic with no coralline on the bottom which is why with my 500g I wanna paint the bottom. Those spots that shine through will look like sand (sorta) lol.

They make some sand looking paint in a rattle can. Not sure if it is textured or not. If you want that sand look.
I have never thought so much about the bottom of a tank )))))))

 

[Balz3352]

How long do I have to wait after I "glue" something before I can put it in my tank?

 

[lapin]

What is it you glued and what glue did you use?
Glue has 2 times.
A setup time and a cure time.
Once cured it is generally safe.

 

[Balz3352]

What is it you glued and what glue did you use?
Glue has 2 times.
A setup time and a cure time.
Once cured it is generally safe.

Haven't done it yet.... Probably 16 need to do something actually in a working sump.

 

[Balz3352]

I'm essentially making a diy roller mat and want to "glue" the brace for the drip plate in place ideally.

 

[lapin]

https://gluewarehouse.com/www/files/pdfs/product_tabs_pdf/16_TDS.0814.pdf
I would give it 24 hours if there is little pressure is on the joint.

 

[daniel proudfoot]

I've been a custom acrylic fabricator for a little over 6 years now, i personally do not like weld-on solvent unless using weld-on 40 which is a 2 part mix. I would highly recommend mc bond, made by polysciences. its a great solvent for bonding acrylics. heavier gauge acrylic you should use 40. we have a aquarium department and that's all they use when building big tanks. We also use electrical chords and frozen Popsicle's when bonding heavy gauge with 40. Plugged chord on one side of the joint creating heat and the Popsicles on the other side to control heat created from the glue because with 40 it creates a lot of heat when curing and likes to heat from the inside then work its way out sometimes creating uneven curing and potential bubbles from out gassing. working with 40 you want it to heat from one side and work its way across the joint for best bond. using 1/16" tall x 1/8" clear rods holding the joint separate. done right the rods will disappear with the gluing process if they all have nice clean cuts.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I've been a custom acrylic fabricator for a little over 6 years now, i personally do not like weld-on solvent unless using weld-on 40 which is a 2 part mix. I would highly recommend mc bond, made by polysciences. its a great solvent for bonding acrylics. heavier gauge acrylic you should use 40. we have a aquarium department and that's all they use when building big tanks. We also use electrical chords and frozen Popsicle's when bonding heavy gauge with 40. Plugged chord on one side of the joint creating heat and the Popsicles on the other side to control heat created from the glue because with 40 it creates a lot of heat when curing and likes to heat from the inside then work its way out sometimes creating uneven curing and potential bubbles from out gassing. working with 40 you want it to heat from one side and work its way across the joint for best bond. using 1/16" tall x 1/8" clear rods holding the joint separate. done right the rods will disappear with the gluing process if they all have nice clean cuts.

That is a nice trick! You learn something new every day.

I make my own solvents and I have used it on acrylic up to 2" thick. Our own testing shows 40 breaking in a clean line from impact...so very little chemical bond in the seam areas. Our solvent and the impact breaks the sheet at about the same rate as the seam...excellent chemical weld! So while I use 40 for some applications I prefer to chemically weld seams in high stress areas.

Do you guys heat anneal the whole aquarium after assembly? This is recommended by the manufacturer of the acrylic but I have never seen anyone do it because of the cost of the oven. I was going to rent an oven from an airplane manufacturer on one build but the customer did not want to spend the money. To bad as I think it would have made the 16' long tanks even stronger. The 16' tanks were seamed in the middle since the customer did not want to wait two years for custom 16' panels. Seams were water clear.

 

[Reef Box]

Slightly off topic here but does anyone know where I can get full sheets in California, preferably in the central coast area. I live in Paso Robles the only stuff I’ve been able to find will cost a fortune to ship.

 

[daniel proudfoot]

That is a nice trick! You learn something new every day.

I make my own solvents and I have used it on acrylic up to 2" thick. Our own testing shows 40 breaking in a clean line from impact...so very little chemical bond in the seam areas. Our solvent and the impact breaks the sheet at about the same rate as the seam...excellent chemical weld! So while I use 40 for some applications I prefer to chemically weld seams in high stress areas.

Do you guys heat anneal the whole aquarium after assembly? This is recommended by the manufacturer of the acrylic but I have never seen anyone do it because of the cost of the oven. I was going to rent an oven from an airplane manufacturer on one build but the customer did not want to spend the money. To bad as I think it would have made the 16' long tanks even stronger. The 16' tanks were seamed in the middle since the customer did not want to wait two years for custom 16' panels. Seams were water clear.

yeah we usually anneal every tank that we make over night. usually 5 to 8 hours in 155 degree and on a timer. Right now we have a tank on the floor that is 3 sheets bonded together to make 24'. I prefer solvent welding only because I have more experience with it over 40. One of our departments make there own glue as well but they're kinda bitchy and wont let us experiment with it on a tank...

 

[Lowell Lemon]

yeah we usually anneal every tank that we make over night. usually 5 to 8 hours in 155 degree and on a timer. Right now we have a tank on the floor that is 3 sheets bonded together to make 24'. I prefer solvent welding only because I have more experience with it over 40. One of our departments make there own glue as well but they're kinda bitchy and wont let us experiment with it on a tank...

Well done! It is funny seeing you standing inside a tank since most people would freak about the possibility of scratching the panels! You must have a rather large oven to form those face panels. Did you form the cylinder as well or buy it cast or cast it in house? Do you work at Reynolds Polymer?

 

[daniel proudfoot]

Well done! It is funny seeing you standing inside a tank since most people would freak about the possibility of scratching the panels! You must have a rather large oven to form those face panels. Did you form the cylinder as well or buy it cast or cast it in house? Do you work at Reynolds Polymer?

we form everything from flat sheet by drape forming, yeah we have 2 large ovens, 1 medium oven and 2 small ovens for small projects or cylinders.
i work for California quality plastics.

 

[GAreef]

It's taken a few weeks, but finally made it through this entire thread - thank you to all who have contributed to this great resource!

My question is on laminating acrylic. I'm about to start my second acrylic display and system (the first one is about 10yrs old now), but I'm planning on this being a bare bottom. I was thinking of using 1/8 abs sheet as a bottom and back "cover" with the textured side showing. Was wondering if there is a good way to laminate that to the acrylic bottom and wall? The size of the display will be 60"w 22"d 24"h and I'll use 3/4" for front/back/sides with 1/2" top and bottom.