Acrylic Fabrication Q & A

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

Are you talking about wiping bonding surfaces before bonding? I just use plain white cotton t-shirt rags from the hardware store, I pick through them to get the finer knit/softer ones, then cut them into squares about 12x12 give or take, shake the heck out of them to get rid of edge dust, then fold a few times to hide the edges, then apply DNA and wipe. But I still have to use compressed air (canned) to blow the joint after setup.

Never thought of coffee filters after the DNA wipe, my first instinct would be that they are scratchy but what does it matter on the bonding surfaces. Solid tip

 

[BeanAnimal]

Even at scale, I think time and effort could be saved in a single step using DNA and lint free mechanics wipes. Similar to paint or any coatings prep.

 

[TherealplexiG]

Later i avoided DNA instead used soapy water and lint free rags, blowed with static free compressed air before running welds.
Contact of any solvent weakens the acrylic! Even at microscopic level which would not affect our intended purpose. I read a paper on effects of ethanol on acrylic. Ethanol which is mainly DNA affects plasticity and elongation at break. Anyways the quick wipe usually don't matter with our purpose as any tank seams are not gonna see past certain Psi,

And similarly the contact time of solvent with acrylic, technically the shorter the contact time the better the bond strength, to achieve good bond good machining and fabrication method/tools matter. Using the smallest pins, shorter wait times yields better tensile. This is not entirely my thoughts but of James, which i truly agree.
Also anecdotally it helps with avoiding crazing.

 

[adova]

Hey all - back in the hobby after 10 or so years and got the itch again. @Turbo's Aquatics was a big help with a 180 build I did back on Reef Central. Unfortunately, all of the pics were lost during the migration and I am struggling to remember everything I learned.

My new tank is going to be 120" x 26" x 24" high. Plan is for 3/4" acrylic with a 3" eurobrace and 6" centers every 2 feet. I will have an internal coast to coast wierless overflow feeing to an external bean animal drain system.

Couple of questions: Any glaring errors with the specs? I want to do a smaller euro, but I am pretty sure that was @Turbo's Aquatics go to specs back in the day.

Also, how far down should I put the internal overflow from the top of the tank?

I will be putting a build thread together for this shortly. It is going to be a long and slow road, but, if I remember anything I learned, patience is key.

 

[adova]

I just started using SketchUp Pro, but here are some basic rendering of where I was going with this.

 

[TaylorPilot]

So what is the consensus on the banning of MC. I am buying up some, but eventually will need a good alternative. I really enjoy being able to mix small batches to ensure it is fresh…what is everyone using moving forward?

 

[Lowell Lemon]

So what is the consensus on the banning of MC. I am buying up some, but eventually will need a good alternative. I really enjoy being able to mix small batches to ensure it is fresh…what is everyone using moving forward?

Can you still buy it from one of the scientific supply houses? That is where I got my last order.

 

[TherealplexiG]

Hey all - back in the hobby after 10 or so years and got the itch again. @Turbo's Aquatics was a big help with a 180 build I did back on Reef Central. Unfortunately, all of the pics were lost during the migration and I am struggling to remember everything I learned.

My new tank is going to be 120" x 26" x 24" high. Plan is for 3/4" acrylic with a 3" eurobrace and 6" centers every 2 feet. I will have an internal coast to coast wierless overflow feeing to an external bean animal drain system.

Couple of questions: Any glaring errors with the specs? I want to do a smaller euro, but I am pretty sure that was @Turbo's Aquatics go to specs back in the day.

Also, how far down should I put the internal overflow from the top of the tank?

I will be putting a build thread together for this shortly. It is going to be a long and slow road, but, if I remember anything I learned, patience is key.

Good thickness but I'd personally go 4 inch perimeter flange! 6 inch cross brace every 2 ft of the tank length, is optimal.
Feel free to ask more questions
Depending on approximate flow volume, I can give you exact drawing and height recommendation using Floyd's weir calculator.
Ps, broke my thumb today. so only one handed typing, it sucks

 

[TherealplexiG]

Can you still buy it from one of the scientific supplt houses? That is where I got my last order.

I believe it is not banned yet, but what Taylor is saying with all the stuff going on, it is to be soon, and in that case what other alternatives we have or should we look for!

 

[Lowell Lemon]

We may have to lookat using Weldon 42 for everything.

 

[TherealplexiG]

We may have to lookat using Weldon 42 for everything.

I'd say transition to hot air welding, using pvc, pp etc. Material cheaper than acrylic, plenty available, no significant spec differences as with molecular weight of acrylic which differs manufacturer to manufacturer. No cure time, no wait, you can immediately flip after you done with a seam. Finish everything in one go, wrap it and pack it.
Can use acrylic windows glued with pvc wherever applicable.

 

[adova]

Good thickness but I'd personally go 4 inch perimeter flange! 6 inch cross brace every 2 ft of the tank length, is optimal.
Feel free to ask more questions
Depending on approximate flow volume, I can give you exact drawing and height recommendation using Floyd's weir calculator.
Ps, broke my thumb today. so only one handed typing, it sucks

I haven't figured out flow yet. Figured I would do 2x smaller return pumps vs 1x large. Do you have a link to Floyd's calculator? Does it take weirless design considerations?

 

[TherealplexiG]

I haven't figured out flow yet. Figured I would do 2x smaller return pumps vs 1x large. Do you have a link to Floyd's calculator? Does it take weirless design considerations?

For weirless
https://irrigation.wsu.edu/Content/Calculators/Water-Measurements/Rectangular-Contracted-Weir.php

 

[adova]

For weirless
https://irrigation.wsu.edu/Content/Calculators/Water-Measurements/Rectangular-Contracted-Weir.php

Wow - so, if I span the length of the tank (10') and do 1" height, I am at 22k GPH. What would you recommend? Or better question - what is my target - a near match on pump GPM to Weir GPM?

 

[TherealplexiG]

Wow - so, if I span the length of the tank (10') and do 1" height, I am at 22k GPH. What would you recommend? Or better question - what is my target - a near match on pump GPM to Weir GPM?

Yes that's about right, I think half an inch would be sufficient, and leave about 3/4 from the top, I like to see water to the top, but depending on the turbulence inside the tank it would definitely build creep on the brace.
So even with 2 vectra L about 6000 gallons your overflow weir would be almost half utilized, ie only about 1/4th. So 3/4 + 1/4 would be your water level from the top...

@TaylorPilot
He builds toothless weired overflows can drop more insights, some real nice stuff.

 

[TaylorPilot]

Can you still buy it from one of the scientific supply houses? That is where I got my last order.

For now...my understanding isnthey cant sell it anymore after may of this year...i was gonna call my supplier tomorrow and see if they had any further insights. Reading the government's release it looks like it will be basically banded for everyone by the middle of this year.

On April 30, 2024, the EPA finalized a ban on most consumer and industrial uses of methylene chloride to protect against fatal risks like cancer and neurotoxicity. The rule prohibits manufacturing, processing, and distribution for most applications, phasing out nearly all commercial use by April 28, 2026, while allowing strict, controlled exemptions for specific critical industrial processes.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

On April 30, 2024, the EPA finalized a ban on most consumer and industrial uses of methylene chloride to protect against fatal risks like cancer and neurotoxicity. The rule prohibits manufacturing, processing, and distribution for most applications, phasing out nearly all commercial use by April 28, 2026, while allowing strict, controlled exemptions for specific critical industrial processes.

Dang. This pretty much puts the nail in the coffin for me ever getting back into building acrylic aquariums. Probably for a lot of others as well. Costs of tanks are gonna skyrocket, everyone is going to default to glass.

 

[TaylorPilot]

So I talked to a guy at Carolina Chemical today. He said this entire thing is because some guy was using gallons of the stuff for stripping floors in a closed up area with no ventilation for 4 HOURS, and he died. Someone got sued and this ensued.

He told me we will still be able to get it and that it will never go away because it is used in 100s of different industrial processes including stripping the caffine from coffee for decaf. He said he will 100% be able to continue to sell the stuff to us in any quantity we want without any sort of liscensing...he basically said you cannot be used in products that use it as a ingredient for certain purposes (such as floor strippers), which is probably why weldon took it out for liability reasons, but the raw product can be still be bought and he would ship it to me, no problem. He made it sound like it was a big nothing burger...

 

[adova]

End To End Bonding

Is end to end bonding to get larger sheets a practical option for a non-professional?

 

[TherealplexiG]

End To End Bonding

Is end to end bonding to get larger sheets a practical option for a non-professional?

Nope, you need an air circulated oven to put buttwelded sheet/part to anneal. So that the polymer bites the acrylic and gives you a strong bond for it's intended purpose. Buttwelded non annealed weldon 40/42 joint would drop like a fly or crumble like a cookie or ...