Acrylic questions

[Jim_Jones]

Hope some one can set me straight on a few issues.

I want to build a tank with wood (covered in epoxy) frame - ie, wood corners, top frame, bottom frame with acrylic viewing panels in between the wood frames ( hope I am explaining that right). Think of an old steel framed aquarium from the dark ages. Except I want to use wood for the frame.

So what can i use to bond/water seal the acrylic panels to epoxy covered wood frames ?

I am in a 3rd world country so no local supply of acrylic at all. I have to import everything. It is a lot closer, easier and cheaper to import from China where i am. I have been reading the threads here and keep reading about what a disaster Chinese acrylic is. I have little choice but to use Chinese. Does anyone know of at least a medium quality acrylic that can be sourced in China? I dont need to bond acrylic to acrylic if I can find a way to bond acrylic to epoxy. So it will mainly be a need for acrylic that does not bow too much.

Any information gratefully received.

 

[Anirban]

Anyone have any good guess for this #reefsquad

 

[Larry L]

By any chance are you the @Jim_Jones that imports beer into Kathmandu?

 

[Jim_Jones]

@Larry L

Not I sir. But I would love to go to Kathmandu one day. On the bucket list.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Pretty interesting concept.

But here's the thing; the thickness of the acrylic you will need is the same thickness if you simply build an all acrylic tank. You'll just need the acrylic and the correct numbered Weld-on.

If you still want the wood frame look, add it after the tank is built with whatever finish you want. It would just be cosmetic, and now easily added. I did this to one corner of my tank holding it in place with Sticky Tack.

 

[Jim_Jones]

Pretty interesting concept.

But here's the thing; the thickness of the acrylic you will need is the same thickness if you simply build an all acrylic tank. You'll just need the acrylic and the correct numbered Weld-on.

Thanks for your input.

Its a long story so I wont go into it, but I need to bond the acrylic to the wood frame. I do not want to do acrylic/acrylic joins. I cant risk a possible leak/failure and I have never done any acrylic work before. Glass, yes, acrylic no. I feel now is not the time to learn the art of acrylic joining on this project. So acrylic to wood if I can find an adhesive that will bond the acrylic to the wood and water seal it is the way to go for this project. It absolutely cannot fail under any circumstance.

The other thing is I need to use Chinese materials as the shipping is way way cheaper from China to where I am. If I had to bring supplies from the USA the shipping alone is both a nightmare and uber expensive, whereas China is much simpler and cheaper.

From what I have read so far, the main issue with Chinese Acrylic is that it is hard to bond or if it does bond the joints are weak. For this reason most aquarium builders wont use it.

Another issue is I want to get either a laser cutter or a CNC router to cut the parts to build this. So glass is out as I cant fabricate it. Hence Acrylic. But I also get my requirements are very niche so this is going to be difficult. I think.

 

[crusso1993]

Perhaps @Floyd R Turbo can give some input on this as he has worked a lot with acrylic...

 

[VSVP bet]

Very interesting. I have no experience with acrylic to wood, but have successfully bonded acrylic to acrylic many times. However, it has always been produced in the US, so I cant speak to bonding issues of Chinese acrylic. Hope more info can come to you, out of curiosity, what country are you from if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Jim_Jones]

Very interesting. I have no experience with acrylic to wood, but have successfully bonded acrylic to acrylic many times. However, it has always been produced in the US, so I cant speak to bonding issues of Chinese acrylic. Hope more info can come to you, out of curiosity, what country are you from if you dont mind me asking?

Thanks for the input. I am in East Africa. Sea port for unloading a container is on the Indian Ocean coast line of Africa, so much easier to receive a Chinese shipment then one from the other side of the world. Cost for a 20 ft container from China to here is about 5K USD. From the USA its closer to about 12-14K USD. Pretty big difference right there, so I would love to find a Chinese source of Acrylic. I need to make about 24 tanks. Its for my own personal kicks. But want to make a prototype first to see if the concept works out or not.

One issue is I have read here is that one cant join laser cut acrylic. That is, acrylic to acrylic. So if I cant join laser cut material then i figure the Chinese, so called "JUNK" acrylic might be OK if I am using a sealant to join it to the epoxy covered wood as there is no need to use the usual "MC" joining method. I may well have all this wrong and I know you guys will see all the weak spots before i go too far.

Edit: Off to bed now, its late here. Hopefully in the morning I will have some replies from some of the acrylic gurus who seem to hang out here (from the reading I have done here....and the reef-pi thing is amazing and so so interesting!)

 

[Jim_Jones]

So maybe something like this could work......I guess no way to know but to try a small test.

This jumps out to me.....

"As an elastic joint sealer for:

- Containers, tanks, and silos.
- Reservoirs or water retaining structures.
- Excellent adhesion on all cement-based materials, brick, ceramics, glass, metals, wood, epoxy, polyester and acrylic resin.
- Good weathering and water resistance.
- Non-corrosive."

Seems to be what I am after.


Sikaflex®-11 FC


Sikaflex®-11 FC is a one-component, gun-grade, adhesive and sealing compound of permanent elasticity. This dual-purpose material is based on a special moisture-cured polyurethane with an accelerated curing time that meets ASTM C920 Type S, Grade NS, Class 12.5, Use NT, I, M, G, A, O. and Federal Specification TT-S-00230C.



USE
As an elastic adhesive for:

• Cover plates, gaskets and coverings.
• Acoustic ceiling tiles.
• Floor moldings and door sills.
• Light weight construction materials.
• Wood or metal and door frames.
• Roof tiles.

As an elastic joint sealer for:

• Air ducts and high vacuum systems.
• Containers, tanks, and silos.
• Gaskets in openings in walls or floors for ducts, piling, etc.
• Reservoirs or water retaining structures.
• Aluminum fabrication.
• Bolted lap joints.

CHARACTERISTICS AND ADVANTAGES

• Excellent adhesion on all cement-based materials, brick, ceramics, glass, metals, wood, epoxy, polyester and acrylic resin.
• Fast cure rate.
• Good weathering and water resistance.
• Non-corrosive.
• Can be painted over with water, oil, and rubber-based paints. (Preliminary tests recommended).
• High durability.

COLOR
White

PACKAGING
Disposable 10.1 fl. oz., moisture-proof composite cartridges, 24/case.