Back again...more questions, sorry y'all

[tory990]

Hi guys I know it's been a bit. Time and money constraints made me not able to work on the tank like I wanted. But I'm back now and here's my progress. I've got both pieces of plastic off he had on there and cleaned the majority of the residue left. I still have some areas that I can feel sticky residue left on it. I'm using a scraper but it doesn't seem to want to come up fully. 1st question is there a product I can use to remove it safely without melting the acrylic? I don't care about scratches it's on the bottom so no one will see it. I just don't want to weaken the acrylic in any way.
I found some 12x12 panels and I got 3 of them one to test drilling and an extra just in case. I also got a hole saw and some weld on. I'm considering just sealing the bottom completely and drilling the back. 2nd question, looking at this back panel do you guys think I can safely drill this back panel? Since it's blue I wondered if that coloring had changed the acrylic strength or consistency. I'll attach pictures of the bottom holes and the back so you guys can see and see what you think. Thanks for your help.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm not sure I'd be so concerned about the residue but I would be (I think) if I'm looking at it correctly the crack around one of the holes. Was the reason the plastic was there to seal the crack around the hole?

 

[tory990]

I'm not sure I'd be so concerned about the residue but I would be (I think) if I'm looking at it correctly the crack around one of the holes. Was the reason the plastic was there to seal the crack around the hole?

I'm not 100% sure if they put it there to cover the crack or what. He didn't mention there being a crack. I found it when I removed those paper thin pieces of plexiglass he had put on it. It's hairline. I'm going to seal it up with the weld on then cover it back over with thick acrylic and redrill the holes. That's part of my dilemma I'm considering just sealing it completely and drilling the back to make a top overflow instead of the bottom. I wasn't sure about drilling the back. Either way I'm going to be drilling something just have to decide whether I want to try to keep it in the bottom or not. If I keep the bottom I also have to drill holes in the stand whereas if I do the top I won't have to. I was worried about the residue because I know the acrylic won't bond if there is anything in the way of the bond.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm not 100% sure if they put it there to cover the crack or what. He didn't mention there being a crack. I found it when I removed those paper thin pieces of plexiglass he had put on it. It's hairline. I'm going to seal it up with the weld on then cover it back over with thick acrylic and redrill the holes. That's part of my dilemma I'm considering just sealing it completely and drilling the back to make a top overflow instead of the bottom. I wasn't sure about drilling the back. Either way I'm going to be drilling something just have to decide whether I want to try to keep it in the bottom or not. If I keep the bottom I also have to drill holes in the stand whereas if I do the top I won't have to. I was worried about the residue because I know the acrylic won't bond if there is anything in the way of the bond.

I'm surprised that there is 'sticky residue' left. But - what you're saying makes sense. My guess is that they were trying to 'fix' the crack with the small piece.

 

[tory990]

I'm surprised that there is 'sticky residue' left. But - what you're saying makes sense. My guess is that they were trying to 'fix' the crack with the small piece.

There is some. I'm fairly certain they used silicone or something and not actual acrylic cement. He said he used flex seal which I think is what was actually inside the holes I had to carve out. It was a rubbery material that did mostly peel off. Maybe he used flex seal on the whole thing a lot of it did peel off easily. This part that's left is like when you have a sticker on something and you pull most of it off but it leaves a residue behind. I just wish he'd said oh hey there's a crack there I sealed thats why it's a mess there but it's holding water. And it was he had it outside and it rained in it. I could see liquid like under it but I'm not sure if it was just the flex seal moving or what. I took it off because I felt eventually it would leak if it didn't already. I plan to fill it properly then recover it with real acrylic and pray that holds.