Gluing acrylic question

[Paalk]

Hi guys, here in Norway there isn't many people making acrylic tanks so I hope you forgive me if my question is stupid.

I am in the process of building a water reservoir and a sump in acrylic. I have allready made the reservoir and have one question. Yes, I have searched but could not find any answers to my question;)

After I have joined all the seams with weld on 4, can I put a layer of weld on 16 over all the seams? I want to make sure that it will hold. And because my experience with acrylic is so limited I want to be sure that it is holding up. I don't want one of the panes to just pop out in a year if I have done something wrong.

Please advice.

Paul

[dattack]

Weldon 16 is just ugly. You can determine if your tank will hold water just buy looking at the seams.

[Paalk]

Dattack, I know 16 is not a beauty but will it work? All my panes are white except the front "dreambox" style so it is hard to see just by looking at the seems. That is if I am not misunderstanding anything and you are suppose to look after something special..? Anyway the white sheets will "hide" a lot of the 16 ugliness don't you think?

[jimmyj7090]

If you do it right with WO #4 then there is nothing to worry about.

Adding WO #16 will add additional stress to the material, so even though you would be adding material, in effect you would be weakening the final product and not making it stronger.

[skeeter_ca]

If you do decide to use 16 then i would use a very small bead just at the seams. Position the sump so the inside seam is at a V. Then add the 16 sparingly only at the joint. Rotate the sump to the other seams as you go along.

Panels won't just pop off in a catastrophic way. They will usually just start to leak.

[AZRippster]

In the future, make your own solvent, it works much better. Look on ebay for Methylene Chloride and full strength acetic acid, not the photographic stuff. Cut the Methylene Chloride with 8-10% acid and only mix approximately what you'll be using. You'll really see a difference in how well the acrylic joints melt into each other.

[Paalk]

Thanks guys, it's probably just my lack of experience that make me doubt what I have done. I haven't used 16 yet but I just filled the reservoir now. Gonna let it sit for 24 hours to see if any leaks appear. Then it's out to my workshop to start with the actual sump. Good luck to me hehe

[RxReefer]

Do you need to silicone the joints after welding them together?

[theatrus]

Do you need to silicone the joints after welding them together?


No, why?

[jcreeftankguy]

If you have doubts in your cuts they sell 1/8" to 1/2" square acrylic rod. You can weld some of that stuff in the seems and you never have to about a seem busting. I prefer the smaller eight inch stuff myself.

[MadCnty]

No, why?
Acrylic bonds much higher than silicone...