Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Do It Yourself
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 07/14/2016, 03:01 PM   #4826
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
 
Floyd R Turbo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: West Des Moines, IA
Posts: 4,265
Blog Entries: 15
Pretty sure I use this

http://www.homedepot.com/p/OOK-100-f...0138/100204195

Which is 28 gauge, or 0.3211 mm. so 0.45mm is too thick, I agree. I would think that with a joint that is too far apart, what would happen is that you would need to fill the solvent with so much in order to get contact that this would allow the solvent to evaporate more quickly and perhaps even run out of the joint, and the edges of the joint would not get much contact time with the solvent due to this also.

With the joint "tighter", capillary action will keep the solvent fully in the joint and all areas will get adequate contact time.

I think this is your issue at this point. Too wide of a joint gap + fast solvent = quick evaporation = no squish out.

Tighten the joint and you should be better off


__________________
Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho"
General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
Floyd R Turbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/16/2016, 07:28 AM   #4827
fishgasm
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Mars
Posts: 22
Seems this baby is holding up well!
Did a 24 hour water test. After peeling protective sheet. Seams dont seem that bad.
But im an anal person when it comes to perfection. Thanks ya'll for your support. Without ya'll there would be none of this. Especially James and Bud.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG-20160715-WA0004.jpg (42.9 KB, 49 views)
fishgasm is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/22/2016, 03:41 AM   #4828
fishgasm
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Mars
Posts: 22
How to work with 2 part?
For instance bonding other than transparent surfaces? how to apply on seams?
how to jig it or clamp it? working time etc..


fishgasm is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/25/2016, 02:04 PM   #4829
Crawdads57
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 53
Dumb question about using acrylic in general. What do I need to know if I want to use acrylic baffles in a DIY glass sump / refugium? I know that silicone doesn't bond great to acrylic, but these aren't weight-bearing walls.

Is it true that acrylic expands in water? Is it true that acrylic expands more than glass at the same increase in temp?


Crawdads57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/25/2016, 02:17 PM   #4830
Acrylics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,230
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawdads57 View Post
Dumb question about using acrylic in general. What do I need to know if I want to use acrylic baffles in a DIY glass sump / refugium? I know that silicone doesn't bond great to acrylic, but these aren't weight-bearing walls.

Is it true that acrylic expands in water? Is it true that acrylic expands more than glass at the same increase in temp?
Yes, acrylic expands in water, and some with heat but not as much as one might think. It expands mostly because it absorbs water. If you leave 1/16" of slop on each side (1/8" total) - you'll be good. It won't expand that much and gives you some room to fit it without having to wedge it in place.

Best way to do it is to silicone a strip of acrylic on each side of the baffle on the sump wall, thin 1/2" wide strip or a little stronger is better, and 1/4" acrylic for these strips is just fine. GE 1200 series silicone is very good for what you're doing and not expensive not particularly difficult to find.

HTH,
James


Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/25/2016, 02:50 PM   #4831
Crawdads57
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 53
Cool - thank you! I was also considering using acrylic as "walls" at the ends of glass tanks for an upcoming build. Attached is a rough schematic. Do you think I could get away with this?

Imagine that the gray walls on the interior of the top 3 tanks were black acrylic. The widths are approx 8" - I would use black silicone I guess. What do you think? I'm just trying to avoid overflow boxes for a more uncluttered look.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg New plan.jpg (25.3 KB, 28 views)
Crawdads57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 10:18 AM   #4832
Acrylics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,230
You might get away with it.. I wouldn't trust silicone itself, but would opt to put the strips in. One of my concerns is making the overflow areas too "messy" - if it won't get seen, perhaps it wouldn't matter either way?
I'd keep the drain holes up high if ya can though, just in case it won't hold as you'd like.

James


Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 10:48 AM   #4833
Crawdads57
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 53
The more I think about it the less I want to use the acrylic. I was just using it to give me the black color and to be able to have the slots at the top. I think glass would give me good concealment and would be sturdier. The glass would still give me total control over the water height in each tank. The only thing I would be missing out on would be the slits.

That's a pretty big problem though. Fish are going to go right over the top of that thing if I can't figure out another way to "strain" the overflow water. Maybe I could have black acrylic cross pieces over the top of the tank covering my overflow areas (one on each end), with acrylic "combs" glued so that they come down from the top and meet the glass walls... I need someone that is good at cutting and fabricating acrylic. These guys online want to charge a huge setup for setting up a CNC for these custom pieces with the slits.

Does anyone know where I can get acrylic pieces cut for a reasonable price?


Crawdads57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 11:00 AM   #4834
Acrylics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,230
you can use Gutter-Guard if ya like. Just silicone it onto an acrylic frame or whatever looks nice? it'd give you better flow and smaller openings that a slotted acrylic piece

James


Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 11:49 AM   #4835
Crawdads57
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 53
Wow that's not a bad idea at all! Think I could paint it black? Like with krylon, or what would be the best paint to use?


Crawdads57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 02:36 PM   #4836
Acrylics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,230
sure you could paint it, but IMO it'd be simpler/easier to just make the frame from black acrylic. Black acrylic, black Gutter-Guard, and black silicone if'n ya wish.. If you did it right - would look slick

James


Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 03:28 PM   #4837
Crawdads57
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 53
Ah, when I went looking for the gutter guard I didn;t see any black - I guess I assumed it wouldn't be very popular in black - I'll look harder.


Crawdads57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 03:32 PM   #4838
Crawdads57
Registered Member.
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 53
Yep, sure enough - there are all kinds of styles in black. How about this one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/3-ft-Lock...-253/203649436 ?


Crawdads57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 07/26/2016, 06:06 PM   #4839
Acrylics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,230
looks like it should work well. Sucks that you'd have to buy that much, but we've all been there

James


Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/06/2016, 08:03 AM   #4840
fishgasm
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Mars
Posts: 22
Sir James,
Crosslinked acrylic can be solvent welded? Any difference in strength if any compared to the conventional one? any pointers?


fishgasm is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/06/2016, 09:45 AM   #4841
karimwassef
Registered Member
 
karimwassef's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 11,033
I use plastic rabbit fencing.


__________________
Failure isn't an option It's a requirement. 660g 380inwall+280smp/surge S/L/Soft/Maxima/RBTA/Clown/Chromis/Anthias/Tang/Mandarin/Jawfish/Goby/Wrasse/D'back. DIY 12' Skimmer ActuatedSurge ConcreteScape
karimwassef is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/09/2016, 02:18 PM   #4842
Acrylics
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,230
Quote:
Originally Posted by fishgasm View Post
Sir James,
Crosslinked acrylic can be solvent welded? Any difference in strength if any compared to the conventional one? any pointers?
not at all. It's molecular chains are effectively infinite, so not really soluble. You could try casting the joint, but the 40 won't have much to bite into since it's cross-linked so I wouldn't count on it in any way. For all practical purposes, it's not viable for any sort of chemical bonding.

James


Acrylics is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 12:09 AM   #4843
cyps
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 11
Cutting the top of my 140G tall TruVu acrylic system

I got this 140 Gallon (60"x18"x30") TruVu acrylic fish-tank from CL few months back and I am setting this up.
The acrylic thickness is 1/2"
This has a standard configuration with a top bracing and has just 2 small openings to interface within the inside of tank. I want to cut the top of it and make the openings larger or if possible remove entirely or reduce the thickness of the center bracing as well if that won't compromise the structural stability of the tank. Currently the center bracing is 6 inches wide. Also what tool can be used to cut the top ?

Kindly advise on this.



Last edited by cyps; 08/11/2016 at 12:15 AM.
cyps is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 08:05 AM   #4844
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
 
Floyd R Turbo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: West Des Moines, IA
Posts: 4,265
Blog Entries: 15
Is that 30" tall? 1/2" is pretty thin to begin with for 30 tall...pics would help. Pretty sure TruVu is the one that threatened James with a lawsuit after he told everyone what he thought of their tank construction once...if that tells you anything


__________________
Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho"
General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
Floyd R Turbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 11:34 AM   #4845
cyps
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
Is that 30" tall? 1/2" is pretty thin to begin with for 30 tall...pics would help. Pretty sure TruVu is the one that threatened James with a lawsuit after he told everyone what he thought of their tank construction once...if that tells you anything
Please find the images attached. Yes it is 30" tall. I wish I can cut at least the openings wider for hanging couple of AI Hydra over them.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg O2PmHDp - Imgur.jpg (28.7 KB, 42 views)
File Type: jpg kZSHGVx - Imgur.jpg (33.8 KB, 37 views)
File Type: jpg iqVElwd - Imgur.jpg (32.9 KB, 32 views)
File Type: jpg 20160811_103130.jpg.jpg (31.4 KB, 32 views)
cyps is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 11:53 AM   #4846
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
 
Floyd R Turbo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: West Des Moines, IA
Posts: 4,265
Blog Entries: 15
I wouldn't touch it. It's underbuilt to begin with, and old, anything you do is going to make it weaker.


__________________
Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho"
General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
Floyd R Turbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 12:14 PM   #4847
cyps
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 11
Ah, it sucks. Thanks anyways for a quick reply.

I have asked a question on the lighting section on how to negotiate with this poor top configuration of the tank, if anyone can advise on that same.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2594162

Meanwhile, should I be concerned coz you say it is under built. Do you think I should be better off getting rid of this and getting a new one ?


cyps is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 01:06 PM   #4848
cyps
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 11
I found this Acrylic aquarium fish tank restore service in our area. Do you think it is a good idea, I can ask them if they can re-brace and seal the top of the tank in a better suitable manner, like may be with 3 openings and 2x3" cross braces ?


cyps is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 01:30 PM   #4849
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
 
Floyd R Turbo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: West Des Moines, IA
Posts: 4,265
Blog Entries: 15
That is an option I suppose, but I wouldn't cut the top off or anything. That tank in the pics has very small diameter corners, probably 1" or 1.5", and that's where your crack-out is going to occur (surprised it hasn't already).

Openings on the new top and preferrably the cutouts you make should be 4" diameter. The trick is going to be cutting the existing top so that your cutout is nice and clean instead of jagged and disjointed (meaning the transition from a straight line to the corner is smooth). This might not seem like it makes much of a difference but it does, any sharp edge or transition or rough cut is going to be a place where stress focuses.

one way to do that would be to use a pattern jig on top of the tank (bearing at the base of the cutting bit) and then laminate a new top on and use the pattern to but both the new cutout and make the existing one larger.

Another way would be to make the existing opening bigger first (making sure to have 4" diameter corners and smooth lines, no bumps/juts/sharp points) and then laminate the addtional piece on (rough cutting holes so that you could add things like clamps when bonding) and use a flush cutter to cut the holes in the new top, with the bearing riding on the existing top that you just modded.

The latter would be easier as you don't have to make a pattern jig and find a bit that would work. The trick is going to be modding the existing top correctly, you don't want to take out material in a manner that would generally weaken the tank to the point that no thickness of new top would really be good enough.


__________________
Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho"
General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
Floyd R Turbo is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 08/11/2016, 03:45 PM   #4850
cyps
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
That is an option I suppose, but I wouldn't cut the top off or anything. That tank in the pics has very small diameter corners, probably 1" or 1.5", and that's where your crack-out is going to occur (surprised it hasn't already).

Openings on the new top and preferrably the cutouts you make should be 4" diameter. The trick is going to be cutting the existing top so that your cutout is nice and clean instead of jagged and disjointed (meaning the transition from a straight line to the corner is smooth). This might not seem like it makes much of a difference but it does, any sharp edge or transition or rough cut is going to be a place where stress focuses.

one way to do that would be to use a pattern jig on top of the tank (bearing at the base of the cutting bit) and then laminate a new top on and use the pattern to but both the new cutout and make the existing one larger.

Another way would be to make the existing opening bigger first (making sure to have 4" diameter corners and smooth lines, no bumps/juts/sharp points) and then laminate the addtional piece on (rough cutting holes so that you could add things like clamps when bonding) and use a flush cutter to cut the holes in the new top, with the bearing riding on the existing top that you just modded.

The latter would be easier as you don't have to make a pattern jig and find a bit that would work. The trick is going to be modding the existing top correctly, you don't want to take out material in a manner that would generally weaken the tank to the point that no thickness of new top would really be good enough.
What do you mean by small diameter corners ? Do you mean the top openings are aligned towards the front spaced at only just 2.25" from the front where as there is like ~8" space from the back to the opening ? If so, yeah the openings are mis aligned and placed towards the front of the tank.

I have been asking around for this in the SF bay area for someone who can cut out the existing top and laminate an ideal new one with larger openings and aligned right. No luck so far.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
Openings on the new top and preferrably the cutouts you make should be 4" diameter.
What do you mean by that ? do you mean there should be 4" worth acrylic from the edges before the opening start ?
Do you like the center bracing to left as is ?



Last edited by cyps; 08/11/2016 at 04:10 PM. Reason: grammar
cyps is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:09 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.