DIY Acrylic Tank

[kbolick]

Anyone ever built a customer tank from plexiglass? If so, how difficult is this? How did you seal the pieces together to prevent leaking?

[Geoff]

how big of a tank are you talking? i have built small ones using the 1/4 you can get at HD. i have not found a source for the thicker yet to make a bigger tank.

as long as you use the correct cement, the bonds are as strong as the acrylic is. the bigger the tank the smooter the cuts need to be. my 45g refugium was made out of 1/4 acrylic. it has a center brace though. you would definately need a thicker acrylic if you wanted to do it without the center brace.

G~

[David Grigor]

Depending on the size of course but it's not particularly difficult.

It does take practice to get clear joints. Definately should practice first by making sumps etc. where its okay if you get a little sloppy while practicing....

[wanareef]

Most tap plastics carry the thicker stuff up to 1" and thicker on special order

Edges must be straight and square, most guys use weldon #4 because it's a little slower drying than #3. For very small gaps, #16 works. Much thickersd compared to #4 which is like water.

There is a technique of using "pins" in betwen the pieces to be "joined". What this does is raise the pieces up high enough maybe .032" so when you apply the "solvent" it will "wick" in between the two pieces and soften at the same time. After several seconds have gone by, you pull the "pins" out and just let the weight of the "top" piece settle into the softened area's. You aren't really "gluing" the pieces together but actually softening it up to "weld" together so to speak.

hth