diy Acrylic tank questions..... any ideas

[Pinkfish]

After seeing a thread about acrylic tanks on here just a few qustions if anyone knows the answers.

1- Do u need a special type of acrylic for a tank?
2- What thickness does the acrylic need to be?
3- Do u use silicone or acrylic glue to join it all togeather?
4- Is it easy to drill through to add tank connectors ect?

Thanks for the info guys
Mike

[MR Teee]

1 - Not sure, not to my knowledge
2 - Depends on alot, size of tank and bracing to be used
3 - You chemically bond the pieces together, so in effect it is one solid lump. Silicone does not work on acrylic.
4 - Yep very easy to drill.

[Tangman]

Hi Mike

1- I think there is a special ultra clear type that they use in USA
2- The thickness depends on the height its going to be as Adam said
3- Its special glue that has to be cured in a UV light chamber thats why they are never built on site like glass tanks.
4- Acrylic is very easy to drill thats the beauty of it.
5- The only drawback is it scratches easy if your not careful
6- I think it will be impossible to build your own due to the special method used to make them.
Have a word with the guy at (greek god of the ocean) Acrylic Tanks in the Midlands, he will give you some info.
HTH Twiggy:D

[TerraC]

Here's a little info from a guy who builds sumps in america. gives you a little idea on how to work with acrylic.

http://www.melevsreef.com/29g/sump/design.html

[moorish]

i think it is a special acrylic they use,the thickness depends on the depth you want.they are chemically bonded in one piece thats why they are made at the factory and they are easy to drill.derek

[Pinkfish]

thanks for the info and help guys much appreciated :) :)

you guys are worth your weight in gold !!!

Mike

[micky]

hi guys ive just built an 8x3x2.5 aout of acrylic with no probs its in water testing stage now but sofar no leaks :)




mike

[Tangman]

Hi Micky can you post what you used ie what thickness acrylic did you use and what type of bonding agent was used and how you cured it. Anything that would be of use to others that want to have a go, if you do a write up i will pin it up in the diy section so people can refer to it.Thanks Twiggy:D:D

[micky]

hi m8 not very good at write ups but i used 15mm acrylic and ema plastic weld to weld it but its like water u need a needle tip bottle to use it and left it for 24 hours then i mixed some acrlic shavings to the glue to mak it thickerand went round all the joints again and left it for another 24 hours and filled it with water and am going to leave it full for a week to make sure it holdsmike

[JAYJT29]

Hi Micky, looks like a good build you got going on there :) Did you get any advice before you built it? Ive always liked acrylic tanks, but as Eric says they can scratch real easy, Was it expensive?
Cheers
Jay