Acrylic DIY Tips?

NaH2O · 01-05-2004, 06:42 PM

The actual DIY part is not my department, but I need to be able to nag and make certain I know more than my husband

....just kidding (about the nagging..lol). We are going to DIY the sump and refugium with acrylic, and I wondered if anyone has any tips. I've read through a very lengthy thread on acrylic at RC, but I wondered if you guys have mistakes you could share or ideas you came across that you wished you would have known about before.

Thanks!!

ReefLady · 01-05-2004, 06:53 PM

Hmmm.... if Don were here ATM, I'm sure he'd be happy to help.

I know there's a specific glue you need to use which bonds the acrylic di-methyl-chloride or something like that.

Straight cuts are a given. :-)

Roughing the edges ...

And that's the most "DIY" info. you'll ever get out of me, LOL

TDEVIL · 01-05-2004, 07:27 PM

here is a link to a site that i use a bit (sometimes down)

http://www.kingvinnie.com/aquaria/di...page.asp?cat=4

i was going to do the same thing but i remembered that i have a basement

so i could use a trough tank, but i have a bit more room than most, and the only personal help that i could give you is the same as RL did

so i gave you a link, HTH

TD

NaH2O · 01-05-2004, 07:29 PM

LOL, RL! And you probably picked up those terms from Don's mutterings

.
I do understand there are specific Weld-On bonding materials we'll need to use. Wood clamps to hold the pieces together as it's curing? Is it necessary to use "needles" along the acrylic when bonding the pieces together, since this isn't a display tank we are constructing (and I'm not concerned with the beauty of it)?

NaH2O · 01-05-2004, 07:32 PM

Thanks, TD....seems we were responding at the same time. I have looked at the site you linked before...it is a good one. We also have a basement, however, for a number of reasons we chose not to make a sump room down there.

tommyp · 01-05-2004, 09:02 PM

I didn't check the site posted but here are some tips that I use.

You use solvent cement like RL said. You have to get it at an acrylic store. Depot doesn't have it. The real way to glue is with a flat syringe tipped glue bottle. I lately have been using a cheap crayola paintbrush. It has been working great.

I cut the panels on the table saw moving the acrylic slowly across the blade.

Then tape a piece of sandpaper to my table saw I run the cut edges across the sandpaper until the saw marks are gone.

Then I tape the peices together with masking tape. across the joints not along them. this usually holds them tight enough to glue.

Then I dip the paintbrush and run it along the joint. it should wet out clear if properly glued.

Pretty easy and if you have leaks you can just use a thicker glue like weldon 3 I believe thats the name (it is like super glue gel vs regular super glue) on the inside to seal the joint. it is uglier than the solvent cement but fills gaps better. If you are not making a show tank I would have the thicker glue on hand as well.

hth

Tom

Pro_builder · 01-05-2004, 10:45 PM

Ok, here is a thread that has various info about acrylic goodies.
Weld On 3 is really thin like water, Weld On 4 is a lil thicker, and Weld On 16 is Like a gel, you use this for uneven edges.
IF you need more help I will help out just Pm me and I will give you my phone #.
A router or Planer is the best way to get a smooth edge to glue.

Here is the thread.
Links to Pages with DIY info.

It is about 1/4 the way down under Acrylic info.

tommyp · 01-05-2004, 11:01 PM

gots my weldon's mixed!

a planer would definately make a nicer joint for gluing as well.

thanks for clearing up my post

t

NaH2O · 01-05-2004, 11:31 PM

Thanks Tom & Troy! We will probably have the plastics manufacturer make the cuts for us...that way we know it will be done well. Thanks, Troy, for indicating the difference in the glues...#3 = like water, etc.

How long does it need to cure?

Pro_builder · 01-06-2004, 01:07 AM

about 1 hour for Weldon 3 nd 4 and 2 hours for weldon 16

StoneyReef · 01-06-2004, 01:13 AM

OK here ya go! I use these every day,

3 - Non-flammable, water thin, very fast-setting solvent cement for bonding acrylics. Also bonds styrene, butyrate, PETG, and polycarbonate to themselves. Will not bond to cross linked acrylics.
4 - Non-flammable, water thin, moderately fast-setting solvent cement for bonding acrylics. Also bonds styrene, butyrate, PETG, and polycarbonate to themselves. Will not bond to cross linked acrylics.
5 - Water thin, slow-setting solvent cement for bonding acrylics. Also bonds styrene, butyrate, PETG and polycarbonate to themselves. Will not bond to cross linked acrylics.
16 - Fast-setting, medium bodied, high strength acrylic cement. Also bonds rigid PVC, ABS, styrene, butyrate, polycarbonate to themselves and each other, as well as other plastics and porous surfaces.
1802 - Medium-setting, light bodied cement for bonding acrylic, styrene, rigid PVC, ABS, and butyrate to themselves.
40 - Two-part, reactive, high strength cement for bonding and fabricating all acrylics to each other and to polyester, butyrate, PVC, ABS, PETG, etc. Meets Mil Spec A-8576 Type lll.
42 - Has the same physical properties as #40, but is packaged in a two component cartridge for use with a dispensing gun and mixing tip.

StoneyReef · 01-06-2004, 01:21 AM

You definately want to use weldon #4. Now if your really good with patience and clamping and you can clamp it up and let it sit undisturbed, use weldon #5 but that is a slow setting solvent.

I generally use #4 as I just get better welds as #3 just works way toooooooo fast.

I use #16 for some of the welds. I use the appropriate size acrylic tube in some PVC fittings then I use that to enter tubes and that is where i use the #16 as it welds both the acrylic tube in the PVC part and the PVC part to the tube wall for a double seal.

Generally all you need is some #4 and #16. If I could find #40 I would switch to that for entering tubes but my local supplier does not stock it. And ordering $100 worth of solvents is one heck of a lot of solvents to get it through another supplier. I have been using another weldon that is no longer listed that is supposed to be a honey colored one part that bonds pvc to acrylic i think it is like number #1042 but I am not sure right now. Stuff works great! but the long term is still up for grabs on that!

If you use #4 you should be able to handle it in about 10-20 minutes. #5 your talking hours. A full cure before adding water is about 24-48 hours. The longer the better.

So now you know why it takes a week to get a reactor done!!!! Two stages at 48hours each is 4 days just for curing!

StoneyReef · 01-06-2004, 01:28 AM

I almost got it right the honey colored is weldon 4052.

If your doing PVC or CPVC welds to acrylic this *IS* the stuff to use!

http://www.ipscorp.com/ind_html/prod...pdf/PB4052.pdf

Hooked · 01-06-2004, 09:21 AM

Hey Nikki I was wondering the other day if you had ordered the materials for the refugium yet because I had an idea

The light over my refugium is on 24/7 and casts a glow across my reef at night (cheap moonlight). If I had realized that was going to happen, I could have used a blue pane of acrylic on that end to change the color of the light. I'm sure that Meyer Plastics has a variety of colors, but I'm not sure if light would pass through the colored acrylic or not.

Just something to think about

NaH2O · 01-06-2004, 09:43 AM

Hey Katrina! Good idea. I wonder as well....I do know that Meyer Plastics has a variety of colors, as I saw them on the website. I don't know, however, how cost effective it would be. We are going to make the refugium, sump, and another "catch all" for the base of the stand. I had the idea off of another stand (mredman's I believe) where there was a stainless steel tub custom made for the bottom of the stand. We calculated the size, so in the event of a major catastophe with the sump, this extra acrylic tub will catch the water and it won't end up on the floor.

EDIT: Thank you, Stoney!!!

01-05-2004, 06:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
NaH2O Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,928 View Gallery Karma Komment	Acrylic DIY Tips? The actual DIY part is not my department, but I need to be able to nag and make certain I know more than my husband ....just kidding (about the nagging..lol). We are going to DIY the sump and refugium with acrylic, and I wondered if anyone has any tips. I've read through a very lengthy thread on acrylic at RC, but I wondered if you guys have mistakes you could share or ideas you came across that you wished you would have known about before. Thanks!! __________________ ~Nikki~

01-05-2004, 06:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
ReefLady Golden Moray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 2,025 View Gallery Karma Komment	Hmmm.... if Don were here ATM, I'm sure he'd be happy to help. I know there's a specific glue you need to use which bonds the acrylic di-methyl-chloride or something like that. Straight cuts are a given. :-) Roughing the edges ... And that's the most "DIY" info. you'll ever get out of me, LOL __________________ ~ Teri -------- "You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice."

01-05-2004, 07:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
TDEVIL Elegance coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Marion, INDIANA Posts: 1,170 View Gallery Karma Komment	here is a link to a site that i use a bit (sometimes down) http://www.kingvinnie.com/aquaria/di...page.asp?cat=4 i was going to do the same thing but i remembered that i have a basement so i could use a trough tank, but i have a bit more room than most, and the only personal help that i could give you is the same as RL did so i gave you a link, HTH TD __________________ my web site <-- needs updated

01-05-2004, 07:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
NaH2O Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,928 View Gallery Karma Komment	LOL, RL! And you probably picked up those terms from Don's mutterings . I do understand there are specific Weld-On bonding materials we'll need to use. Wood clamps to hold the pieces together as it's curing? Is it necessary to use "needles" along the acrylic when bonding the pieces together, since this isn't a display tank we are constructing (and I'm not concerned with the beauty of it)? __________________ ~Nikki~

01-05-2004, 07:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
NaH2O Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,928 View Gallery Karma Komment	Thanks, TD....seems we were responding at the same time. I have looked at the site you linked before...it is a good one. We also have a basement, however, for a number of reasons we chose not to make a sump room down there. __________________ ~Nikki~

01-05-2004, 09:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
tommyp Neon dottyback Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: VT Posts: 659 View Gallery Karma Komment	Hi I didn't check the site posted but here are some tips that I use. You use solvent cement like RL said. You have to get it at an acrylic store. Depot doesn't have it. The real way to glue is with a flat syringe tipped glue bottle. I lately have been using a cheap crayola paintbrush. It has been working great. I cut the panels on the table saw moving the acrylic slowly across the blade. Then tape a piece of sandpaper to my table saw I run the cut edges across the sandpaper until the saw marks are gone. Then I tape the peices together with masking tape. across the joints not along them. this usually holds them tight enough to glue. Then I dip the paintbrush and run it along the joint. it should wet out clear if properly glued. Pretty easy and if you have leaks you can just use a thicker glue like weldon 3 I believe thats the name (it is like super glue gel vs regular super glue) on the inside to seal the joint. it is uglier than the solvent cement but fills gaps better. If you are not making a show tank I would have the thicker glue on hand as well. hth Tom __________________ "I think that you can start the bombs of oceanrunner. They are good bombs for a rollback." 190g (60x30x25) upgrade in progress, 90g basement sump Check it out here!

01-05-2004, 10:45 PM	#7 (permalink)
Pro_builder DIY Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Oxford, Iowa Posts: 1,746 View Gallery Karma Komment	Ok, here is a thread that has various info about acrylic goodies. Weld On 3 is really thin like water, Weld On 4 is a lil thicker, and Weld On 16 is Like a gel, you use this for uneven edges. IF you need more help I will help out just Pm me and I will give you my phone #. A router or Planer is the best way to get a smooth edge to glue. Here is the thread. Links to Pages with DIY info. It is about 1/4 the way down under Acrylic info. __________________ -Troy 180 gallon Reef, 3- 250 XM 15K MH Electronic ballast, 380 watts VHO Actinics, 2- 5 watt LED Moon lights, 100 gal rubbermaid sump, 75 gallon Fuge, ETSS 600 Skimmer, 4700-5400 gph pump for return, Octopus 3000 controller, Iwaki 40 RL skimmer pump, 2- 65w PC 10K fuge lights, 2 55 gallon barrels, Custom light oak stand and hood, misc pumps, extra 600 gallon rated tank size protein skimmer. Purple tang, yellow tang, pacific blue tang, 2 green chromis, 1 Sand sifting star, snails, hermit crabs, 2 mated perculas, pulsing Xenia, Anenome, mushrooms, ricordia, zoanthids, kenya tree 1 1/2" tall, misc other hitchhiker stuff. DIY is my dream... ...well OK the only way I can afford this Addiction!! Just as the light goes on in my head... ... I break the bulb!!

01-05-2004, 11:01 PM	#8 (permalink)
tommyp Neon dottyback Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: VT Posts: 659 View Gallery Karma Komment	thanks pro gots my weldon's mixed! a planer would definately make a nicer joint for gluing as well. thanks for clearing up my post t __________________ "I think that you can start the bombs of oceanrunner. They are good bombs for a rollback." 190g (60x30x25) upgrade in progress, 90g basement sump Check it out here!

01-05-2004, 11:31 PM	#9 (permalink)
NaH2O Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,928 View Gallery Karma Komment	Thanks Tom & Troy! We will probably have the plastics manufacturer make the cuts for us...that way we know it will be done well. Thanks, Troy, for indicating the difference in the glues...#3 = like water, etc. How long does it need to cure? __________________ ~Nikki~

01-06-2004, 01:07 AM	#10 (permalink)
Pro_builder DIY Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Oxford, Iowa Posts: 1,746 View Gallery Karma Komment	about 1 hour for Weldon 3 nd 4 and 2 hours for weldon 16 __________________ -Troy 180 gallon Reef, 3- 250 XM 15K MH Electronic ballast, 380 watts VHO Actinics, 2- 5 watt LED Moon lights, 100 gal rubbermaid sump, 75 gallon Fuge, ETSS 600 Skimmer, 4700-5400 gph pump for return, Octopus 3000 controller, Iwaki 40 RL skimmer pump, 2- 65w PC 10K fuge lights, 2 55 gallon barrels, Custom light oak stand and hood, misc pumps, extra 600 gallon rated tank size protein skimmer. Purple tang, yellow tang, pacific blue tang, 2 green chromis, 1 Sand sifting star, snails, hermit crabs, 2 mated perculas, pulsing Xenia, Anenome, mushrooms, ricordia, zoanthids, kenya tree 1 1/2" tall, misc other hitchhiker stuff. DIY is my dream... ...well OK the only way I can afford this Addiction!! Just as the light goes on in my head... ... I break the bulb!!

01-06-2004, 01:13 AM	#11 (permalink)
StoneyReef No Longer a Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Minnesota Posts: 243 View Gallery Karma Komment	OK here ya go! I use these every day, 3 - Non-flammable, water thin, very fast-setting solvent cement for bonding acrylics. Also bonds styrene, butyrate, PETG, and polycarbonate to themselves. Will not bond to cross linked acrylics. 4 - Non-flammable, water thin, moderately fast-setting solvent cement for bonding acrylics. Also bonds styrene, butyrate, PETG, and polycarbonate to themselves. Will not bond to cross linked acrylics. 5 - Water thin, slow-setting solvent cement for bonding acrylics. Also bonds styrene, butyrate, PETG and polycarbonate to themselves. Will not bond to cross linked acrylics. 16 - Fast-setting, medium bodied, high strength acrylic cement. Also bonds rigid PVC, ABS, styrene, butyrate, polycarbonate to themselves and each other, as well as other plastics and porous surfaces. 1802 - Medium-setting, light bodied cement for bonding acrylic, styrene, rigid PVC, ABS, and butyrate to themselves. 40 - Two-part, reactive, high strength cement for bonding and fabricating all acrylics to each other and to polyester, butyrate, PVC, ABS, PETG, etc. Meets Mil Spec A-8576 Type lll. 42 - Has the same physical properties as #40, but is packaged in a two component cartridge for use with a dispensing gun and mixing tip.

01-06-2004, 01:21 AM	#12 (permalink)
StoneyReef No Longer a Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Minnesota Posts: 243 View Gallery Karma Komment	You definately want to use weldon #4. Now if your really good with patience and clamping and you can clamp it up and let it sit undisturbed, use weldon #5 but that is a slow setting solvent. I generally use #4 as I just get better welds as #3 just works way toooooooo fast. I use #16 for some of the welds. I use the appropriate size acrylic tube in some PVC fittings then I use that to enter tubes and that is where i use the #16 as it welds both the acrylic tube in the PVC part and the PVC part to the tube wall for a double seal. Generally all you need is some #4 and #16. If I could find #40 I would switch to that for entering tubes but my local supplier does not stock it. And ordering $100 worth of solvents is one heck of a lot of solvents to get it through another supplier. I have been using another weldon that is no longer listed that is supposed to be a honey colored one part that bonds pvc to acrylic i think it is like number #1042 but I am not sure right now. Stuff works great! but the long term is still up for grabs on that! If you use #4 you should be able to handle it in about 10-20 minutes. #5 your talking hours. A full cure before adding water is about 24-48 hours. The longer the better. So now you know why it takes a week to get a reactor done!!!! Two stages at 48hours each is 4 days just for curing!

01-06-2004, 01:28 AM	#13 (permalink)
StoneyReef No Longer a Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Minnesota Posts: 243 View Gallery Karma Komment	I almost got it right the honey colored is weldon 4052. If your doing PVC or CPVC welds to acrylic this IS the stuff to use! http://www.ipscorp.com/ind_html/prod...pdf/PB4052.pdf Last edited by StoneyReef : 01-06-2004 at 01:31 AM.

01-06-2004, 09:21 AM	#14 (permalink)
Hooked Tuxedo Urchin Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 287 View Gallery Karma Komment	Hey Nikki I was wondering the other day if you had ordered the materials for the refugium yet because I had an idea The light over my refugium is on 24/7 and casts a glow across my reef at night (cheap moonlight). If I had realized that was going to happen, I could have used a blue pane of acrylic on that end to change the color of the light. I'm sure that Meyer Plastics has a variety of colors, but I'm not sure if light would pass through the colored acrylic or not. Just something to think about __________________ Katrina 90 Gal AGA with 2-250W 10k AB DE MH, 220W VHO, Turboflotor 1000, GEO calcium reactor, Pacific Coast chiller, DIY phosphate reactor and nilsen kalk reactor, sps, clams, zoanthids, rose BTA, ocellaris clown, 2 green mandarins, royal gramma, purple tang, sargassum trigger, flame hawkfish, coral beauty, neon dottyback, purple and blue linckia star, brittlestars, snails, snails, snails

01-06-2004, 09:43 AM	#15 (permalink)
NaH2O Contributing Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 1,928 View Gallery Karma Komment	Hey Katrina! Good idea. I wonder as well....I do know that Meyer Plastics has a variety of colors, as I saw them on the website. I don't know, however, how cost effective it would be. We are going to make the refugium, sump, and another "catch all" for the base of the stand. I had the idea off of another stand (mredman's I believe) where there was a stainless steel tub custom made for the bottom of the stand. We calculated the size, so in the event of a major catastophe with the sump, this extra acrylic tub will catch the water and it won't end up on the floor. EDIT: Thank you, Stoney!!! __________________ ~Nikki~

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)