225gal Acrylic (3/4") Potential Leak? Seperation? Help?

[Breezeman2323]

Hey all,

Im new here but have been an avid aquarium enthusiast for the better part of 10 years. Im currently looking to buy a 225gal 3/4" acrylic tank. The only problem is, there is about a 6" section on the bottom right of the front pane that is potentially separating. Now the tank is priced to sell, $300 for a 225gal tank, crazy i know.

So my question to all you knowledgeable folks is this:

Can it be fixed? and if so what does it require?

I am very handy, i have no problem sealing/fixing the tank. I just need to know exactly what it requires so that i dont end up with a house full of water at some point.

Attached are 3 photos to give you all an idea of whats going on. Ive read a fair share of acrylic fixes with chemical bonds. Also have read about silicone fixes that i cant imagine would work all too well. I want to be able to trust this fix for the foreseeable
future.

Thanks all, and i hope to hear what you all have to say!

Thanks!

 

[Ron Reefman]

With 225g of water inside it, I wouldn't take it for $30.

It can be fixed, but the odds are, the fix will be kind of ugly... and I still wouldn't trust it.

But that's just my opinion and I'm a guy who had a 180g glass tank split open along the bottom back and spray 30+ gallons of water an hour out at the wall behind the tank.

 

[lapin]

Has the seam seperated? Is there a gap?

 

[Breezeman2323]

Has the seam seperated? Is there a gap?

no it has not seperated and has yet to leak

 

[lapin]

So at this point you cannot fill a gap thats not there.

This is my opinion;
You can run a bead of thick solvent like Scigrip 40 or 16 down the inside of the tank.This will keep it from leaking. It will do nothing to prevent it from coming apart tomorrow.
You can make the seam stronger. You will need to run a square piece of clear acrylic down the inside of the seam. They make square rod. Be sure to get the rod thats flat on 2 sides. This will need to be solvent welded to both panels.

What you see now could be the first sign of all of the tank seams coming apart.

 

[Reef-junky]

I’m with Ron on this one not worth it. If that side blows out your going to have a big mess.

 

[Lingwendil]

Cut your losses by selling the tank as a terrarium, and grab a new one.

 

[lapin]

...

 

[BornHandy]

This is pretty involved, so I hesitate to mention it, but on the off chance you have the tools and want to try. It can be repaired, but it's a lot of work, and the repair would be slightly visible.

The "pro" fix would be to use a router and end mill to plow out the gap completely. In other words, imagine cutting a 1/4" slot centered exactly on the gap, running the entire length, and almost the exact depth of the joint. Now, you have a much wider gap with a flat bottom, parallel sides and doesn't quite penetrate into the display.

Now cut a rectangular acrylic "plug" that fits exactly into the gap, and glue it in with acrylic solvent. After the solvent sets, sand and polish up the tank again. If it were done right, the inside of the tank would never be touched, and the outside would look almost as good as new. The "plug" would be slightly visible, so you may not want to try.

Words of warning, the feed rate and rpm's of the bit have to be just right, or you will just melt the acrylic, and probably break your end mill off in the gap.

Assuming you have the tools, and if you are going to scrap it anyway, might be fun to DIY.

 

[BornHandy]

Another approach would involve cutting off the end entirely. I would probably use a clamp on straight edge and a hand held router with an acrylic "o-flute" bit.

With the end cut off, you would clean up (scrape saw marks, and smooth out) the cut edges and weld the end back on.

Acrylic that is rough or dirty may not weld very well, so you would either need to replace the end piece with a new one, or clean up any saw marks and reuse it after it was polished to "like new" condition.

 

[KrisReef]

That tank is a time bomb imo, but it can be fixed. @lapin has a good fix but the sistered piece of acrylic will be visible and possibly ugly. If you get bothered by "ugly" patches then @BornHandy has a more challenging fix but it could provide a superior finish if you have the tools and skill to execute that plan.

I have had an acrylic tank with an overflow box "bonded" to the back that failed along a seam and it looked exactly like the picture that you provided before it failed. I partially drained the tank and bypassed the overflow, dried the box and used solvent and 3 pieces of quarter round acrylic stock to secure and reinforce the three sides of the overflow box on the outside of the tank. I am not a great acrylic bonder, but my seams are almost clear with very few bubbles and no huge gap like the tank you are wondering about.

I would recommend drying the bottom of the tank, getting a piece of quarter-round acrylic cut to fit across the front of the tank on the bottom seam and bonding it in place with liquid acrylic solvent. Clean the tank of all sand, dirt and grit with a shop vacuum, and then use a rag liberally dampened, (wet!) with denatured alchol to wipe down the corner area of the tank to remove any dirt that remains before you try to bond anything. Make certain the square edge of your quarter round set snuggly against the two edges of the tank to be bonded. You may have to sand away (edge break) some of the squared edges of the acrylic patch to get it to fit flat against the inside edges in the tank if there are high spots along the tank seam? If the tank isn't square and force is required to hold the patch flat against the tank I would cut scrap boards and use that material to form wedges that push firmly against the opposite side of the tank and hold the patch in place during bonding. Set this inplace before adding solvent!

But, I wouldn't start until I had inspected all of the other seams in this tank to make certain that you identify all of the areas that need to be reinforced before you start to glue. If it is more than one seam you will want to plan carefully which side to glue first so that adjoining corners are properly reinforced.

Hope this makes sense? I would also recommend that you use 3/4" quarter round on 3/4" acrylic. GL. Always fill check outside, and my suggestion does not come with any expectation of your success, that's on you!

 

[ca1ore]

Personally, I would not pay $300 for a tank like that ….. $100 maybe. I do know that Alfie (albano) repaired a failing seam on his big tank - though I do not recall the details. He's pretty knowledgeable on acrylic tanks so may be he can weigh in.

 

[Breezeman2323]

Hey all,

Thanks for making this a very informative thread.

With all of your thoughts and suggestions considered.... I passed on the tank and found a 125gal with stand and a crapload of decor and assesories for $150!

All in all I'm super glad I posted here and just as glad I passed on it.


Thanks all!