Acrilic tank help

Stormlasher · Feb 8, 2022

I just picked up an acrylic tank and as I was cleaning it the top corner seam cracked
And came apart a lot halfway down and my heart sank is there a way to fix this please assist can I jb weld then cover it with silicone ?

JumboShrimp · Feb 8, 2022

Don’t despair; helpful answers should start to pop up here within the hour. Best wishes…

prcardinal91 · Feb 8, 2022

Silicone wont stick to acrylic and should not be used for repairs. Jb weld i would not use either. You want to weld the acrylic back together using weldon acrylic solvent or something similar. Acrylic seprated at a seam should be an easy fix with the appropriate tools and materials. You may find some useful videos online. Is the tank full of water?

Stormlasher · Feb 9, 2022

prcardinal91 said:
Silicone wont stick to acrylic and should not be used for repairs. Jb weld i would not use either. You want to weld the acrylic back together using weldon acrylic solvent or something similar. Acrylic seprated at a seam should be an easy fix with the appropriate tools and materials. You may find some useful videos online. Is the tank full of water?

I just ordered some I got a super nice acrilic tank and a glass frag tank I was going to get the acrilic one setup for my main frag system but it will have to wait a week or 2 Tnx

xcountryx · Feb 9, 2022

No warranty on the tank? Could be a manufacturing issue. Where did you get tank from?

FishyFishFish · Feb 9, 2022

When you say the seam cracked, did it come cleanly apart? Can you see any air bubbles in the seams?

I agree that it sounds like it may be a manufacturing problem. If it had been welded correctly then you would have to really mistreat it to separate the panels.

Jekyl · Feb 9, 2022

Simply slapping some adhesive on there won't do it. Entire panel will need to be removed, cleaned of all previous and new put on. ( pretty sure)

Stormlasher · Feb 9, 2022

No I got it from a guy and I cracked it when I added aquarium water it was super cold out and the 78degree water did not agree with it and the top seam came undone about 6 inches down from a corner

FishyFishFish · Feb 10, 2022

I still don’t think that should have happened. Acrylic tanks are not glued together per se, they are ‘welded’. The solvent effectively makes the 2 pieces into one piece.

Cracking can certainly happen, but if it has occurred cleanly at the seam then that might suggest incorrect bonding. Do you have a photo?

As mentioned above, if it has come apart at the seam then it’s difficult to glue it back together. If the seam is partially correctly bonded then you might not be able to cleanly remove the panel without causing more damage either (don’t ask me how I know!).

Stormlasher · Feb 10, 2022

FishyFishFish said:
I still don’t think that should have happened. Acrylic tanks are not glued together per se, they are ‘welded’. The solvent effectively makes the 2 pieces into one piece.

Cracking can certainly happen, but if it has occurred cleanly at the seam then that might suggest incorrect bonding. Do you have a photo?

As mentioned above, if it has come apart at the seam then it’s difficult to glue it back together. If the seam is partially correctly bonded then you might not be able to cleanly remove the panel without causing more damage either (don’t ask me how I know!).

I have acrylic welding material on the way for the syringe and after that I’m going to be adding a structural rim to the entire tank so it won’t bow I can get a picture tomorrow if you’d like to see but I should be all set I’ll keep everyone updated

lubeck · Feb 10, 2022

Do you have a pic of the crack

monkeyCmonkeyDo · Feb 10, 2022

There are no seams in acrylic tanks. Why I went to acrylic and recommend them on tanks over 120+gallons.

As said. Some weld on. I think its #4 will re seal your tank.
Empty it.
Lay it on its back. Or whatever side separated. So the weight of the tank rests on the side thats curing.

Don't be afraid to use too much. You will prob have to sand and re polish the aquarium in that area but will be brand new when done. Lol. Littlw bit of work and time is all.
D

FishyFishFish · Feb 10, 2022

The difficulty is that you need to get the solvent on the mating surfaces, you can’t just reassemble the box and run a bead of solvent along the edge as that won’t seal it. If you get the solvent anywhere other than the edge then I’m not sure you would be able to clean it up.

If the panel has been completely removed then you can clean it up a re-weld it. If it has partially come apart then you might not be able to get it to get the solvent to where it is needed. It all depends on the damage and whether it was assembled correctly in the first place, IMO.

Stormlasher · Feb 10, 2022

FishyFishFish said:
The difficulty is that you need to get the solvent on the mating surfaces, you can’t just reassemble the box and run a bead of solvent along the edge as that won’t seal it. If you get the solvent anywhere other than the edge then I’m not sure you would be able to clean it up.

If the panel has been completely removed then you can clean it up a re-weld it. If it has partially come apart then you might not be able to get it to get the solvent to where it is needed. It all depends on the damage and whether it was assembled correctly in the first place, IMO.

It’s a frag tank I don’t care how it looks so much as it holds water and dosent leak and yeh #4 is on the way just sucks I have to wait and it dosent need to be perfect anyway I’m probly going to add a rim to it For structural support

xcountryx · Feb 10, 2022

I'm gona agree with fishyfish here. I feel like your gona have issues getting the #4 into the seam good enough for a seal. One other option would be to do as much with the weld on #4 then go back over the whole seem with weld on #16. Its thicker and may finish the job. Run a thick bead inside and out then put a support on top like your thinking. Just my 2 cents. It's your tank.

Stormlasher · Feb 10, 2022

Picture

Stormlasher · Feb 10, 2022

I was in the process of attempting to clean it, what is your best recommendation to clean the spotless I was just going to use four or 5 gallons of mirratic acid

Jekyl · Feb 10, 2022

How large of a tank is this? Do you have experience in a job like this?

Stormlasher · Feb 10, 2022

Jekyl said:
How large of a tank is this? Do you have experience in a job like this?

Tank is about 130 gallons and no but I do t have experience with anything but I started this hobby 7 months ago and I’m growing coral super nicely and I’m a jack of all trades so I’m not worried about repair I just did not know the name of the stuff to use and I was frantic night of now I just gota wait for it to come I got weld on number 4 with an applicator bottle and I got 2 hypedermic needle applicators coming to

fishguy242 · Feb 10, 2022

odds are ,1 corner like that ,there is another cross opposite,
use the 4 and bar clamps.
then use 16 like you would silicone ,on all seams,
could not hurt to cut and install small triangle strips ,in all corners while doing the 16.