Acrylic Crazing

[piranhaman00]

Hello,

Is crazing in acrylic aquariums normal? I have a brand new acrylic aquarium made by a reputable company. The seems contained micro bubbles upon delivery of the aquarium which had me concerned but I was assured that the micro bubbles are not an issue.

Within the past month the seems on the front panel started crazing. I had old pictures and verified that this has started recently and was not present before filling the tank.

Is this normal? @vetteguy53081 @Tenecor Aquariums

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello,

Is crazing in acrylic aquariums normal? I have a brand new acrylic aquarium made by a reputable company. The seems contained micro bubbles upon delivery of the aquarium which had me concerned but I was assured that the micro bubbles are not an issue.

Within the past month the seems on the front panel started crazing. I had old pictures and verified that this has started recently and was not present before filling the tank.

Is this normal? @vetteguy53081 @Tenecor Aquariums

Yes and I dont see an issue for concern. My 660g had this which was about the same and not a single issue

 

[piranhaman00]

@Troylee @Lowell Lemon

 

[RedoubtReef]

I have some of the same. Not an issue.

 

[harrylarry]

Yes normal

 

[Lowell Lemon]

@Troylee @Lowell Lemon

Not seeing a structural issue. It is possible to craze panels some with windex, alcohol, or some petroleum distillates. I use water with a few drops of Dawn diswashing liquid in a spray bottle and soft cotton cloth to clean exterior panels. It might have been flame polished since I think I can see the router marks still on the top. I flame polished everything for lots of years with very few problems. Now people opt for hand polish on edges when they can.

 

[Troylee]

Can’t say it’s normal but it’s common and not a cause for concern..

 

[jmichaelh7]

Yes and I dont see an issue for concern. My 660g had this which was about the same and not a single issue

So micro bubbles on acrylic is not a concern? What is a concern. I’m delighted to read this

 

[vetteguy53081]

So micro bubbles on acrylic is not a concern? What is a concern. I’m delighted to read this

Crazing which occurs both outside and within tank are often caused by aging and sudden temperature changes causing the panels to expand and retract which causes the micron size cracks often visible.
Crazing is the formation of thousands of micro cracks in acrylic. These cracks can appear suddenly or over time and can be on the surface (both outside and inside the tank and outside) and also dependent on the type of acrylic used for construction. My last was cell casted acrylic from tenecor which showed no stress marks or crazing. Clarity plus often showed crazing and likely continous casted construction.
Often edges are polished making them susceptible to future crazing from heat produced by buffing equipment. Learned this at RAP a few years ago
With acrylic, crazing is considered normal

 

[jmichaelh7]

Crazing which occurs both outside and within tank are often caused by aging and sudden temperature changes causing the panels to expand and retract which causes the micron size cracks often visible.
Crazing is the formation of thousands of micro cracks in acrylic. These cracks can appear suddenly or over time and can be on the surface (both outside and inside the tank and outside) and also dependent on the type of acrylic used for construction. My last was cell casted acrylic from tenecor which showed no stress marks or crazing. Clarity plus often showed crazing and likely continous casted construction.
Often edges are polished making them susceptible to future crazing from heat produced by buffing equipment. Learned this at RAP a few years ago
With acrylic, crazing is considered normal

So technically acrylic is nothing to ever be worried about . Micro bubbles are ok what I read and also crazing now .

I’m smiling because all my tanks are acrylic

 

[Troylee]

So technically acrylic is nothing to ever be worried about . Micro bubbles are ok what I read and also crazing now .

I’m smiling because all my tanks are acrylic

A properly built tank no… some micro bubbles happen and does weaken a joint to a extent.. an over abundance of micro bubbles can be a issue and lead to delaminating and then you got a problem lol.. like I said if it’s built with the proper material thickness etc they shouldn’t be issue… lots of average diy guys out there building stuff and it works even with bubbles but they tend to cheap out material because thinner is cheaper and it will hold but the question is for how long??? I’ve seen lots of tanks factory and home made that are 1/4” thick and bow like crazy but hold.. for now anyways haha! Any tank or sump I build I use min 3/8” but normally 1/2”+ for ease of building and solvent welding alone… even if I could get away with 1/4” I won’t do it. Lol

 

[Troylee]

So micro bubbles on acrylic is not a concern? What is a concern. I’m delighted to read this

A few here or there no.. a large area of them in a cluster yes, it’s a void and it can lead to failure down the line..

 

[vetteguy53081]

So technically acrylic is nothing to ever be worried about . Micro bubbles are ok what I read and also crazing now .

I’m smiling because all my tanks are acrylic

They are fused opposed to sealed and ive seen one separation in 41 years of doing this. I sold many acrylic units at my LFS and never had a bad one. DAS and clarity plus displays crazed , but minimally.