Acrylic Fabrication Q & A

[cvrle1]

Generally if you do heavy polishing with something like Meguair's, bleach.

I don't know that bleach is needed if you only use Novus 1 however.

Thanks for info. I used all 3. Started with Novus 3 then went to 2 and then finished it off with 1. Should I use full on bleach or dilute it with water? Cheers

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

Thanks for info. I used all 3. Started with Novus 3 then went to 2 and then finished it off with 1. Should I use full on bleach or dilute it with water? Cheers

You never need straight bleach really, dilute it 10:1 at least I would think

 

[Feet4Fish]

Dilute it 10:1 in my opinion

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Hey Turbo, good to see you are still active in this thread. I was planning on making a couple building with acrylic vids. Kind of a quick culmination of everything i have done, info on this thread, and James's thread on reef central.

I do have a question for you though.. i have never worked with 1" before. I'm building a 4x8x30". I spoke with James on the phone and drove out to his place to buy some super duper home made solvent.

Any advice to avoid bubbles? I will have:
1. Routed edges with fresh spiral bit
2. Denatured alcohol wipe
3. .028 wire
4. Air blow before solvent
5. 1/8" overlap
6. Planning on a soak time of about 30 seconds.

My seems have come out good in the past.. just nervous on this thick stuff. And boding the top and bottom...24 feet of seam in one go..... i want my mommy!

 

[cvrle1]

You never need straight bleach really, dilute it 10:1 at least I would think

Dilute it 10:1 in my opinion

Thank you both for the help. Appreciated.

 

[SciGuy2]

Hey Turbo, good to see you are still active in this thread. I was planning on making a couple building with acrylic vids. Kind of a quick culmination of everything i have done, info on this thread, and James's thread on reef central.

I do have a question for you though.. i have never worked with 1" before. I'm building a 4x8x30". I spoke with James on the phone and drove out to his place to buy some super duper home made solvent.

Any advice to avoid bubbles? I will have:
1. Routed edges with fresh spiral bit
2. Denatured alcohol wipe
3. .028 wire
4. Air blow before solvent
5. 1/8" overlap
6. Planning on a soak time of about 30 seconds.

My seems have come out good in the past.. just nervous on this thick stuff. And boding the top and bottom...24 feet of seam in one go..... i want my mommy!

Praying for you.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

I spoke with James on the phone and drove out to his place to buy some super duper home made solvent.

Well you're getting advice from the guy I get advice from, so you're probably pretty much up to speed I would think!

I'm building a 4x8x30".

Just a word of advice, and this is JMO, but 30" tall tanks are a pain. That extra 6" makes cleaning the lower 6" on the inside of the tank a complete pain in the ****. I've known people locally that bought a 30" tall tank and sold it within a year and would never do it again.

Any advice to avoid bubbles? I will have:
1. Routed edges with fresh spiral bit
2. Denatured alcohol wipe
3. .028 wire
4. Air blow before solvent
5. 1/8" overlap
6. Planning on a soak time of about 30 seconds.

I router prep all edges with a double-flute straight cutter. It leave a very good edge. Spiral bits, I only use those for flush trimming. Your typical 2" long 1/2" diameter flush cutter will run minimum $100 also, that's for a middle-of-the-road one (Amana are $200+)

Everything else looks good to me. That 24' joint is going to be fun. Talk to James about what he does in this case, I think he uses those plastic squeeze bottles like the ones that dispense ketchup and mustard at restaurants (except clear) to run joints that long. Either that, or use #16 needles, 2 oz bottles, and 2 people (with 2 bottles each). I'd play around with some scrap if you can. Your 30 second soak time is going to basically be the time from when you start the solvent into the joint until you get to the other end, then start pulling pins right away. I'm guessing it will take you at least a minute with 2 of you and #16 needles actually.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

You think the spiral bit wouldnt do a good job? I have a big double flue but i would have to get it sharpened.

James adivesed two people on the big seam. The other person starts pulling pins when you get half way around the tank.

Btw.. my arms are 5 feet long

 

[Turbo's Aquatics Verified Sponsor]

JMO but if you have 2 people, you have both people start on the same corner and go opposite directions.

Then when you meet at the other corner, start pulling pins at the initial corner at the same speed you were running with the solvent. Then all areas get a similar soak time, and you don't end up with the initial corner having a 1 minute old solvent area right next to fresh solvent area.

Even better, have a 3rd person pulling pins starting at 30s

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Turbo you and James give great advise...good luck @pdxmonkeyboy! As you fill the joint make sure the needle is large enough to prevent bubbles by venturi action in the seam. The fluid should flow and not squirt in if that makes sense.

 

[Reesj]

Any one have an Idea if acralic tanks getting yellow to UVA Lights from using UVA of 395-400 nm range?

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Any one have an Idea if acralic tanks getting yellow to UVA Lights from using UVA of 395-400 nm range?

Most modern cell cast acrylics have UV inhibitors to prevent yellowing. However, a close high output light source might cause this over time.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

From what I have read, cast acrylic is more resistant to yellowing. Basically they don't yellow out over our lifetime.

 

[Lousybreed]

I have read through a good chunk of this massive tread. It is awesome by the way. I searched the thread for stainless steel bracing and it seems that this has no yet been discussed. Certain glass tank manufacturers (planet) have aquariums that have a stainless steel top to the tank for bracing. Stainless is very strong compared to acrylic or glass. So I am wondering if you could use stainless steel for the top brace on a acrylic tank. It would block less light, the openings for the tank would be waaaaay bigger, and I feel that a well built stainless top would take a lot of stress off of the acrylic seams.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Interesting idea. Just remember that larger tanks require one or two center braces if you use the metal design. Never seen a metal trim on acrylic tanks.

After you price the stainless with welded seams you might be cheaper to use a full acrylic top with routed out access openings or use a rimless tank with thicker panels .

 

[Dom]

When I think about it, the skills for fabricating wood seem like they are easily transferred to fabricating acrylic. The question is having the right tools.

My question would be this... cutting. How are sheets of acrylic cut? Every time I've tried cutting acrylic, I'm left with an edge that as melted from friction.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

When I think about it, the skills for fabricating wood seem like they are easily transferred to fabricating acrylic. The question is having the right tools.

My question would be this... cutting. How are sheets of acrylic cut? Every time I've tried cutting acrylic, I'm left with an edge that as melted from friction.

You need to get the right saw blade or router bit for the plastic you cut. If you are cutting extruded sheet you need a low melt blade. Cell cast which is the only acrylic you should use for aquariums and sumps is cut with a special blade as well. Router bits the same thing, Take a look at FTM Plastics online for the correct blades. Warning you the blades are not cheap but they work great. You can sometimes find a blade made for cutting aluminum that will work for acrylic at Home Depot. Still better to use the special blades.

 

[Lousybreed]

Interesting idea. Just remember that larger tanks require one or two center braces if you use the metal design. Never seen a metal trim on acrylic tanks.

After you price the stainless with welded seams you might be cheaper to use a full acrylic top with routed out access openings or use a rimless tank with thicker panels .

Lowell, I should have added I have a friend who would be considered a master fabricator. He is an expert machinist and can weld everything besides titanium. Annnnnd he has a hook up for high quality 316 stainless at a great price. You are correct I would need several cross beams but I can stomach a 1.5” cross beam more than a 6” acrylic one.

 

[Lousybreed]

I have read the first pages that explain the building process. Very informative. I am wondering if in the 72 pages there is more detail how to cut the acrylic. I used an 80 tooth acrylic Freud blade made for acrylic. I have used a table saw many times for MDF and plywood. It seemed very hard to cut acrylic compared to normal materials. The hardest cuts were the first ones on the huge sheet of acrylic. I am not happy with my first acrylic cutting experience.

the acrylic seemed grippy and didn’t want to slide. A standard table saw stand seemed to peel off the protective film on the plastic. Basically it was a stressful and unpleasant time. What is the proper set up if you want to buy sheets and rip it yourself?

 

[Lowell Lemon]

I have read the first pages that explain the building process. Very informative. I am wondering if in the 72 pages there is more detail how to cut the acrylic. I used an 80 tooth acrylic Freud blade made for acrylic. I have used a table saw many times for MDF and plywood. It seemed very hard to cut acrylic compared to normal materials. The hardest cuts were the first ones on the huge sheet of acrylic. I am not happy with my first acrylic cutting experience.

the acrylic seemed grippy and didn’t want to slide. A standard table saw stand seemed to peel off the protective film on the plastic. Basically it was a stressful and unpleasant time. What is the proper set up if you want to buy sheets and rip it yourself?

Panel saws...no short cost on expense! Or have the distributor cut your panels to size on their saw.