acrylic tank repair

[cbort]

quick question. i recently found a HUGE tank for dirt cheap. its a 96x36x48T island tank with a center overflow. bad part is the guy who owned it set the tank on a hard surface without taking the bulkheads out, and now 2 different bulkheads have cracks. i talked to a LFS guy who knows and deals a lot with used tanks, and he said he would not be afraid to buy it (100.00-tank/3"tubular stand/3 little giant pumps/UV/and misc filtration and sump) and he said it would be very easy to fix. He said to purchase thick acrylic that is large enough to cover the cracks, drill holes at the ends of the cracks in order to stop the cracks, then apply silicon and weld-on 40 to the scrap piece of acrylic and apply.

Of course after cleaning it really well where the cracks are and allowing it to dry for 72 hours, we planned on test filling it for 1 month.

What do you think? Also they made a pour on resin for like garage floors that hardens very hard and we thought about after getting it fixed pouring on a 1' thick coat of that stuff and letting it cure.


Suggestions, comments? for 100.00 i had to buy it!

 

[Murfman]

My 200 was fixed that way on the euro brace. Don't use silicone though go with a generous helping of the Weldon an your scrap acrylic. Are you going to put bulkheads in the same spot?

 

[cbort]

ok, tank actually has a crack on one of the side 8x4' viewing sides. about 2-3 inches from the bottom, but almost going the full length of the tank about 6', so new plan....going to turn our 100.00 into a bit more!

We are going to have them cut the tank down about 3" (cutting off the bottom) and we will be replacing it with a brand new bottom!

 

[cbort]

anyone have any idea what this is going to cost me? i need a 8'x3' sheet of 1" thick acrylic.

or how much it would cost to do the work of cutting off bottom 3" of tank + material?

 

[cbort]

any ideas?

 

[Acro76 Verified Sponsor]

Thats a big job... its been done before through. Main thing is to cut the bottom out as even and level as possible, so you can get a good bond to the bottom sheet. Either a trim router bit or a saw blade meant for acrylic.

I think JuniorMC and Stunreefer have done this to tanks/sumps, so search for their threads here.

A 1" 8 x 4 is probably $500 to $800 depending on who you buy it from. Get lots of quotes, in my area the prices of acrylic shops can vary a lot!

 

[gnoles]

Acro76 beat me to it, but you're probably going to have to get a 4' x 8' sheet and prices vary all over. Sounds like a super deal once you get the bottom replaced. We'll be looking for your build thread with lots of pictures.

 

[cbort]

Ok, got a great deal on a HUGE tank, so i thought! Ok...i probably still did.

So, i watched on Craigslist, and found a 96x36x48T acrylic 1" Thick tank.
(not for me)

The tank also came with 3 Little Giant 1300gph pumps, sump, 3"welded tubular stand, filtration, and plumbing.

They are asking 200.00 for everything. First off i say ok. whats the catch, once i get talking to them, i find out they are a storage company, and the guy that owns this setup didn't pay for his storage unit so they emptied it and sold everything. So now i am thinking HELL YA i just got a steal!

Now the bad:
Well then i get there to pick it up. The guys moved it, with the bulkheads still in place on the bottom panel. They crack the bottom. So i am thinking. Its still probably salvagable. So we bring it home, unwrap it, get it unloaded, to find out it also has a crack on one of its sides, no more than 3" from the bottom.


The overall condition of the tank itself is great! (besides the cracks) The acrylic needs a bit of buffing, but won't take much at all.

 

[coyle]

have you done anything with the tank?

 

[5oclocksomewhere]

If there is no chance for the manufacturer to warranty and there is probably not....then use 1" acrylic rod on the side. Cut the full height of tank (that is assuming the crack is on the vertical) and use weld-on 40. I sanded the acrylic where i was going to place rod and used enough to be sure I had it thouroughly covered. DO A TEST RUN on the other side!!!! You will be surprised how hard it is to fit everything and press out bubbles when you are trying to hurry before it sets up.

Have a resperator handy....that stuff is STRONG...especially if you have to get in tank to work.

I have done this on a 96x24x30...Had a gap the whole entire length of front left corner from top to bottom. Glued it and let cure in garage for two weeks before tested (current zoa garden). If you look at Weld-ons site it will tell you the strength specs and waiting a bit longer before adding stress is advisable.

Can't say I got quite the deal you did but If you take your time, have CLEAN surfaces, and think it out with a few dry runs, it will work.:bigsmile: By the way please do not be cheap..use the whole can of the weld-on 40. If you try to divide it into two or 3 portions you may short yourself on one or the other chemicals and the integrity of that joint may be comprimised and you will have a catastrophic loss. Buy an extra kit and remenber you are $1000s ahead of the game if it works.

 

[Troylee]

If you still have this and wanna fix it let me know.....I can guide you through the proper way of fixing it...

 

[Dowd]

If you still have this and wanna fix it let me know.....I can guide you through the proper way of fixing it...

I have a 350 gallons tank with the exact same issue. Need to cut off the bottom and about six inches off he sides and weld on a new piece of acrylic. Would you suggest using a router to cut it off, or could you give me any pointers?

 

[JPG@CFI]

You could save a few buck, and use 3/4" instead of 1" for that bottom panel. I would use a skill saw to cut the bottom off. If you use a good strait edge, it will be easy to get the 4 corners to line up. I would then buff out all the scratches. Way easier with the bottom out of the way. If you don't have much experience with acrylic work, use plenty of Weldon 40 to get that bottom on. This needs to be done with a flat surface, not the garage floor. Best of luck, J

Also, have that steel stand sand blasted, and take it to get powder coated. It will look better than new!