I'm planning on turning my biocube 29 into a frag rack. So I took some scrap corian I had laying around and worked my CAD and CNC skills and made a frag tree. Corian is a 100% acrylic product. It is non-porous and completely inert. It will not leach anything into aquariums as long as I don't seam any pieces together because the corian glue is not aquarium compatible and will not only leach, the glue will also fail over time in contact with salt water. I have had pieces of corian fresh water tanks for years. Each piece is 1/2" thick so I made a bunch of circle to be used as risers. All pieces will be super glued together after I decided how many risers in between each rack. The tree as a whole can hold up to 61 frags. Now on to the pictures! let me know what you guys think!!
DIY Frag rack tree
- Thread starter Stealthprix
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playin gmz
Well-Known Member
Very cool
trickedout900
Active Member
That's awesome man, guess I'm gonna have to hit up the countertop department for scraps. Thanks for the idea.
If I were making this, I would put a rod down the middle, so the height can be changed. If you're serious about selling, then you can also offer different shapes for each level.
Also, I would cut the diameter of the spacer disc down some. Looks like it's taking up a lot of space, tighten that up and you might find you can change the shape of your rack, either by adding more or bringing in your holes. etc...
Also, I would cut the diameter of the spacer disc down some. Looks like it's taking up a lot of space, tighten that up and you might find you can change the shape of your rack, either by adding more or bringing in your holes. etc...
TJ's Reef
Valuable Member
Very Cool indeed and have plenty of Solid Surface scraps myself laying around. Not all Corian is 100% acrylic though, most of the line has Bauxite (Aluminum oxides) as a primary filler. I personally do not know if this good or bad but would certainly be cautious or aware of it.
Cheers, Todd
Cheers, Todd
Stealthprix
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TJ I think you might be thinking of other solid surfaces other than Corian. Samsung, wilsonart, avonite, etc to name a few. Most of these are either 100% acrylic, like Corian, or are a high percentage acrylic and have an epoxy resin filler. I know Samsung has a line of solid surface with pieces of copper and gold colored metals in the material. It looks killer, but wouldnt fly in an aquarium.I have fabricated nearly every color of Corian and there are a few colors that have a magnetized metal embedded in the material, but its not a filler. Colors like bronze and greylite but that line of Corian are oddballs.
TJ's Reef
Valuable Member
I once was a authorized fabricator of Corian when they had only 3 then 8 then 31 then 108 flavors, eventually Avonite plus most of the Laminates. Then as a Retailer of all mentioned above plus several more. I'm pretty sure that many of the Corian flavors contain a fair amount of Bauxite and use 100% acrylic as the binding resin is all. Avonite and maybe Samsung ? cannot remember are the oddballs using Polyester resin. Unless all the formulas have changed in the past six or so years but I'll Google Search it when I have some spare time and also see if there is any toxicity concerns which I doubt as is a Food-Safe surface.
Cheers, Todd
Cheers, Todd
TJ's Reef
Valuable Member
OK, quick search on Dupont Website on the Disposal PDF
Corian® products are made from acrylic polymers, fillers and pigments. The acrylic is similar to that used for safetywindows, spas and dental prosthetics. The filler is a high-grade aluminum trihydrate similar to that found inantiperspirants. The pigments are selected from materials free of heavy metals, toxic or carcinogenic ingredients,and are FDA-listed.Corian® products are considered nonhazardous by EPA regulations and can be easily discarded with minimal impacton the environment. Solid scraps, large or small, and dust from fabrication or installation do not dissolve in waterand can be put into landfill with no risk of land/plant/animal/human contamination. Even the unique acrylic adhesiveused to seam and glue Corian® can be safely discarded once it has hardened. Every effort must be made to mix anduse all adhesive since unmixed adhesive must be incinerated per hazardous waste regulations.*Because Corian® lasts so long, it is unusual for anyone to remove Corian® and replace it with another product.Upgrading to new colors or designs may create some unwanted materials which can be recut into tables, shelves,etc., or disposed of in conventional landfills.DuPont is committed to maintaining the low-environmental-impact composition of Corian®.
Cheers, Todd
Corian® products are made from acrylic polymers, fillers and pigments. The acrylic is similar to that used for safetywindows, spas and dental prosthetics. The filler is a high-grade aluminum trihydrate similar to that found inantiperspirants. The pigments are selected from materials free of heavy metals, toxic or carcinogenic ingredients,and are FDA-listed.Corian® products are considered nonhazardous by EPA regulations and can be easily discarded with minimal impacton the environment. Solid scraps, large or small, and dust from fabrication or installation do not dissolve in waterand can be put into landfill with no risk of land/plant/animal/human contamination. Even the unique acrylic adhesiveused to seam and glue Corian® can be safely discarded once it has hardened. Every effort must be made to mix anduse all adhesive since unmixed adhesive must be incinerated per hazardous waste regulations.*Because Corian® lasts so long, it is unusual for anyone to remove Corian® and replace it with another product.Upgrading to new colors or designs may create some unwanted materials which can be recut into tables, shelves,etc., or disposed of in conventional landfills.DuPont is committed to maintaining the low-environmental-impact composition of Corian®.
Cheers, Todd
They have ore oxide in them, its what gives it its strength over standard acrylic.
Formica brand ss is what is made with a polyester blend. But i have been noticing more and more that brands like hi macs and staron are adding polyester in them for their "in depth" colors
Formica brand ss is what is made with a polyester blend. But i have been noticing more and more that brands like hi macs and staron are adding polyester in them for their "in depth" colors
Bbourgeois
New Member
Can I buy one of these racks from you? If so, how much are you selling them for? It's incredible...would love to fill it up with palys and Zoas
Pola0502ds
Zoa Addict
Just an FYI, i am a project manager for a casework and countertop manufacturer and solid surface like corian, wilsonsart, samsung, avonite, is our bread and butter. I know with 100% certainity that wilsonart has come out with a solid surface material that is geared towards the medical industry that literally has copper infused in it. They do it not for the looks but for its benefits. Solid surface is widely used in general throughout the medical field because of its extremely smooth surface and ability to be cleaned and sterilized with harsh chemicals without being damged. This new product with copper actually kills bacteria without being cleaned. If there is any bacteria on the countertop it is instantly killed because of the copper thus making the countertop and environment clean and less prone to infection and things like staff infections. It is a extremely expensive product so its not widely used yet but have been incorporated into some new hospital builds. The point is, do be careful where you get your material from and be certain it does not have copper it in as this would definitely nuke your tank.
Prior to this i dont believe any company has used real copper in their products. Its very expensive to make and very expensive for the end user to fabricate because of the tooling required to machine and cut it. I believe what this person was seeing is "particulates" that look like copper and are infused into the countertop material giving that look.
Socalreefer4816
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Very cool
Pola0502ds
Zoa Addict
indeed! I would really like to see what it looks like now filled up with frags @Stealthprix
