Quick question, need answer tonight

Weld-on Acrylic Solvent #3 is what most use for acr to acr.  For acr to glass I just use silicone.

Fax

Hello everyone,

bambbrose wrote: what do you guys use to glue the acrylic together?

Weld-on is the stuff. When you pick up the solvent, try to find one of these too.

bambbrose wrote: and what to use use to glue it to the glass on your tank?

Silicone will bond it to the glass, just make sure you clean it REALLY well first.

Hope that helps,

Chris

Can I buy this stuff at lowes or home depot?

I used a diamond coated dremel bit from Lowes,  It's like $8.50 for this tiny thing.  A ripoff, but it worked great.  My circle isn't completely circle but it works.

I need to find a bulkhead that fits 1.75" holes now.

I also need to find a place to get that acrylic cement and some silicone so I can make my overflow tomorrow.  How long does the silicone have to cure?

Hello everyone,

bambbrose wrote: Can I buy this stuff at lowes or home depot?

Not sure, I've never noticed or looked for it there. You could check their web page or even give them a call.

bambbrose wrote: How long does the silicone have to cure?

I don't have a tube in front of me at the moment, but as I recall it was 24-48hrs.

FWIW, I think the acrylic solvent takes much longer. It will bond quickly and seem solid at first. However from what I understand it slowly cures and constricts for weeks. As you may or may not know, acrylic absorbs water. This absorbtion coupled with the curing/constriction along the seam can result in failure.

Hope that helps,

Chris

here is what my tank looks like right now.  I wasn't planning on drilling a second hole for a return, but instead just having it loop over the top of the edge.  Is there any problem with doing it that way?




here is a closeup of the hole.  It took too long to drill, thats why I don't want to make another one, and because I've seen them looped over the edge with clear tubing and it looked fine.


This is the prototype design I made for the overfill box on my computer to find out measurements before I started doing any work.  i gotta find a way to bond the acrylic still however




Is there anything wrong with that design or anything you would do differently?

Thanks for your help  guys.  I'm supposed to be getting my LR soon so I need to get this done asap


Edited by bambbrose

Here's a thread where I describe what I did for my tank (look for my post with pictures):  http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1335

Rather then silicone the overflow box to the glass, I just built an acrylic box with a gasket between the box/glass and another between the bulkhead nut/glass.  Also notice that half of the durso is actually behind the tank.  This made it so my overflow box could be smaller.

Would the Mag5 be a good choice?

That would be my choice ... If you decide you want a mag7 later ... I dont think it  would be hard to sell the mag5.

fj40fax wrote: I would build a manifold for the top and probably go for the mag 7.  I have a rio 2500 on my 20 gallon (with a 4' head) and am now thinking of going to a mag9.5. Fax

Just curious, what do you mean by "a manifold"  could you show me some examples?

Thanks

Found it!

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2003/short.htm

Fax