Plexiglass Build

kohare · 09/20/2020, 11:00 AM

Hi all. So I have a nice fish room and with COVID and spare time have decided to grab a tank from the garage I bought almost two years ago. Has been sitting waiting for me. It was glued by someone else, but the seams are not fully watertight. Has some small and some not so small leaks. Looking for advise on how to properly seal this. I’m removing most of the current rubber sealant as it was a poor job, but don’t think just reapplying will give me enough confidence. Can I re-glue all the pieces without taking apart? Can I glue small triangular pieces over all seams? Any help would be appreciated. I’m guessing this is around 149 gallons.

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MarAquatic · 09/20/2020, 11:06 AM

Is this tank siliconed together or did they use acrylic glue ? If its only siliconed DO NOT USE IT LIKE THAT

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kohare · 09/20/2020, 11:12 AM

It is definitely glued as well as silicon.

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cabinetman123 · 09/20/2020, 11:15 AM

If they used a rubber sealant it wasn’t done even close to right. It will need to be taken completely apart and absolutely every bit of the rubber sealant must be removed. I’d actually recut the pieces edges to be absolutely sure it was gone and sand the flat parts where the edges will be welded to a bit. Then you need to weld it using the pin method using weld 3 or weld 4 clamping it lightly wnen you remove the pins. Acrylic and rubber or silicone just don’t mix..

oreo57 · 10/13/2020, 09:58 AM

[QUOTE=kohare;25697544]Hi all. So I have a nice fish room and with COVID and spare time have decided to grab a tank from the garage I bought almost two years ago. Has been sitting waiting for me. It was glued by someone else, but the seams are not fully watertight. Has some small and some not so small leaks. Looking for advise on how to properly seal this. I’m removing most of the current rubber sealant as it was a poor job, but don’t think just reapplying will give me enough confidence. Can I re-glue all the pieces without taking apart? Can I glue small triangular pieces over all seams? Any help would be appreciated. I’m guessing this is around 149 gallons.

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Weld on 40 should fix it after removing the silicone garbage.

Use it as a bead internally

wtac · 10/15/2020, 01:07 PM

The bond in that seams, IMHO, is at most 20%. One should not see any bubbles or "white" areas in the seam.

Looks like there is a solvent weld at the perimeter of the seam and will be difficult if not impossible to get the WO to wick through the entire thickness of the panel.

You will most likely have to cut it apart and get clean edges to do a proper solvent weld.

JM2C

Duality · 10/15/2020, 01:53 PM

You can try to see if someone can plastic weld the seams. They would use a plastic air welder and melt a plastic rod into the joint. My itech skimmer was plastic welded together and has a water tight seal.

I circled the welds.

OzIA · 10/16/2020, 08:49 PM

Internal dimensions? Thickness of plexiglass? Is it possibly polycarbonate?

I can't believe this is a 100% silicon bond. Are you sure they didn't bond it with Weldon and then try to fix the leaks with silicone ?

Take a photo of the corner from the seam side.

09/20/2020, 11:00 AM	#1
kohare Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 30	Plexiglass Build Hi all. So I have a nice fish room and with COVID and spare time have decided to grab a tank from the garage I bought almost two years ago. Has been sitting waiting for me. It was glued by someone else, but the seams are not fully watertight. Has some small and some not so small leaks. Looking for advise on how to properly seal this. I’m removing most of the current rubber sealant as it was a poor job, but don’t think just reapplying will give me enough confidence. Can I re-glue all the pieces without taking apart? Can I glue small triangular pieces over all seams? Any help would be appreciated. I’m guessing this is around 149 gallons. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

09/20/2020, 11:15 AM	#4
cabinetman123 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 255	If they used a rubber sealant it wasn’t done even close to right. It will need to be taken completely apart and absolutely every bit of the rubber sealant must be removed. I’d actually recut the pieces edges to be absolutely sure it was gone and sand the flat parts where the edges will be welded to a bit. Then you need to weld it using the pin method using weld 3 or weld 4 clamping it lightly wnen you remove the pins. Acrylic and rubber or silicone just don’t mix.. __________________ curfent tank is a 120”x38.5”x29” 560 gallon acrylic fowlr

09/20/2020, 11:06 AM	#2
MarAquatic Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 689	Is this tank siliconed together or did they use acrylic glue ? If its only siliconed DO NOT USE IT LIKE THAT Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

09/20/2020, 11:12 AM	#3
kohare Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 30	It is definitely glued as well as silicon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

10/13/2020, 09:58 AM	#5
oreo57 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Posts: 1,793	[QUOTE=kohare;25697544]Hi all. So I have a nice fish room and with COVID and spare time have decided to grab a tank from the garage I bought almost two years ago. Has been sitting waiting for me. It was glued by someone else, but the seams are not fully watertight. Has some small and some not so small leaks. Looking for advise on how to properly seal this. I’m removing most of the current rubber sealant as it was a poor job, but don’t think just reapplying will give me enough confidence. Can I re-glue all the pieces without taking apart? Can I glue small triangular pieces over all seams? Any help would be appreciated. I’m guessing this is around 149 gallons. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOT] Weld on 40 should fix it after removing the silicone garbage. Use it as a bead internally

10/15/2020, 01:07 PM	#6
wtac Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Toronto and Calgary, Canada Posts: 377	The bond in that seams, IMHO, is at most 20%. One should not see any bubbles or "white" areas in the seam. Looks like there is a solvent weld at the perimeter of the seam and will be difficult if not impossible to get the WO to wick through the entire thickness of the panel. You will most likely have to cut it apart and get clean edges to do a proper solvent weld. JM2C

10/15/2020, 01:53 PM	#7
Duality Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 385	You can try to see if someone can plastic weld the seams. They would use a plastic air welder and melt a plastic rod into the joint. My itech skimmer was plastic welded together and has a water tight seal. I circled the welds.

10/16/2020, 08:49 PM	#8
OzIA Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Posts: 214	Internal dimensions? Thickness of plexiglass? Is it possibly polycarbonate? I can't believe this is a 100% silicon bond. Are you sure they didn't bond it with Weldon and then try to fix the leaks with silicone ? Take a photo of the corner from the seam side.