Rimless Acrylic Frag Tank Build..........

[pookstreet]

I am finally getting around to putting together this tank out of 3/4" acrylic. It was originally meant to replace the 2 small tanks in the office. But due to increased workload, I simply have no time to keep a separate tank there anymore. Instead, this will be my frag tank tied into the 300 gallon tank in the garage, sharing a common sump. Now that I have committed this to be a frag tank, it'll actually work out extremely well because it's rather shallow and meant to be view from the top. Shooting photos in this tank will be a piece of cake.

This will be a braceless tank, hence the 3/4" thick acrylic, with an external overflow. I know it might be a bit of an overkill on the thickness, but I don't want any bowing at all. The over all dimensions will be 32"Lx25"Wx16"H with an internal volume of approximately 45 gallons. The stand has already been built and the tank build started today. I am hoping to have everything glued by Friday and the actual finish work on the tank will start. That's where the hard labor comes in.

I did kinda cheat a little in this project :rofl: All of the acrylic pieces were bought from SoCalCreations before they closed down shop. They were cut to size and the edges were prepped for glueing. Normally I would do all that work myself but didn't want to chance making any bad cuts to the thick material on my probably underpowered tablesaw. Anyways, enough talk. Here are some pix from another one of Pook's Kreations :rock:

Glueing one of the sides to the front panel

 

[pookstreet]

Glueing the other side panel

 

[pookstreet]

Started on the external overflow box

 

[nahtanoj]

kenny, could you go over how you applied the bonding agent, which one you used. your methods of "welding" the acrylic pieces together. thanks i am very interested in building a tank myself, and would love all the info you can give.
jon

 

[glOckcOma]

+1 hope to do this one day also, and you look like you know what your doing

 

[Curlsoc]

Same here, we're going to attempt to build a frag tank and refugium combo.

 

[johnwin84]

nice..good start

 

[TheJedi]

+1 hope to do this one day also, and you look like you know what your doing

Fo' Sho'

 

[epicfish]

Very nice.

 

[pookstreet]

Thanks everyone.

Jon, I'll include some stuff here but I will start a new Hot Topic thread on general acrylic work and what's needed in the near future.

More pix of the overflow box

 

[pookstreet]

Some of the basic items used in most cases when working with acrylic.

Weld-On 4. This is perhaps the most common solvent used. Has decent working time in hot weather but will take longer in cooler temps. There is also Weld-On 3 but it typically dries too fast for most applications.

Needle applicator to apply the Weld-On. The Weld-On gets into the seams via capillary action.

 

[pookstreet]

Weld-On 16. I only use this sparingly if I feel the need to "reinforce" a seam. It leave a thicker layer once dried, unlike #3 or #4, which is only a film.

Wires to use as "pins" between pieces to be welded together. Allows the solvent to seep in more evenly. Once the solvent has been applied and has sufficient time to soften up the acrylic, these "pins" are then pulled to drop the top piece onto the bottom piece, squeezing out extra solvent and make the tight bond.

 

[pookstreet]

I know it all sounds simplistic, but there really isn't much to it. It does take a lot of practice to get good seams that are bubble free or mostly bubble free. I will explain more in the upcoming Hot Topics thread with more details on the steps.

 

[Nanoreefbro]

Looks great..

 

[nahtanoj]

aha, the pins thing never made sense until now. i got why it was there but no one ever said when to pull them out. thanks.

 

[bigian]

Will you route teeth in the overflow, Kenny??

 

[barometer]

Very nice work Kenny, now you're one up on me again :adore:

 

[pookstreet]

Sure thing Jon. I'll explain everything in more detail in the future thread.

Ian, SoCal wasn't comfortable routing teeth into 3/4" acrylic and I sure wasn't going to. An opening has been routed out of the back piece (you can see it leaning against a cabinet in the fourth photo) and I'll simply glue on another black piece with teeth routed out right behind it. Not as pretty but works just the same.

Thanks Ed. Not one up anything. Just something else to take up the rest of my free time

 

[SteveOhh]

Oh man Kenny....................do you have the wheels in my head spinning.............Oh the possibilities!!!!!!!

Nice job........ :beer:

 

[pookstreet]

Thanks Steve......make sure you grease those wheels often with some good brews so they don't burn up Hope you don't get too busy at CFM so we can hang a bit and have a chilled one.