Chief Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Got a serious problem. My tank is a 240 gallon acrylic 8X2X2. It has 3 openings in the top. On the far right opening there is now a crack/break in the acrylic that stretches to the corner. Can I patch this with a piece of acrylic and some weld-on? Or is my tank toast? If the tank is toast then I am going to be seriously downgrading. I have 2 tanks that I have not set up yet a 50 gallon cube and a 60 gallon hex. Unfortunately, this is an in wall tank, so I will have to patch the hole in the wall also. This sucks. (sad) Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Jay you can patch it. Try and weld / glue the crack first then sister a new piece on top and reglue it together with the old piece. The thicker the better. Acrylic is amazing stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 I thought about going triple overkill. Weld the crack, weld a piece on bottom and weld a piece on top. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattv Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 It cant hurt. You might have an issue getting good penetration of the glue on the bottom piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmike Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 can you post pics of the crack? Call james at envision, even though he didn't build it, he will tell you how it should be properly fixed. Sometimes the solvent used will cause crazing in highly stressed areas like this. I would probably use weld-on 40 to place a patch over the top and bottom depending upon where it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 I'd call and talk to James at Envision. Everyone has an opinion, best to get an informed one when the cost of being wrong is hundreds of gallons of saltwater on the floor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfisher Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 I have a can of weld on if you need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackaninny Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 You might have already done this but I would mark the crack start and end poits with a sharpie or something so you know if it's getting bigger or where it's running to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eshraghi Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Be prepared to Drain some water from your main tank into the others to reduce some stress while you perform your repair. I had a similar problem on a 75 that I repaired, but it held without concern with some home depot acrylic and weld-on. The shearing strength of acrylic is amazing. Its like balsa wood. lol Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 Is the crack seperating? If there isn't a gap then weld on can be used to penetrate it and bond it back together. Adding a patch as well will add some strength and insurance. Be absolutely sure the acrylic is clean before you do it though. If it's been wet with saltwater then chances are the crack itself has some in it which will keep the weld on from bonding the way it should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 I've also got some weldon 4 & 16 if you need any Jay. Also have a bunch of scrap acrylic too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 Thanks for the advice and for the offer on supplies. I ended up going to multicraft plastics in Eugene and picked up some scrap acrylic and some weld on 4 & 16. I patched both top and bottom. I think this is only going to be a temporary fix. Time for a new tank. I'm thinking of righting a few wrongs with my last design. I am thinking of a 8' X 3' X 18" tank. That would give me front access to the tank which would be nice for cleaning. Or I could go 8' X 4' X 18". That would be awesome. I am thinking of building a plywood tank with possibly a starfire front pane. This could be a lot of fun, and I could finally have a really deep tank. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReeFit Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Those plywood tanks look cool and easy to build, but i am still scared about a leak forming eventually after a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 That sounds awesome Jay!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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