(NO MORE) 2,000L High tech BEAST

[Filip Krupa]

That's really bad luck

Nope, 100% my fault. Dropped the ball when using the "pin" method.

Failing that, the only thing I can think of is to build another...but bigger 😉

Only a matter of time 😉

Unfortunately my advice is to redo the seam as I don't think any other solution will ever give you confidence.

Whatever way you go I wish you luck

*deep sigh* thank you!

Fil

 

[Plants101]

I went down a rabbithole yesterday and literally browsed through this thread from beginning to end over the span of many hours.

All I can say is WOW, major props to you! This is truly a master piece that you have created. From the hardware and the way it's been created, to the actual hardscape/plant selection, this has just been outstanding.

I had a few questions when looking through this thread.

Out of curiosity, how much does each mat of that fissidens moss grow and how much does it sell for? Also, I noticed that you had a large mass of rotala macrandra for a couple of months. Did you ever trim this mass? If so, did the bottoms left in the substrate ever grow back sideshoots?

 

[Filip Krupa]

I went down a rabbithole yesterday and literally browsed through this thread from beginning to end over the span of many hours.

Thank you, and welcome to UKAPS!

how much does each mat of that fissidens moss grow and how much does it sell for?

A 8x8cm square of freshly tied moss - £6. Mature stuff is £20

Did you ever trim this mass?

Hardly, thats why it was so out of control haha
Binned it as it was growing too fast.

Fil

 

[Luciën]

Just want to wish you luck, hope you will find a neat solution.

 

[foxfish]

I am not sure if a screw would work, perhaps with an angled bracket or a full hight corner piece, that might be more effective but in any case, any quick fix will be hard to live with!
Your strap is probably petty safe for the time being, I do feel for you but I can’t think of any way that will look neat without a strip down!
Maybe if you lower the level as far as possible and stuck an 200mm long internal corner acrylic piece over the break ?

 

[Fisher2007]

I've no experience of acrylic but unless you would be 100% satisfied that the screw method would fix the problen then I would only look at the right way of doing it (rebuild)

That amount of water going wrong in your house would not be good!

 

[PARAGUAY]

Dont know if they can help Filip but try Hutton aquatics (Gold label products )they may have something?

 

[ian_m]

When I built an acrylic case for my "LED cube" (see pic below), I originally "glued" (actually solvent welded of course) the case using industry standard Tensol 12.



However some joints were not brilliant and looked like your pictures of the failing joints, except mine was 4mm acrylic and failure would not result in change of underwear.

I tried, using a syringe and fine needle injecting more Tensol 12, but it didn't really wick up into the joint. In the end I bought some more dichloromethane and diluted the Tensol and that wicked up into dodgy joints fine, producing "acceptable" joints all round. Just be careful as the Tensol is now extremely runny and did wick under my masking tape getting into places it shouldn't have leaving "smears" on the acrylic.

I would suggest, lowering the water in your tank to expose the issues, drying the joints, using IPA to "flush" the joints dry, applying very gentle heat to dry the IPA and try the diluted Tensol 12 (or your equivalent solvent) to get it to wick into the joints.

 

[Angelfishguy99]

Sorry to see the hassle you are going through. I have no real advice to offer on how to fix the situation but do make sure you have home insurance. In August 2018 I had a 300ltr aquarium burst it's seal. Done €16,000 euro worth of damage. Insurance company sorted it but we would of been well and truly screwed had they not.

I know it's probably not what you want to hear but I think the only way you will get peace of mind is by re doing it.

Whatever you choose to do I wish you the best.

 

[Filip Krupa]

Thank you for the suggestions and good luck wishes!

Its giving me plenty to consider.
Worst case scenario, I might have to drain the tank half way down and keep it there.
Time to read into paludariums....

Fil

 

[Douglas Mason]

Fil,

Sorry to hear about the problems with your tank.

I've got no solution but if you need a hand with anything let me know

 

[Filip Krupa]

Fil,

Sorry to hear about the problems with your tank.

I've got no solution but if you need a hand with anything let me know

Much appreciated Doug!

 

[Filip Krupa]

Ok, heres the plan so far.

Ive filled the gap with acrylic solvent overnight (drained the tank, and used the ultra thin cement, as suggested by @ian_m). The seam "looks" much better, but wouldnt trust it to hold.

Secondly, Im planning to drill holes in, and hot-screw in some brass inserts, lets not forget ive 1" of acrylic to play with!
Then screw on a brass strap to the outside, with some brass bolts.

If I play my cards right, it might not look terrible!

Thoughts?

 

[mort]

Bear in mind I have no experience with acrylic tanks (built quite a few glass only) but my initial thought was similar to what Foxface suggested above, ie adding a full height corner piece. My thought was a triangular shaped piece that fitted on the inside to strengthen both sides.
I'm assuming this would need you to empty the tank though so perhaps not what you want. I don't know if a shorter piece over the problem area would work.

 

[Filip Krupa]

Bear in mind I have no experience with acrylic tanks (built quite a few glass only) but my initial thought was similar to what Foxface suggested above, ie adding a full height corner piece. My thought was a triangular shaped piece that fitted on the inside to strengthen both sides.
I'm assuming this would need you to empty the tank though so perhaps not what you want. I don't know if a shorter piece over the problem area would work.

Hi mort

My worry with that solution, is that Id be gluing vertically, with the glue flowing down and giving an ugly/weak joint. It really needs to be done horizontally, and there is no way Im manipulating this tank, its 250kgs even when empty!

Ive had that happen when I was practising before the beast. Maybe someone out there can do it right vertically, but its beyond my capabilities.

Fil

 

[lazybones51]

To give you better access to the corner without having to drain the whole tank, you could partition off the corner and pump out water. If you make the partition big enough you should have enough room to work. Something like this but on a bigger scale.

 

[Filip Krupa]

To give you better access to the corner without having to drain the whole tank, you could partition off the corner and pump out water. If you make the partition big enough you should have enough room to work. Something like this but on a bigger scale.

Clever!

 

[Guest]

Is draining and re-gluing not an option? New to acrylic, but with glass in the past I'd fully drain, eat away silicone, dry and then reapply silicone.

I hate to be this person, but it looking ugly probably shouldn't be your main concern right now? There must be a serious amount of force being pushed at those seams right now

 

[Filip Krupa]

Is draining and re-gluing not an option?

There is no such thing with acrylic really. When you "glue it" first thing, youre actually melting and bonding the acrylic faces together.
Cleaning and re-doing isnt really an option (as its an option with glass + silicone). You can only add additional strips of acrylic as suggested by some here, but it wont give you the same strength as doing it right first time.

At least I know where I went wrong with this specific joint, hence once sorted, im pretty confident it wont repeat anywhere else around the tank. Otherwise Id be scrapping the whole thing.

Fil

 

[Filip Krupa]

I hate to be this person, but it looking ugly probably shouldn't be your main concern right now?

Hehe, I agree, it isnt!