Anyone work with acrylic here?

[melly mel]

Hi guys, does anyone work with acrylic here? im looking to add a overflow to a standard 65 gallon truvu.

Also, can you guys recommend if i should go internal or external? I'm planning on swamping tanks in the near future and want to do it right.

Thanks!

 

[sfsuphysics]

I'd recommend external, but I've always liked it that way, however some people have space issues and those extra few inches they don't have behind the tank, plus for an external one you need to cut into the side of the tank (and I wouldn't recommend just a hole.

It's fairly simple, decide how big you want it, cut the pieces to fit a 3/4 box (you don't need one side and a top of the box). Make you box using weldon 3 or 4 if the pieces are cut nicely, if you don't have the ability to do that, then weldon 16 is a nice beginners one.

Once you have your box and its had some time to firm up you can put it on the tank (whether inside or outside). If the tank is still full that's to say you have to install it with the tank upright you need to use 16 with some clamps to get it to hold, if its empty, you might be able to use 3 or 4, but you have to be careful some acrylic tanks have a tendency to bow out over time so the side isn't flat as you'd hope.

 

[tuberider]

Make sure you build a box if you're going external, don't just slap an overflow on the back. If you only bond the edges of the box to the tank it will pop off at some point. Also, I'd avoid #16 and go with #40, #16 is a little too brittle and can lead to problems down the road, #40 is a little more flexible and does an extremely good job of fully bonding.

HTH

 

[melly mel]

Thanks Mike and Jeremy for the info. Im leaning towards external as i want as much space inside the tank as possible. what thickness acrylic should i use? Jeremy, i see your point in making a full box to have more contact instead of just the edges.

Second question, The tank is clear on all sides atm and i want to paint the back eventualy. How can i do this with the overflow installed? I'm sure i cant intall the overflow after its been painted, but if i install overflow first the places where its bonded will stick out like a sore thumb. What would be the best way to go about this??

 

[tuberider]

I would use 1/4" at the least, on my old tank it was 3/8" and done with Weld-On #40, the box is attached to the extra piece of acrylic and not the tank.

AFA your black background, you could use black acrylic and paint the rest of the tank when you are done, that might work.

 

[badbread]

I got my overflows done by Tyler down at Dolphin Pet Village, he uses ABS plastic, I forgot the reason but whatever he said it sounded good. He did a great job on mine.

 

[sfsuphysics]

While there is nothing wrong with WeldOn 40 as Jeremy suggested there are a couple problems with it, first its a two part solution, so it's not quite as easy as squirting 16 and squishing the pieces together. Second good luck finding it locally, Tap Plastics does not carry that in store, sure you can order it online, but if you're looking to to get make one trip to the store you'll probably be out of luck.

That said 40 does have quite a long tack time so it allows you to work without worry of mistakes becoming permanent.

 

[tuberider]

Gen claimed that even #3 couldn't bond strong enough to hold the box on and he's had several pop off, I really don't think #16 is a good idea personally.

 

[sfsuphysics]

How long did it take the box to pop off?

I don't want to sound like I'm putting the maestro down, but a couple coast to coasts I put on, rim only no box, with #16 and one held on for 3 years (its still on) with no signs of leak, and the other for however long I had the 180 up, again no sign of breaking off. Granted I put gussets under it to support the weight, but still. I have a hard time believing #3 was used over a whole surface of a box and it popped off without it being done very well, hell I had half a square inch done with #3 for a couple hours and I broke the acrylic it was attached to trying to get that little piece off.

I mean I'm sure it was a 1 out of a 10000 chance (see he probably does that many more than I've done ), but still. I like 16 and haven't had any brittle issues unless it's really a large gap you're trying to fill.

 

[tuberider]

a couple coast to coasts I put on, rim only no box, with #16 and one held on for 3 years

Coast to coasts also support the frame of a box and add the the integrity, a true external overflow is subject to flex and bowing from the weaker areas surrounding it. You cannot be too safe when it comes to DIYing something like that IMO, and in my occupation it is my lively hood that is on the line.