Leaky Acrylic Fish Tank any ideas ?

coorsxman

coorsxman

Member
Just setting up my new (used 240 tank) and its leaking any ideas how to fix it. its Acrylic . thres no fish in threre right now .. the leak is in the front of the tank about the middle . then theres another one by my balk head im thinking can a person use the weld on? and re seal all the seams? any ideas? im about to snap lol .. one thing after another ..
 
slade1274

slade1274

Member
are you willing to drain? The area will need to be dry so this is the best way. The water thin solvents will draw into the dry gap and "weld" the acrylic back together. It's the same way that the seams are made and actually fuses the acrylic together. If you can't drain it, you can try some waterproof epoxy putty to put on the inside to keep water from the leak. Once it dries out, you can then use the solvent from the outside to fuse it for real. Try http://www.acrylic-designs.com/plastic_FAQ's.htm for adhesive. I built my own sump/fuge out of 1/4" cell cast acrylic; it's easy to do.
 
pimpnfish

pimpnfish

Member
Originally Posted by slade1274
http:///forum/post/2853076
are you willing to drain? The area will need to be dry so this is the best way. The water thin solvents will draw into the dry gap and "weld" the acrylic back together. It's the same way that the seams are made and actually fuses the acrylic together. If you can't drain it, you can try some waterproof epoxy putty to put on the inside to keep water from the leak. Once it dries out, you can then use the solvent from the outside to fuse it for real. Try http://www.acrylic-designs.com/plastic_FAQ's.htm for adhesive. I built my own sump/fuge out of 1/4" cell cast acrylic; it's easy to do.
I am confused. How do you weld plastic? or acrilicks?
Ive have tried to weld/melt platic before in my model car days. And i remember my Duks of Hazzard General Lee didnt do so good. I used a sodering iron to weld it and it melted and was all mishapen and didnt really hold that good. So how does that work on a fish tank?
confused
:)
 
nitschke65

nitschke65

Member
Acrylic is "welded" chemically, not with heat! With the pieces of acrylic (not plastic) held tightly together in the correct orientation, a very thin bead of a chemical solvent is laid along the seam. This solvent will seep into the miniscule space between the pieces (or, in the case of repairing a leak in an acrylic tank into the crack itself) and disolve an extremely thin layer of acrylic, the pieces will bond within a minutes time, but then need to be left to dry for 24 hours. During that period, the solvent disolves completly, leaving the pieces "welded" together.
 
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