Acrylic at Home Depot, can i use it

[moatdaddy]

built a glass tank by myself a couple years back and thought that building an acrylic wouldnt be a bad idea. trying to build a shallow reef. Thing is i found some 1/4 at HD which according to garf is what size i need. This stuff is flexible. I got it cut and still dont feel good about the acrylic. Called home depot they said its acrylic made by plexiglass. Will this be fine or has anyone ever used this stuff.
Thanks Brandon

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by moatdaddy
http:///forum/post/3194365
built a glass tank by myself a couple years back and thought that building an acrylic would be a bad idea. trying to build a shallow reef. Thing is i found some 1/4 at HD which according to garf is what size i need. This stuff is flexible. I got it cut and still dont feel good about the acrylic. Called home depot they said its acrylic made by plexiglass. Will this be fine or has anyone ever used this stuff.
Thanks Brandon

...Why not try marine paint. Three colors..red, yellow and blue will make every color...black will make it darker, and white will make it lighter. let one color dry before doing another or you may cause a muddy look.

 

[moatdaddy]

sorry. im actually talking about building a new tank. wonding if the walls will hold

 

[jstdv8]

LOL flower, I think you lost us on this one

 

[scsinet]

It depends on the particular application. 1/4" is perfectly fine to use as a bottom piece, as you'll support it with an underlayment like plywood. It would also be fine as a eurobrace.
I don't have any set "rules" for how big sides can be, but if you posted the dimensions, I could probably take a shot at it. Personally I prefer to use 3/8 for most applications involving sides.
One word of caution about that home depot acrylic... it's extruded, not cast. It tends to yellow and swell up over time. I'm not sure I'd use it for a display tank.
Acrylic is the generic industry term. Plexiglas is a brand of acrylic.

 

[frankthetank]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3194371

...Why not try marine paint. Three colors..red, yellow and blue will make every color...black will make it darker, and white will make it lighter. let one color dry before doing another or you may cause a muddy look.
This reply made me re read the OP 3 times to ensure I wasn't missing something.