Just Cracked My Acrylic.....

wahoowa

wahoowa

Member
So after a month of planning and prep for drilling my acrylic tank, I just cracked it. I figured out where I wanted to drill the hole for my bulkhead and decided to drill a small hole through the middle first to act as a guide for the hole saw. I guess I was a little too pumped up about it and when I went through the other end, my drill smacked the acrylic......rookie mistake. Anyways, I proceeded to drill the bulkhead hole afterwards. I'm now left with a 3 inch crack coming off of the one side and about 1.5 inches coming off the other. I've already used weldon inside the cracks. Any additional ideas or should I just scrap the project now?
 
gypsana

gypsana

Active Member
Once you put water in the tank and it applies pressure to those cracks I do not see any way of making it secure. The cracks are just going to keep going and you will have a leak. IMO I would cut that panel off and try again, but you should sand down the joining surface areas because if it is not flush that can cause leaks as well.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Weldon actually welds acrylic. It doesn't stick 2 ends together but actually "melts" and then "rebonds". Can you take a pic of what you are talking about and suggest the best route to take.
 
wahoowa

wahoowa

Member
Ok, here's a pic. Looks worse on the pic than in person, but gives you an idea of what I'm dealing with. I've read up a little bit - the majority say that weldon will work fine if done correctly by opening up the crack and applying the weldon inside the crack, rather than on the surface. I also thought about getting some thin acrylic and melting that over the crack. Only problem is my OF box sits up against it, so the acrylic will have to be super thin.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Honestly, I think I would get a patch of acrylic, drill a hole in it, line up the holes and cement the new piece in place to cover those cracks.
 
gregzbobo

gregzbobo

Member
a good way to stop a crack in its tracks, and it DOES work, although sounds seriously weird, is to take the smallest possible bit you can, and drill a hole at the very tip of the crack opposite where it started. The hole will relieve the stress at the end of the crack and will stop it from "running on". Then once thats done, do what Cranberry suggested (just drilling it for the ORIGINAL hole of course) and patch it with another piece of acrylic, preferably putting the patch on the wet side of the acrylic, not the dry side...
 
gypsana

gypsana

Active Member
Just from personal experience with working with acrylic there is a possibility if cracks that may start from the hole. Gluing a piece over it may work but if the crack runs through from another spot it may not hold. Stress cracks sometimes can not even be felt because the crack originates internal. I hope this makes sense to you. Personally I would be hesitant about a repair. How big is the tank?
 
gypsana

gypsana

Active Member
I guess you could try the repair and fill it with water to see what happens, but it would always worry me if it was my tank. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.
 
whitebird

whitebird

Member
if it was me i would patch both sides and the the patch at least 3" or more past the crack and 3/16s or 1/4 i would use, good luck
 
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