I have a used acrylic tank that I am in the process of setting up and I could use some advice. The tank is drilled in the bottom and the return water comes up through two small towers with holes at the top. At the bottom of the towers it looks like the previous owner cut a slot in in each one. The left ower is partially covered (damaged?) and the other is wide open. I would like to permanently close these cuts so that all of the water returns through the top of the tower but I am not sure how to do this. The surface is triangular with the point being rounded. I could glue two pieces on each side of the triangle but that wouldn't close the cut right in the middle. Any ideas how to fix this?
acrylic repair ideas
- Thread starter pawpaw
- Start date
Those are there to help circulate water a little bit more. I wouldn't necessarily remove them.
You could bend (with some heat) a piece of acrylic to match the bend in the triangle or you could cut the right angle in the two pieces so they join together and make a corner over the bent weir.
You could probably goop up some weld-on 16 to cover them by itself.
You could probably seal it with silicone.
You could bend (with some heat) a piece of acrylic to match the bend in the triangle or you could cut the right angle in the two pieces so they join together and make a corner over the bent weir.
You could probably goop up some weld-on 16 to cover them by itself.
You could probably seal it with silicone.
Silicone will stick to acrylic, just not as well as glass and there are better options for sealing acrylic tanks seams together. The silicone doesn't need to stick to the acrylic in this case though. It just needs to seal the hole. It's definitely worth considering but probably not what I would do either.
If it really bothers you, pickup a small piece of acrylic from home depot and order some weldon 16 from mcmaster carr and cut the pieces with a table saw to fit. Cheap and easy fix.
Thank you for all of the ideas everyone and sorry for the delay in a replay (travelling). I wanted to seal them off because they are so close to the bottom of the tank I am worried it will stir up the sand something fierce down there. I guess I could just stick a piece of rock up against it to diffuse the flow? still working on the plumbing so I will have to think about it.
It won't stir up the sand. Those are intakes to the overflox (which I guess makes it not an overflow) box, right? Newer typical glass RR aquariums have an intake of sorts near the bottom. It's a little more than just a cut in the weir but it doesn't create any issues with the sand.
Are there holes in the bottom behind these?
Are there holes in the bottom behind these?
Weldon is the stuff to bond acrylic to acrylic. Anything else won't work too well.
Just an aside - you do want to agitate and vacuum the sand regularly or you will have 'something fierce' down there before long, although I do understand your meaning insofar as that slot goes in the overflow.
Jenn
Just an aside - you do want to agitate and vacuum the sand regularly or you will have 'something fierce' down there before long, although I do understand your meaning insofar as that slot goes in the overflow.
Jenn
