Cracked my new sump, Im sick to my stomach. Not going into how i did this but need to know where to get Weld On local or what else will work to mend acrylic..
Help with Acrylic repair
- Thread starter hatzo1
- Start date
Damn, sorry to hear about that. Fortunately arcylic is pretty to repair. There was just a tip about adding suction on the opposite side of the crack when applying the solvent to really get it in there. Here's where you can get the Weldon tomorrow.
Calsak Plastics
3105 Sweetwater Rd NW # J, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
(770) 921-4550
https://goo.gl/maps/hTo4hixD5Ks
Calsak Plastics
3105 Sweetwater Rd NW # J, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
(770) 921-4550
https://goo.gl/maps/hTo4hixD5Ks
Thanks anit77, Yea Im just disgusted right now. 
I also found a place in Douglasville just now that carries the Weld On 4. https://www.mcmaster.com/
I just need to seal the crack and things should be good.
Just wont be pretty but You really cant see the side the crack is on. Trying to be positive but green on the inside.
I worry now about the tank and the 2 clowns I have in it as I had pulled my canister I was swaping out . Guess Ill have to hook it all back up.
I also found a place in Douglasville just now that carries the Weld On 4. https://www.mcmaster.com/I just need to seal the crack and things should be good.
Just wont be pretty but You really cant see the side the crack is on. Trying to be positive but green on the inside.
I worry now about the tank and the 2 clowns I have in it as I had pulled my canister I was swaping out . Guess Ill have to hook it all back up.
If you had 8 to 12 fish in there and some of them much bigger you would be right to be worried. Your clowns will be fine.
If you can do the weld on right the crack will be barely noticeable.
If you can do the weld on right the crack will be barely noticeable.
Make sure it is the thin weldon so it will go into the crack easily. There is a thick version that is nice for welding the end of a piece to another poece, such as when building something from acrylic, but not so good for crack sealing unless there is material missing from the edge of the crack.
Make sure to thoroughly rinse out any salt from the crack and allow it to thoroughly dry before using weldon. I used ro water myself. A wetvac works great for this. You can put suction on one side of the acrylic crack then spray water to the other side, rinsing the salt out. Then continue to with the wetvac to ensure it is completely dry. When you think it is dry, dry it some more and let it sit overnight if you can. Any water the weldon touches will make bubbles you cannot remove.
When you go to add weldon, use the wetvac again to suck some of the weldon through the crack. I suggest using painters tape to prevent any drips or runs from the weldon reaching parts of the tank outside the crack. The weldon does a pretty decent job of wicking through the crack, but the wetvac makes sure it pulls all the way through the crack. Let the first application set, then add some to the surface of the crack to wick into any gaps left.
The entire process takes very little weldon and it is highly recomended to use a syringe so you use as little as possible. I welded about 5 times as much stuff with the last 1/4 bottle of weldon as I did with the first 3/4 of the same bottle once I learned this and the newer stuff using less looks a lot better. Using too much weldon will make a sloppy job of it that you cannot cleanup since it actualy melts the acrylic. You should not attempt to wipe up excess weldon since it can create a haze on the acrylic.
Using this method I have successfully sealed a large dropped sump and some huge cracks in a large external overflow from someone manhandling the bulkheads when moving the tank
Good luck, at least it is the sump and not the dt
Make sure to thoroughly rinse out any salt from the crack and allow it to thoroughly dry before using weldon. I used ro water myself. A wetvac works great for this. You can put suction on one side of the acrylic crack then spray water to the other side, rinsing the salt out. Then continue to with the wetvac to ensure it is completely dry. When you think it is dry, dry it some more and let it sit overnight if you can. Any water the weldon touches will make bubbles you cannot remove.
When you go to add weldon, use the wetvac again to suck some of the weldon through the crack. I suggest using painters tape to prevent any drips or runs from the weldon reaching parts of the tank outside the crack. The weldon does a pretty decent job of wicking through the crack, but the wetvac makes sure it pulls all the way through the crack. Let the first application set, then add some to the surface of the crack to wick into any gaps left.
The entire process takes very little weldon and it is highly recomended to use a syringe so you use as little as possible. I welded about 5 times as much stuff with the last 1/4 bottle of weldon as I did with the first 3/4 of the same bottle once I learned this and the newer stuff using less looks a lot better. Using too much weldon will make a sloppy job of it that you cannot cleanup since it actualy melts the acrylic. You should not attempt to wipe up excess weldon since it can create a haze on the acrylic.
Using this method I have successfully sealed a large dropped sump and some huge cracks in a large external overflow from someone manhandling the bulkheads when moving the tank
Good luck, at least it is the sump and not the dt
Got my Weld On 4 (like water) today from McMaster-Carr. so Ill be learning Acrylic repair tonight.
Well I was able to get the sump crack fixed and water tight. Got the sump up and going yesterday evening. All it flowing well. Just have a little sleep on the intake pipe so I have to figure that out and need to raise the skimmer up and inch. Over all very happy. Thanks again for the Input on fixing the issue. You guys helped calm a stressful situation for me .
Glad it worked out well.
Yeah man me to . It’s all running great. Now just to slowly move forward.
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