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chebert22
10-18-2007, 06:52 PM
Anyone ever ventured to build their own aquarium? I was watching the DIY network the other day and they were building things out of lucite.

Is it hard to do?
rolloffhill
10-18-2007, 07:56 PM
I wouldn't, silicone doesn't adhere to plexi/lucite like it does glass. That is why acrylic tanks are seamless.
chebert22
10-18-2007, 08:08 PM
Yeah but they were using some kind of chlora-flora-fluba-mide to glue it together... wouldn't that seal it enough? And silicone wouldn't adhere even if you took a rotary tool and roughed up the seems a bit?
rolloffhill
10-18-2007, 08:11 PM
Yeah but they were using some kind of chlora-flora-fluba-mide to glue it together... wouldn't that seal it enough? And silicone wouldn't adhere even if you took a rotary tool and roughed up the seems a bit?

That doesn't sound fish safe....:wha:
chebert22
10-18-2007, 08:20 PM
well it isn't if you put it in their water. But i'm sure that it would be after you glued everything together and let it cure for a few days!
rolloffhill
10-18-2007, 08:34 PM
Don't count on it for the same reason you have to watch what kind of silicone to use. Some silicones have fungicides in them so you have to be carefull with what you use.

Were they building a tank out of lucite on diy?
chebert22
10-18-2007, 08:42 PM
No, they were building lucite cubes to use as end tables for furniture. And after seeing them doing that, I was wondering if you could do the same thing, but strong enough to hold water.
chebert22
10-18-2007, 08:43 PM
And wasn't there someone who was selling acrylic tanks or something that he had made on here not to long ago. If i remember correctly, he was in the alvarado area. How are those made?
Vivarium Concepts
10-19-2007, 09:55 AM
I wouldn't trust silicone to hold acrylic that is going to have any pressure on it at all. You need to solvent bond the acrylic, this will form a bond between the pieces that is stronger than the acrylic itself.

Lot's of good info here.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=390652

I have some other links that talk about different types of acrylic, etc. I will dig for them later if you are interested.
AndrewH
10-19-2007, 10:22 AM
Yeah, you're needing to "weld" the acrylic not sticky it together.

If a non-fish safe material was use, maybe you could cap it with a fish safe material to keep it from coming into contact with the water?
Vivarium Concepts
10-19-2007, 11:44 AM
From what I understand, once the solvent is cured, it is then completed 'out gassing' and does not need to be sealed with anything, hence it becomes inert.

Sea Clear used to make acrylic tanks, I don't know if they still do or not.