250 Gal. Acrylic tank LEAK!

[btowntaz]

I was able to aquire a 250 gal. tank acrylic tank and stand yesterday. After filling it I noticed a tiny leak in a seam between the bottom and the front of the tank. I was told I would need an acrylic adhesive to repair it. Anyone know of a good acrylic glue? Or even where the hell to get it? I have called almost every store in town. Hardware, craft, plastic dealers. But no one can tell me where to get this stuff! I was aslo thinking of putting a bead of 100% silicone around EVERY seam. Good idea or not?

[Hebdizzle]

yes good idea

silicon should purchasable at any fish store

[serjuanca888]

You can also get silicone cheaper from a hardware store. Make sure that the bottle says 100% silicone. Oh yah, and also make sure you get clear silicone not white silicone.

[btowntaz]

Cool thanks. Anyone know anything about acrylic adhesive or solvent?

[agilis]

Silicon will not solidly adhere to plexiglass or acrylic. It may stop a tiny leak, but not very effectively. You can easily peel silicon from acrylic. In any case you need to seal a leak from the inside, and that means an empty tank. The best way to seal the leak is to use strips of square acrylic bonded to the inside edge where the bottom and side sections meet. You can do all the seams this way, and make them stronger and leakproof.

You can get adhesive and right angle strips from plexi/acrylic dealers, found in most major cities. Check a metropolitan phone directory under plexiglass or "acrylic fabrication". If you live in a small town, you may have to travel. Internet sales may be a problem because the adhesive is very volatile.

[slipknottin]

How do the seams look on the tank? Bubbly? Hazy? Any way you can get a picture?

The 'glue' you want is Weld-On, probably weld-on #3. But I wont advise you to attempt to fix the tank with weld-on until I get verification on how solid the seams are.

[btowntaz]

There are some bubbles on the rounded corners. All of the others look fine. I called an aquarium dealer and was told to use a insulin needle to shoot the acrylic adhesive into the seam. I have the needle but cannot find the **** adhesive. I was told several times to use IPS Weldon #3 or #4. But I cannot find where to purchase it. Home depot, true value, Lowe's. Nobody carries the stuff. I went on the internet and found that IPS weldon's headquaters is 150 miles from where I live!

Thnaks for the suggestion on the right angle strips. I never even thought of that. But it's going to be tough going in the rounded corners. I will try to get some pictures up soon. Also how hard is it to remove scratches from acrylic? There are some small scratches near the top of the tank I would like to remove. Thanks for the help guys.

[btowntaz]

The tank is fixed and has been leak free for 3 months. I took your advise and used the right angle strips. Excellent suggestion. It did the trick.