Acrilic sheet
- Thread starter desertgoldhound
- Start date
YES YES YES. I went over there to purchase alot more acrilic. I spent 125 and when I walked out another man followed me and offered me 400 for it all. YES YES YES I NEEDED THE MONEY. Was spent on a much needed item so there is non left for the tank 
Crazy people
First off... if you don't know what you're doing then you should not be even considering building a tank over 5 gallons with acrylic... and Acrylic and Plexiglass are the exact same thing. Lexan is different in that it contains a greater amount of water vapor inside making it harder to heat without boiling. Acrylic you can heat with a blowtorch or in an oven much easier than Lexan. Lexan will bubble and weaken severely if not heated very slowly. Lexan is also much more flexible than Acrylic/plexiglass but stronger against impact. Do not use Acrylic or lexan to build a tank unless you really know what you're dealing with, It will shatter suddenly and you will have a room full of water and dead fish one morning!
First off... if you don't know what you're doing then you should not be even considering building a tank over 5 gallons with acrylic... and Acrylic and Plexiglass are the exact same thing. Lexan is different in that it contains a greater amount of water vapor inside making it harder to heat without boiling. Acrylic you can heat with a blowtorch or in an oven much easier than Lexan. Lexan will bubble and weaken severely if not heated very slowly. Lexan is also much more flexible than Acrylic/plexiglass but stronger against impact. Do not use Acrylic or lexan to build a tank unless you really know what you're dealing with, It will shatter suddenly and you will have a room full of water and dead fish one morning!
Whoa...throttle back, good friend
We're not crazy. I've cut and milled acrylic sheet before...just keep the protective sheeting on while you do it to keep it scratch free. Common woodworking tools (table saw w/ a thin, fine-tooth cross-cut or plywood blade, jigsaw, finish sanders for dressing the edges, etc.) work just fine.
I will agree with you that making high-strength acrylic seams (i.e., joining a pair of right-angle sheets for an aquarium) takes skill (that means lots, and lots of practice on scrap pieces) and patience to properly build that tank so as to avoid avoid catastrophic failure and a lot of water in your livingroom. The edges have to be smooth, the seams perfectly mated, and the seaming solvent applied perfectly. This is beyond the time and skill levels of most casual craftsmen.
You can easily make an overflow for your aquarium by building a little corner box out of acrylic sheet and silicone adhesive (i.e., the silicone is okay since this is not a high-strength application; otherwise, use dedicated acrylic joining/seaming solvents). Most people can't cut glass properly or safely at home, so acrylic in this limited application is the way to go.
Once I finish shooting the gelcoat on my boat, I'm going to use some spare acrylic sheet in my garage to build a divider for one of this boat's livewells (keep different live baits separated).
I agree that Lexan (it's a polycarbonate, not an acrylic ester polymer) is out of the question for a tank...I've cut and milled Lexan to build framed security glass for my house in the same way as acrylic sheet, but it's very pricey and has specific cleaning requirements to avoid surface degradation and crazing. Laminates of Lexan polycarbonate make terrific bullet-resistant glazing.
v/r, N-A
We're not crazy. I've cut and milled acrylic sheet before...just keep the protective sheeting on while you do it to keep it scratch free. Common woodworking tools (table saw w/ a thin, fine-tooth cross-cut or plywood blade, jigsaw, finish sanders for dressing the edges, etc.) work just fine.
I will agree with you that making high-strength acrylic seams (i.e., joining a pair of right-angle sheets for an aquarium) takes skill (that means lots, and lots of practice on scrap pieces) and patience to properly build that tank so as to avoid avoid catastrophic failure and a lot of water in your livingroom. The edges have to be smooth, the seams perfectly mated, and the seaming solvent applied perfectly. This is beyond the time and skill levels of most casual craftsmen.
You can easily make an overflow for your aquarium by building a little corner box out of acrylic sheet and silicone adhesive (i.e., the silicone is okay since this is not a high-strength application; otherwise, use dedicated acrylic joining/seaming solvents). Most people can't cut glass properly or safely at home, so acrylic in this limited application is the way to go.
Once I finish shooting the gelcoat on my boat, I'm going to use some spare acrylic sheet in my garage to build a divider for one of this boat's livewells (keep different live baits separated).
I agree that Lexan (it's a polycarbonate, not an acrylic ester polymer) is out of the question for a tank...I've cut and milled Lexan to build framed security glass for my house in the same way as acrylic sheet, but it's very pricey and has specific cleaning requirements to avoid surface degradation and crazing. Laminates of Lexan polycarbonate make terrific bullet-resistant glazing.
v/r, N-A
Oh, one more thing. Plexi is also an acrylic sheet (the Brits call it Perspex). I don't think one looks better than the other from a tradename perspective.TipStylez said:
What matters most in terms of strength and clarity and scratch resistance is how the sheet is produced, not the name used at the plastics retailer. If you get acrylic (i.e., Plexiglass) sheet to build an aquarium, make sure it is cell cast (not continuous cast or extruded) for best strength, clarity and surface hardness.
Extruded sheet is just fine for low-strength applications (like that overflow). It should also be much less expensive.
If you are set on building that big acrylic tank, you might want to look at the following link. I haven't built one yet, and I won't until I get a nice router table (and a couple weeks of vacation all to myself to do it right). In short, I won't be building one any time soon.
Build that Acrylic tank
v/r, N-A
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