00W's AIO Smorgasbord

tbrown · Friday at 2:09 PM

Nor'easter reefer said:
And cast acrylic correct? I'm currently trying to determine dimensions and then gotta figure out thickness. Once glued properly it's really strong isn't it? Would it be worth trying to heat and bend corners or just glue them?

Outside the tank, glueing should be fine. If you want "prettier", bend the corners.

Nor'easter reefer · Friday at 2:17 PM

tbrown said:
Outside the tank, glueing should be fine. If you want "prettier", bend the corners.

I might get a sheet to see how hard it is to bend. I would like it pretty but idk if I'm capable of something that fancy lol

Lowell Lemon · Friday at 2:40 PM

Nor'easter reefer said:
And cast acrylic correct? I'm currently trying to determine dimensions and then gotta figure out thickness. Once glued properly it's really strong isn't it? Would it be worth trying to heat and bend corners or just glue them?

Easier to just cut square corner parts and bond them with Weld On # 4. It is water like solvent that welds the cell cast acrylic together. Make sure the parts are flat and square. I use a carbide router bit to clean up the saw marks before bonding the acrylic. You can use a straight edge or make a guide for a table to just take off about .0200 of an inch to remove the saw marks. Use a triple chip grind saw blade like what is used for aluminum or plastics. Sometimes The Home Depot has a blade that will work. The hook angle should be slight like maybe 2 or 3 degrees.

Bending requires machining a flat surface after the bend to eliminate "necking" (Necking is when the formed plastic squishes up on the inside corner and shrinks on the outside of the formed corner). You either have to create a jig and use a flush trimming router bit or set up something like a shaper to trim off the edges after bending.

tbrown · Friday at 2:42 PM

Like I said, @Lowell Lemon for acrylic.

Lowell Lemon · Friday at 2:47 PM

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Nor'easter reefer · Friday at 2:48 PM

Lowell Lemon said:
Easier to just cut square corner parts and bond them with Weld On # 4. It is water like solvent that welds the cell cast acrylic together. Make sure the parts are flat and square. I use a carbide router bit to clean up the saw marks before bonding the acrylic. You can use a straight edge or make a guide for a table to just take off about .0200 of an inch to remove the saw marks. Use a triple chip grind saw blade like what is used for aluminum or plastics. Sometimes The Home Depot has a blade that will work. The hook angle should be slight like maybe 2 or 3 degrees.

Bending requires machining a flat surface after the bend to eliminate "necking" (Necking is when the formed plastic squishes up on the inside corner and shrinks on the outside of the formed corner). You either have to create a jig and use a flush trimming router bit or set up something like a shaper to trim off the edges after bending.

Awesome! Thank you! I don't have 100% specific dimensions but roughly 16w x 11t x 6 d. I was thinking of a eurobrace top and a lid that sits on it. Do you think ¼ would be fine?

BrokenReefer · Friday at 2:55 PM

I paid someone to make my overflow for me - lol - Modular Marine.

Twice actually since I goofed the dimensions the first go-round.

Nor'easter reefer · Friday at 3:17 PM

Was it terribly expensive?

stoney7713 · Friday at 4:04 PM

tbrown said:
I didn't do magnet racks but @stoney7713 has printed some nice magnetic racks.

Nor'easter reefer said:
I need to design a gaurd to go around my ato as the tank it's in has some turbulence and sometimes slimes up the optical eye. I just gotta find some good magnets

Magnets, plastic coated, not enamel or epoxy coated. Encased in acrylic works too.

smitten with ocean life · Friday at 4:19 PM

ok guys can you help me with rowa phos? i bought some to help with my high phos. but the directions on how much to use have my head spinning. which one of you use this stuff and how? tia!!

kevgib67 · Friday at 4:49 PM

smitten with ocean life said:
ok guys can you help me with rowa phos? i bought some to help with my high phos. but the directions on how much to use have my head spinning. which one of you use this stuff and how? tia!!

Sorry Jill I haven’t but it is pretty popular, I’m sure someone will chime in. Have you checked YouTube?

luis angel · Friday at 4:52 PM

smitten with ocean life said:
ok guys can you help me with rowa phos? i bought some to help with my high phos. but the directions on how much to use have my head spinning. which one of you use this stuff and how? tia!!

@00W

luis angel · Friday at 4:52 PM

smitten with ocean life said:
ok guys can you help me with rowa phos? i bought some to help with my high phos. but the directions on how much to use have my head spinning. which one of you use this stuff and how? tia!!

How much did you buy?