Does anyone know of individuals that do this?
i was looking for something that would fit into my bowfront stand
the basic dimensions are 30x12x16 but ultimately depend on what i settle for on a skimmer
the lay out would be skimmer/tank output ->baffles-> area for pump -> refuge
fairly simple lay out
another question, does anyone know of an acrylic supplier in ottawa that can give me sheets of custom cut acrylic?
check out aquariumpros.ca under the classifieds somebody is selling that size sump for 150 and its made out of acrylic
:)I beleive this plastic shop may have what you need
Canus Plastics Inc
300 Lisgar Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 0E2
(613) 232-2657 - 7.5 km N
Poly-Plastic
179 Industrial, ON N0E 1N0
(519) 448-4781 - 54 km SW
hope you find what your looking for .
anyone know of a reliable place that cuts glass to specific dimensions and can cut teeth structures into a piece?
on that note, i assume acrylic doesnt easily bond to glass as glass seals with silcone while acrylic uses a liquid that actually bonds and melts the two pieces together..?
and does any know of any easily cut materal similar to pvc pipe or some sort of plastic that will bond to glass with silcone, is readily available and that can be cut with common tools (dremmel or somethingfor the teeth and a saw for the dimensions)that could be used to build baffles and an over flow in a sump?
whew lots of questions in there...
M&T Glass (Cyrville road I think?) will cut whatever you want to whatever dimensions you want, while you wait.
Acrylic can't be siliconed to glass; silicone doesn't bond to acrylic well at all. And you're right, the concept of most plastic glues is that they melt the plastic together.
Silicone will hold plastic to the glass, but you won't have a watertight or terribly sturdy seal...what are you looking to do with the pipe? Silicone will hold plastic in place, just won't support much load.
You can work Acrylic with common tools easily, but bonding to the glass is not something that's very feasible. What are you trying to do exactly?
build a sump basically
the odd dimensions of my bow front stand make it hard to get something that will fit in there, a 20g long (30.5X12.5X12.5) fits but i want a bit more gallonage under there so i want to up the height as much as i can and still have it fit in the stand without tearing it apart to get it in there ( the max dimensions i figure that can fit into my stand happily are 30.5X12.5X15-15.75
as for basic tools, how do you go about cutting acrylic? a saw of some sort with 60 - 80 teeth grade i think i read some where and only let afew teeth touch to reduce melting, but what kind of saw exactly escapes me
as for bonding the two together i'm not sure about, i know there is a pins method that allows for the liquid to go between the pieces and reduce bubbles? again i'm not very
knowledgable on this subject
oh i must also mention i dont have access to many tools at all, i think my uncle has someting going but as per what exactly he has i'm not sure, i know i can get my hands on a dremmel fairly easily for teeth cutting but other than that i'm out to lunch
For cutting sheets you can use a table saw with any fine tooth blade. I would highly recommend you pay the few bucks to have the plastic shop provide you with pre-cut pieces. Tell them you need the cuts to be VERY accurate.
The "pins" method is basically to put the glue on the bottom piece, put a bunch of pins down, and put the side piece on the pins...then remove them one by one to make sure you get a good seal. Never done this myself but understand the concept.
Canus Plastics would actually do the assembly for you, if you asked. Might want to ask how much. They do custom stuff like this. You could still do the work of cutting the overflow box, etc. A Dremel or router work well for Acrylic.
Just one suggestion - don't make you sump too high!
You will have to clean the pump, possibly skimmer, put light over it for macroalgae - everything need space. I got 25G high tank and this is max what I could place. Sometimes you just need more long than high, even high sump IMO provides you with better water level regulation.
As for attaching acrilic to glass walls - in the sump you don't mind if some water will pass through the attachement palced until it is inside your sump :). Basically you can get not acrillic, but glass sheets to make buffles and in order to raise them from the sump bottom just put some plactic/glasssupport peices underneath. Just remeber - this is not rocket science...
Regards
Quote from: DarkDep on October 03, 2006, 11:04:33 AM
For cutting sheets you can use a table saw with any fine tooth blade. I would highly recommend you pay the few bucks to have the plastic shop provide you with pre-cut pieces. Tell them you need the cuts to be VERY accurate.
The "pins" method is basically to put the glue on the bottom piece, put a bunch of pins down, and put the side piece on the pins...then remove them one by one to make sure you get a good seal. Never done this myself but understand the concept.
Canus Plastics would actually do the assembly for you, if you asked. Might want to ask how much. They do custom stuff like this. You could still do the work of cutting the overflow box, etc. A Dremel or router work well for Acrylic.
maybe i will just get them to make an acrylic tank for me (cut assemble) and have them cut the needed baffles, refuge area sheets and supporting pieces to stop bowing, might be much easier, as the rest doesnt have to be so specific other than the water level needed for the skimmer to run efficiently
thanks!