Acrylic Frag Cage Build

[Peppie]

I have had this thick acrylic, ( 1" ) sitting in my shop for over a year. It was 14'' X 66''. I knew I would use it for a rimless tank build of some sort.
So since I am upgrading in the future I thought it would be best used for a shallow Frag Tank. I also was given some 3/4'' acrylic from Mojo. I will use this material for the sides. ( Long live the Beast!!!).
The tank will be 33'' X 26'' X 13 1/2'' tall. A total of 50gal.
Not sure if it will be plumbed into the Main System at this time. I have considered setting up its own sump.

Started with the table saw and squared up all the sides and cut them to the correct dimensions

I routed all the edges smooth to get a good weld joint. Then I chambered the tops and the ends of the front and back panels.
Doing it a little different than the typical flush ends with a roundover.

Did a mock up, to be sure all was square. I am glad I did, The sides had to be recut and re routed. I love doing this twice. LOL

Now I am ready to weld. Pins and shims in place

I will let it cure for a couple of hours then weld the other side to the front

 

[NemCrazy]

It's looking pretty sweet!

 

[DolphinLVR]

Dang Peppie is at it again!

Looking great my friend

 

[fall0n]

Wow, that's some serious acrylic slabs!

 

[Spinner]

great project

 

[chickenofthesea]

Go Peppie Go!

 

[Peppie]

So I wanted to get this tank welded by the end of the day so I pushed on.

First set of seams looked good, just a little light bubbling near the edges. No biggie, it will hold water

Front and sides, to back

Lots of shims for a 1/4'' bottom

Bread tie pins, for the shims

Pins in place and snug

A little weight for some smushing power

I think I will put a different spin on the inside.....

 

[Spinner]

The doctor is in................ can't wait for more!!!!!!

 

[mercenary-grunt]

looks fun dave. do you know if you are running same system or create a new one?

 

[Peppie]

looks fun dave. do you know if you are running same system or create a new one?

Havent made up my mind on that yet.
I think I will do as Spinner suggested. I will plumb it to do either or.

 

[Peppie]

Well I cant leave well enough alone!! LOL
I found some 1/8'' black in my acrylic stash. I cut into 1 1/8'' strips

I pulled out my trim a ma-thing jig and put a new burr on the card scrapper, and made a bunch of really,really thin,skinny acrylic shavings

 

[mercenary-grunt]

What's that for?

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[Peppie]

What's that for?

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Funny You should ask.... I just finished the trim. Here ya go

Plumbing and overflow up next

 

[user 26995]

Sweet!
That is looking really great.

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[Spinner]

Wow that was alot of work......nice one

 

[Peppie]

Sweet!
That is looking really great.

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Thanks Lorie,
Most of it looks great. They pieces of the OLD BEAST have a few scratches, and looks cloudy due to age, and has a bow in it . I can get past all of that. The free price was right..

I still have new, old, possibly cool trick, for the plumbing to come

 

[Peppie]

Wow that was alot of work......nice one

Hasnt been to bad. The trim took about 5 hours, the tank took about 6

 

[Peppie]

So I decided to do a basic overflow with a coast to coast. It will be 4 1/2'' deep by the full length of the tank. I made the divider wall out of 1/8'' black acrylic. (thats all I had on hand). So it needed some support. I cut a couple of baffles to help make the divider wall more ridged. They will not interfere with any of the plumbing.

All welded up and ready to insert in the tank

Now I need to cover the ends of the tank with a couple of black panels so you cant see the plumbing.
Most people would have set up the router to put a clean edge and champfer on all for sides.
I took out the card scraper and made these.
They are super thin

If you look close you can see the champfer

I am waiting on some #16 weldon to dry so I can rotate the tank to finish sealing it up.

 

[mercenary-grunt]

Wow looks amazing.

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[Peppie]

Thanks M-G
I only post the good parts. LOL