Scooterman
Well-known member
None of this is bashing it is proving insight & valuable information & is much appreciated.
Cracked Eurobrace
- Thread starter MtnDewMan
- Start date
Help Support Reef Aquarium & Tank Building Forum:
fishermann
Well-known member
Hey Kevin and James What is your opions on covering the edges and tops of the euro bracing? I was thinking of that heater duct aluminum tape which would also reflect the light away so should help keep the area its on cool, I don't know if corrision would be an issue, I guess keeping it wiped off would be easy enough.
How about this paint we use to paint the inside of the RC race car bodies, it supposedly bites into the surface. The bodies are made I believe of lexan. You could use white. Any thoughts?
How about this paint we use to paint the inside of the RC race car bodies, it supposedly bites into the surface. The bodies are made I believe of lexan. You could use white. Any thoughts?
Tom asked me to show a shot of the patch and how it crazed for those of you who are asking what that may look like....
That must be an IAP tank...? May want to go with CFI or someone else next time around..Best of luck with the patch..I'd start shopping for a new tank and get that one ready for the trash....Tom has a good idea about the clamps and some 16, but thats only going to hold for so long....Best of luck!!
No worries and I am not about to bash any manufacturer. My tank has done well for me.
I have a replacement tank on order already, should get it in January.
I have a replacement tank on order already, should get it in January.
kevinpo
Expert
Hi John,
I don't know but it would make a good experiment if you left a portion exposed and covered the rest.
Regards,
Kevin
Acrylics
Member
Hi Kevin,
I put a call into Polycast this AM just to verify my thoughts on the subject. The answer was that went along with their spec sheet; since acrylic does not transmit UVA or UVB, it would not travel to affect joint strength.
My opinion on your experience would be more in line with heat cycles rather than UV. Lets say your tank is 1" acrylic. When the HID lighting is close to the material and goes on, it will heat up the surface of the acrylic, since acrylic is a good insulator - the inside of the material does not warm up the material nearly as quick, there is a lag time so to speak. You would thus have a temperature differential between the surface (expanding) and subsurface (expanding but not nearly as fast) of the material. On light shut down, the reverse would be true, the surface would cool down faster than the subsurface. Since the surface would be contracting during this, the surface could crack/craze. Fluorescent lighting is not nearly the single point heat source that HID lighting is and would not create the same conditions which is why it doesn't happen. Acrylic expansion and contraction is usually measured in 20deg increments so a 20deg differential should have the ecffect noted above. Again, JMO
But this is a reason we recommend to not use HID lighting in close proximity to acrylic and certainly not directly on acrylic. As you know, the working temp for most acrylic is 170-190F but would recommend that material temps never reach above 130-140F(max) under load.
As far as flame polishing of acrylic, I discourage the practice entirely on pressure vessels and simply will not do it on tanks using material thicker than 1/2". There is usually no point in it on the top and access cutouts as the tanks are usually covered with a canopy anyway and a safer alternatives are available. Furthermore, there is the tendancy to craze if repair work ever has to be done as shown in the above pic.
With regard to fiber optic light tube effect, there are acrylics specifically designed to transmit UV light called UVT (UV transmitting) acrylic used mainly in lab and tanning bed applications but most commecial acrylic does not fall into this category and I don't think it would matter if the material was under load or not - UVA & AVB (<380nm) are not transmitted.
John,
You could try it, most paints do stick very well to acrylic though I wouldn't do it at all on anything that has been flame polished as many paints have solvents in them which could cause crazing - the thing you are trying to avoid. There are also many adhesives which contain solvents so tape *may* too have the same effect. My recommendation to flatten edge would be to simply take some 320-400 grit sandpaper to the edge until the matte finished is obtained if this is a concern.
James
I put a call into Polycast this AM just to verify my thoughts on the subject. The answer was that went along with their spec sheet; since acrylic does not transmit UVA or UVB, it would not travel to affect joint strength.
My opinion on your experience would be more in line with heat cycles rather than UV. Lets say your tank is 1" acrylic. When the HID lighting is close to the material and goes on, it will heat up the surface of the acrylic, since acrylic is a good insulator - the inside of the material does not warm up the material nearly as quick, there is a lag time so to speak. You would thus have a temperature differential between the surface (expanding) and subsurface (expanding but not nearly as fast) of the material. On light shut down, the reverse would be true, the surface would cool down faster than the subsurface. Since the surface would be contracting during this, the surface could crack/craze. Fluorescent lighting is not nearly the single point heat source that HID lighting is and would not create the same conditions which is why it doesn't happen. Acrylic expansion and contraction is usually measured in 20deg increments so a 20deg differential should have the ecffect noted above. Again, JMO
But this is a reason we recommend to not use HID lighting in close proximity to acrylic and certainly not directly on acrylic. As you know, the working temp for most acrylic is 170-190F but would recommend that material temps never reach above 130-140F(max) under load.As far as flame polishing of acrylic, I discourage the practice entirely on pressure vessels and simply will not do it on tanks using material thicker than 1/2". There is usually no point in it on the top and access cutouts as the tanks are usually covered with a canopy anyway and a safer alternatives are available. Furthermore, there is the tendancy to craze if repair work ever has to be done as shown in the above pic.
With regard to fiber optic light tube effect, there are acrylics specifically designed to transmit UV light called UVT (UV transmitting) acrylic used mainly in lab and tanning bed applications but most commecial acrylic does not fall into this category and I don't think it would matter if the material was under load or not - UVA & AVB (<380nm) are not transmitted.
John,
You could try it, most paints do stick very well to acrylic though I wouldn't do it at all on anything that has been flame polished as many paints have solvents in them which could cause crazing - the thing you are trying to avoid. There are also many adhesives which contain solvents so tape *may* too have the same effect. My recommendation to flatten edge would be to simply take some 320-400 grit sandpaper to the edge until the matte finished is obtained if this is a concern.
James
FYI ...
My new tank arrived today Will post pictures over the weekend. I don't plan on making the changeover until January though, too much going on until then ... well even during January, but will find some time in January to switch it out ...
My new tank arrived today
Will post pictures over the weekend. I don't plan on making the changeover until January though, too much going on until then ... well even during January, but will find some time in January to switch it out ...
Krish
RF STAFF
Sorry if I missed something Chuck, but what size did you end up getting? Was it the 90 gal or just a replacement 75?
I stuck with the 75 gallon replacement
Krish
RF STAFF
Cool...Thanks Chuck.
Boomer
Well-known member
Hi Jim.....WELCOME to RF
Glad to see you here. Missed you in all this time. You need to quite hidding :lol:
Glad to see you here. Missed you in all this time. You need to quite hidding :lol:
