Cracked Acrylic

[nino]

so i bought a 2.5 mini-bow on ebay for 6 dollars including lots and lots of goodies. in the description, the seller stated that there was a superficial crack on the bottom and that it did not leak- i took a chance with it. but guess what... it does. could i possibly patch it up some aquarium glue on the inside and outside? with only 2.5 gallons, the pressure wouldn't be enormous on the crack and seems like it would be ok but i'm not entirely sure.

 

[WILDER]

Yes seal it, but don't add a fish for a day why it drys out.

 

[Paul_MTS]

i would suggest getting a smaller piece of acrylic to put on the inside over the crack aswell as using aome silicone on it.

most aquaruim silicones take 48hours to cure properly, just check the packet of what ever you buy.

 

[imouse]

You can use cyano acrilate (super glue to most of us) because it uses moisture to solidify and leaves no chemical residue after a good wash.



mouse

 

[nino]

a friend of mine suggested using hot glue, or the gun to melt the acrylic... what do you guys think that of that? i'm hesitant but it wouldn't cost me anything atleast.

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. I would try sealing it... but don't use hot glue. It won't work.

 

[randalthor]

a friend of mine suggested using hot glue, or the gun to melt the acrylic... what do you guys think that of that? i'm hesitant but it wouldn't cost me anything atleast.

Just make sure the room is ventalated

 

[imouse]

Hot glue will fill the gap when hot, but it contracts when it cools and doesn't reach a high enough temp to create a true meld with the acrylic.
If you try to melt the acrylic, you will need to get an even high heat throughout the length and depth of the crack. The problem here is that acrylic reacts by drawing away from the heat source and widening the gap further.
How big is the crack?


mouse

 

[nino]

Hot glue will fill the gap when hot, but it contracts when it cools and doesn't reach a high enough temp to create a true meld with the acrylic.
If you try to melt the acrylic, you will need to get an even high heat throughout the length and depth of the crack. The problem here is that acrylic reacts by drawing away from the heat source and widening the gap further.
How big is the crack?


mouse

about an inch long.

 

[Lynden]

Hot glue is simply a polyeurethane, so it does not truely bond. I would reccomend silicon, its the safest way to go. In my opinion, its better to spend a few pennies on a good sealer than to wake up one morning and have a giant mess and many dead fish to clean up.

P.S., BTW acrylic only breaks under an exceptional blow with a blunt instrument. Acrylic is the glass of the future!

 

[Paul_MTS]

a small tube of silicone over here is only £3.50, find a waste piece of acrylic and your done.

you can do the job properly once and spend a few quid/dollars or do it on the cheap and have to do a 2nd time.

 

[nino]

a small tube of silicone over here is only £3.50, find a waste piece of acrylic and your done.

you can do the job properly once and spend a few quid/dollars or do it on the cheap and have to do a 2nd time.

yeah i definatly am going to go ahead and get the sealant tomorrow. so where exactly would i find a piece of waste acrylic? i don't have any lying around the house since i live at university.

 

[Paul_MTS]

go to the workshop part of the uni, they must use and have litle bits knocking around. if not use any thick bit of plastic, like a icecream tub.