Much appreciatedSand the acrylic, (to roughen the surface to make the paint adhere), then paint with flat latex paint. Seal the paint with Polygem 1618 -- clear epoxy coating. Make sure you use flat paint or the 1618 will not adhere properly to the paint.
If you want, I can give you the name and phone number for the Polygem technical support guy.
This would totally work for the floor and back of the tank. He advised me that I could do it on the floor of my tank, unfortunately there is an ugly join on the floor of my tank and the joint of the front panel and the floor has globs of stuff...tank manufacturer figured it would be covered with substrate.
Another thing that can be done is paint the 1618 on the floor, and while it is wet, put a thin layer of sand on the 1618, when it sets up, remove any excess sand. The sand that is embedded in the 1618 is permanent and will not come off.
pacu mom
… i do like the idea of embedding the sand in the epoxy. My tank is also built in multiple pieces with glue everywhere. I think im going to try one of these ways see how it goes.Embedded sand sounds pretty nice. How’s that big tank of yours coming along?Sand the acrylic, (to roughen the surface to make the paint adhere), then paint with flat latex paint. Seal the paint with Polygem 1618 -- clear epoxy coating. Make sure you use flat paint or the 1618 will not adhere properly to the paint.
If you want, I can give you the name and phone number for the Polygem technical support guy.
This would totally work for the floor and back of the tank. He advised me that I could do it on the floor of my tank, unfortunately there is an ugly join on the floor of my tank and the joint of the front panel and the floor has globs of stuff...tank manufacturer figured it would be covered with substrate.
Another thing that can be done is paint the 1618 on the floor, and while it is wet, put a thin layer of sand on the 1618, when it sets up, remove any excess sand. The sand that is embedded in the 1618 is permanent and will not come off.
Not a terrible idea… solvent alone would provide a nice etching for an epoxy paint to stick too. It evaporates so the sand wouldn’t really stick to it. Weld on 40 would work to encase sand in a solid layer. Fumes are heinous tho and its too expensive for the job. Im hoping this poly gem epoxy is low voc/low fumes with my 2yr old in house now. Seems to be around $100-120 for what i need, not terrible. Gallon of flex seal is the same price for probably a worse decisionI've never had an acrylic tank, so this is just wondering out loud: instead of painting the acrylic with a coating of some sort and trusting that bond to work, could you not simply use a paint brush to lay on a thin coat of one of those solvent cements...Weld-On Whatever?...and then sprinkle the sand onto that? Voila! A permanent sand bed that is integral to the tank floor!
Too easy? Too good to be true? Too dumb to even bother trying? I have no idea.
Okay, I just realized that this would still be a clear bottom, but with sand stuck into it. Yuck. Can the solvent be tinted beforehand?
. I do have a nice roll of universal rocks bkg
pacu mom
was kind enough to send me yrs ago for my 3k build thats on the list of options also. Same kinda predicament tho with getting it to adhere well to the acrylic. Id need to paint/tint it black and spend further money on a quality poly silicone that might not last long. Worst case scenario i just drop the sand i have in and deal with some mirrored spots on the bottom from digging.
Let that dream die sadly lol… still have the completed metal frame in storage if i ever move. I did recently sell the acrylic windows i had for it tho. Really had/have no reason to finish it since the state siezed my fish that it was built for in 2018. Tore down half my fishroom after that nonsense. Just have a 650, 500, 450 and 230 running now. Far cry from what i used to keep
… life goes on tho.
