600 gallon acrylic tear down and rebuild or roll the dice?

[bluehand]

I bought this tank a few days ago and did not inspect it nearly as well as I should have due to the fact that I was exhausted after working 10 hours in the blazing sun then driving 3 hours to go pick it up. I know that I will have to put bracing back in across the top because this thing is massive. At one time there was bracing across in several places but somewhere along the line some genius decided to cut them all out so it had a wood frame holding the top together or it likely would have just blown apart. The tank is 8' x 5' x 2' . With the stress on the joints from being moved a few times without being properly braced and also all the seems had been smeared with silicone like a child applied it gives me concerns.

So my question is, do I roll the dice and hope for the best after bracing the top?
Do I try to reweld the joints as is? Or do I cut the thing completely apart a start over?

 

[deeda]

B bluehand While you are waiting for a response, how thick are the sides and bottom of the tank?

wednesday13 is the go to guy for questions on fixing acrylic tanks.

 

[puffers4puffers]

IMHO
If it’s going in your house....scrap and purchase a new tank with full warranty!
But if it’s in an auxiliary building....
I’d add the bracing and water test
Then go from there

 

[wednesday13]

IMHO
If it’s going in your house....scrap and purchase a new tank with full warranty!
But if it’s in an auxiliary building....
I’d add the bracing and water test
Then go from there

New tanks can fail just the same…. Things happen during construction and shipping that can lead to seam failure pretty quickly. I never had the luxury of affording myself a new factory made tank and others may not either. Theres always lots of options and solutions when fixing/working with acrylic. No need to scrap this tank. Ive put back together much much worse.

 

[wednesday13]

I bought this tank a few days ago and did not inspect it nearly as well as I should have due to the fact that I was exhausted after working 10 hours in the blazing sun then driving 3 hours to go pick it up. I know that I will have to put bracing back in across the top because this thing is massive. At one time there was bracing across in several places but somewhere along the line some genius decided to cut them all out so it had a wood frame holding the top together or it likely would have just blown apart. The tank is 8' x 5' x 2' . With the stress on the joints from being moved a few times without being properly braced and also all the seems had been smeared with silicone like a child applied it gives me concerns.

So my question is, do I roll the dice and hope for the best after bracing the top?
Do I try to reweld the joints as is? Or do I cut the thing completely apart a start over?

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No need to cut it apart… looks like a pretty good starting point if u ask me. Id estimate $200-300 in material to repair it properly and make it “new” again. Well worth it IMO…

Try and get some pics of the seams for me to look at. It probably just needs some weld on 40 poured in the corners/seams to refurb/re inforce them. You can also go the route of using solvent and adding in square rod to the seams.

The top is a pretty easy fix as well. Can use acrylic bracing, steel frame, aluminum or even a wood frame. As long as its supported its not going anywhere. Looks to be between 24-30” tall. Thats not that much pressure to hold back despite the large footprint.

Id cut that overflow out but thats just my own preference. Will be easier to work on that back seam if it needs adressed also without the box in there.

1st step is remove any of the silicone in there. Clean with denatured alcohol or nail polish remover without acetone. Most definitely do not use acetone or any solvents for cleaning the silicone residue. Razor blade and sand paper will be all u need. U can buff out any sand paper marks fairly easily. Silicone does not stick well to acrylic. A putty knife or plastic scraper should make quick work of it. Once u get the tank all stripped and cleaned you can start inspecting all the seams and see what u need to do to it.

i can make out 1 outer patch from the pics. No biggie there either. You can still reinforce from the inside with #40 or solvent and rod. Ive done outer patches like that as a last resort and they actually work well.

Nice pickup really if u got it for a good price. Ive worked on and with far worse starting points. Acrylic can always be fixed.

 

[bluehand]

I absolutely agree with you on the overflow. I already removed it, it was actually two overflow boxes that had been poorly glued together. Thank you so much for the advice and help, till now I have not had much experience with acrylic but I figured it was well worth $700 especially when most of the plumbing including all the bulkheads were included, also 2 Jebao return pumps and 4 36" Fluval led lights that is all in good shape. Oh yea plus the two sump tanks.

Here are a couple of the seams but I'll get some better pics when i get this mess of a seal job cleaned off

 

[bluehand]

Also I have a couple pieces of acrylic that are 1 1/4" thick that maybe I could cut rods for the corners? Not sure what the preferred method of cutting acrylic that thick is though

 

[bluehand]

Also I have a couple pieces of acrylic that are 1 1/4" thick that maybe I could cut rods for the corners? Not sure what the preferred method of cutting acrylic that thick is though

Pieces that I have available to work with.
They are only like 30" x 40" but I would assume they will be ok to make rods from?

 

[phreeflow]

Isn’t the outer brace around the perimeter considered a eurobrace?

 

[bluehand]

Isn’t the outer brace around the perimeter considered a eurobrace?

I believe so but with the footprint being as it is and the acrylic being only 3/4" on the sides I think it would definitely bow out on the long sides without being braced across the top.