cvermeulen;3388766; said:
Someone may have asked in the beginning but this thread is so long now! Do you have a sketch or explanation for how the seal is going to work around the acrylic? If I have this pictured correctly in my mind, you are siliconing the acrylic directly to the wood frame, and later sealing the rest of the tank with your sealer of choice, but how are you sealing that joint? Are you going to use sealer over the silicone gap and onto the edge of the acrylic? That sounds a bit iffy to me - general construction method (as I'm sure you know) is to seal the wood first and then seal the acrylic or glass to the wood. Howcome you chose to do it differently?
It's called using the correct product for multiple materials. Dow 795 bonds to both wood and acrylic, yet it stays pliable after curing. You can actually scoop this stuff out after it cures unlike regular silicone. It's what public aquariums use.
If you recall, the frame that holds the acrylic is like the front of a picture frame. The acrylic is inset with the Dow 795 not only on the front, but on the entire 2" edge as well. Hard rubber gasket pieces 6-8" and 1/4" and 3/8" shim the acrylic to keep it from squeezing out the Dow 795.
A 2x6 frame secures the acrylic in place and will have Dow 795 between it and the acrylic and a bead completely around the interior of the frame as well.
Once that is complete, the acrylic will be masked and the Blue Max elastomeric will be sprayed over the 2x6 frame and a little over the Dow 795 bead and 1/2" of the acrylic. This will be hidden by the external frame of the tank.
It was designed this way, so that if I chose to use a pond liner instead of the Blue Max, the frame would serve as a bulkhead for the liner. The frame will be screwed in place and covered with Blue Max. I'll still be able to remove it later if I choose to use a liner on top of the Blue Max. Based on necroanis' tests with Blue Max, I doubt that will be the case.
Understand now?
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