So I'm Building Stuff Again. 150g Plus Fish Room. (2 Viewers)

[Bigfishy]

Looking good Cody!! You might have water in by Christmas!’ I like the direction this build if going!


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[Cody]

Which silicone did you end up using? I'm getting ready to build my frag tank (picking up the glass today!) and hadn't realized Grainger discontinued their silicone.

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Steve is correct. I have only ever used momentiv rtv 108 or 103 because from what I've read, it's one of the best. Flexrac has made tanks up to 30" deep and over 200 gallons with it, so I trust it. I've made small tanks with it before, but never anything big. If be nervous after I made a big tank with it, but I don't see a single reason why it wouldn't work well on a much larger tank.

 

[Cody]

Looking good Cody!! You might have water in by Christmas!’ I like the direction this build if going!


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Yeah I'm hoping within a week or two to be ready to go. Come to find out, the bottom of the tank is pvc. I have a sheet of white 1/2" pvc in the garage, but im not quite sure what to use to bond it to fix the hole. Steve said he used Weldon 10 for his tank because that's what the manufacturer recommended. I'll email them and ask to confirm.

 

[Cody]

So I looked up the data sheet and Weldon 10 has the strength of 2900 pounds per square inch juwt with 24 hours of curing. If that isn't enough strength to hold maybe 22" of water then I have much bigger issues on my hand Haha! The product should be in next week, hopefully.

 

[Reefahholic]

Steve is correct. I have only ever used momentiv rtv 108 or 103 because from what I've read, it's one of the best. Flexrac has made tanks up to 30" deep and over 200 gallons with it, so I trust it. I've made small tanks with it before, but never anything big. If be nervous after I made a big tank with it, but I don't see a single reason why it wouldn't work well on a much larger tank.

Momentive 108 = Clear
Momentive 103 = Black

With big tank builds, most companies are using 103 so that they can hide the spacers used inbetween the panels. The only adhesive I really trust for tank builds.

The only other adhesive I’d trust is SCS 1200. It’s very strong as well. Might even be better.

 

[Cody]

Momentive 108 = Clear
Momentive 103 = Black

With big tank builds, most companies are using 103 so that they can hide the spacers used inbetween the panels. The only adhesive I really trust for tank builds.

The only other adhesive I’d trust is SCS 1200. It’s very strong as well. Might even be better.

What kind of spacers are you using? I was going to look for some, but haven't had the time.

 

[Reefahholic]

What kind of spacers are you using? I was going to look for some, but haven't had the time.

I haven’t used any in a long time because It’s been quite a while since I’ve built a larger tank. Grainger carried them at one time I believe. You just needed to buy 100 little dots. Lol. They didn’t sell anything less. We’ve used silicone spacers and also zip ties on a few larger builds. Most seams are between 1/16” (1.5) to 1/8” (3mm) thick. Any thicker than 1/8” will make the seam weak IMO and I personally like 1.5mm to 2.0mm seams. Typically the thinner the gap the stronger. I have seen as thin as 1mm, but I feel like 1.5 - 2.0mm is the “sweet spot.” Sometimes the spacers are removed, and other times (with heavy panels) they are left inside to prevent too much squeeze out from the heavy panels. I’ve tried both. You can put them on the corner edges and leave them in using Momentive RTV 103 (Black) to hide them. If you wait and pull them, you’ll need to fill in the small gaps. Either way...there’s negatives on both sides. I think now days I’d prefer to leave them in if I could find the right size small enough for my taste.

Here’s an old picture of what they look like. If you go with zip ties, just get some right under 1/8”.

 

[steveb]

Momentive 108 = Clear
Momentive 103 = Black

With big tank builds, most companies are using 103 so that they can hide the spacers used inbetween the panels. The only adhesive I really trust for tank builds.

The only other adhesive I’d trust is SCS 1200. It’s very strong as well. Might even be better.

I believe it is. I believe Miracles uses SCS1200. It comes in black.

 

[Cody]

I haven’t used any in a long time because It’s been quite a while since I’ve built a larger tank. Grainger carried them at one time I believe. You just needed to buy 100 little dots. Lol. They didn’t sell anything less. We’ve used silicone spacers and also zip ties on a few larger builds. Most seams are between 1/16” (1.5) to 1/8” (3mm) thick. Any thicker than 1/8” will make the seam weak IMO and I personally like 1.5mm to 2.0mm seams. Typically the thinner the gap the stronger. I have seen as thin as 1mm, but I feel like 1.5 - 2.0mm is the “sweet spot.” Sometimes the spacers are removed, and other times (with heavy panels) they are left inside to prevent too much squeeze out from the heavy panels. I’ve tried both. You can put them on the corner edges and leave them in using Momentive RTV 103 (Black) to hide them. If you wait and pull them, you’ll need to fill in the small gaps. Either way...there’s negatives on both sides. I think now days I’d prefer to leave them in if I could find the right size small enough for my taste.

Here’s an old picture of what they look like. If you go with zip ties, just get some right under 1/8”.

I'm shocked the spacers are that wide. I'd personally just leave them in, but those might be a little too wide.

 

[Reefahholic]

I'm shocked the spacers are that wide. I'd personally just leave them in, but those might be a little too wide.

Yep, that’s why I didn’t like using spacers. I felt like they created a weak point in the seam. All you’re trying to do is make a small even gap inbetween the panels to infuse the adhesive. There’s some that are smaller, but they’re hard to find.

 

[Cody]

Yep, that’s why I didn’t like using spacers. I felt like they created a weak point in the seam. All you’re trying to do is make a small even gap inbetween the panels to infuse the adhesive. There’s some that are smaller, but they’re hard to find.

My thought was to use the silicone to make beads. Just make them larger than what you need, considering that they will compress a bit, then just leave it in the seam.

 

[Reefahholic]

My thought was to use the silicone to make beads. Just make them larger than what you need, considering that they will compress a bit, then just leave it in the seam.

Cody, maybe we can develope a small silicone mold for 2mm custom spacers.

I can’t find anything available right now. I’ll have to call a few companies to see where they’re getting them these days.

 

[Cody]

Cody, maybe we can develope a small silicone mold for 2mm custom spacers.

I can’t find anything available right now. I’ll have to call a few companies to see where they’re getting them these days.

Just get some 1/8" thick acrylic, cut a hole in it with a 1/8" thick bit, fill it with silicone, then let it dry. That comes out around 3mm, which when compressed, should make for a perfect seam.

 

[Reefahholic]

Just get some 1/8" thick acrylic, cut a hole in it with a 1/8" thick bit, fill it with silicone, then let it dry. That comes out around 3mm, which when compressed, should make for a perfect seam.

Sounds like a plan. Let’s get a patent on these things and sell them on eBay and Amazon.

 

[Cody]

Made a little progress today. Finally cleaned out the tank to get ready to glue a pic sheet down over the holes in the bottom. Still have a good amount of silicone to clean off of the top of the glass though.

Had to sand down the pvc bottom to get most of the silicone off to insure a good bond.

I used Weldon 10 that should have a strength of 3000 pounds per square inch of bonded surface. I think I'll be safe haha

 

[Cody]

Making sure the piece is flat and covers the holes

The white piece is actually a piece of sheet that I cut to size from Gregg's old tank. I took it home to break down because it's made of 1/2" acrylic and pvc sheet.

Looking good

Glued down and ready to go. This stuff is thick, smelly, and messy. Should get the job done just fine though.

 

[Reefahholic]

Cody why didn’t you just throw a few bulkheads in there with plugs?

 

[Cody]

Cody why didn’t you just throw a few bulkheads in there with plugs?

Because I don't trust them.

Edit: just to add, I don't trust them at the bottom of my tank. I would have to break down the tank entirely, rocks and sand included, just to get at the bulkhead if there were a leak. Not probable, but why even risk it when it's $10 less to just weld another piece of pvc sheet to it and be done with it

 

[Reefahholic]

Ahhh ok...we’ll quit buying eBay bulkheads sir! Bah hahah

 

[Cody]

Ahhh ok...we’ll quit buying eBay bulkheads sir! Bah hahah

Even with a nice lifeguard bulkhead, or rather two of them which means the likelihood of failure just doubled, why would I bank the well being of thousands of dollars of corals and fish, not to mention the countless hours I spend on my tanks, on a couple cheap plastic nuts? Even if they're silicone in, no thanks. Bond that hole closed with Weldon that can handle 3000 pounds per square inch and you can put that to rest. I'm thinking 10 years down the road. Not all of us change their tanks yearly