building an aquarium "balcony"

Rain_Frog · #1 (**permalink**) 10-14-2007, 06:57 PM

Guys, I have an idea for my Silurana paratropicalis (cameroon clawed frog) paludarium.

I plan on making a "shelf" above water that potted plants can sit on (and trail into the water for foliage cover).

Here's the idea:

Buy a piece of high quality acrylic and attach four acrylic pipes for "legs." Sit pots onto of the shelf. Problem, acrylic pipes are very expensive.

Or, use PVC pipes. However, I don't think Weld On will work for PVC.

I do not want to use the glass divider option. The tank is already setup, and the background would interfere even if I did start over. I have had too many problems with leakage and anaerobic conditions using the glass divider method.

roxrgneiss · #2 (**permalink**) 10-14-2007, 10:11 PM

Weld On can be used with more that acrylic. I had great success bonding acrylic to pvc in the construction of a water feature. I used Weld On with egg crate/pvc and egg crate/egg crate with good results also. Basically, the solvent melts them together. If you're curious, just bold two small test pieces togther.

Mike

Rain_Frog · #3 (**permalink**) 10-15-2007, 05:10 AM

Hi Mike,

Do you use Weld-on #16 or weld-on #4?

How strong is the bond?

roxrgneiss · #4 (**permalink**) 10-15-2007, 03:18 PM

Doug,

I used #16. The bond seems pretty strong; I applied some manual pressure to the pvc legs the next day and they didn't budge. If I had kept pushing, I may have broken them off, but I only wanted to make sure that they weren't extremely weak. After the solvent evaporates out, acrylic is all that is left. One thing that can help the bond strength is using a liberal amount and pressing the pieces together until there are no air bubbles. Beware, this stuff is no where near as viscous as silicone and not as forgiving if you bond something and want to change it an hour later. I highly recommend goggles, gloves, and a mask or respirator - the solvent can make you feel a little unwell - even outdoors with a mask and goggles. It's also hard to remove from skin after a few minutes.

Mike

Rain_Frog · #5 (**permalink**) 10-15-2007, 04:31 PM

I just read the spec sheet for Weld-On 16. Acrylic bonds at 2200 psi after a week. PVC bonds at 1700psi after a week.

Anybody know how strong 1700psi is?

roxrgneiss · #6 (**permalink**) 10-15-2007, 05:05 PM

Generally, 1,700 psi is the pounds-per-square-inch maximum that will not exceed the ultimate tensile strength of the Weld On #16 product once it has fully "cured" with pvc. Give them a call, I'll bet they can speak for their product and how these conclusions were arrived at best.

Mike