noodlesuk
Member
I have been following recent threads with mini/Pico tanks, always on the lookout for a new project, so thought I'd try and build a small acrylic tank for plants only. I'm lucky enough to have access to a laser cutter, so designed up a 140mm cube design, with integral back sponge filter. Top will likely be a simple sheet, with integral white LEDs, again, USB powered. A small USB pump will pull water in through the baffle, up through the sponge and out at the top. Might need some sort of spray bar, depending on the pump output and play about with the inlet to get the flow correct.
Using Tensol 12 to weld the sides together. As the tank is so small, a large toolmakers angle plate was really useful for holding the sides perpendicular to the base, a strong magnet on the inside, kept it all flush. Lots of videos on YouTube show the Acrylic adhesive being 'wicked' into the joint, via capillary action, giving a crystal clear joint with no bead. I found the Tensol 12 to be too viscous for this, it appears to have some gap filling properties, so had to apply it rather a bit like silicone in a bead. Not the nice clear finish I was looking for, but will be ok for a first off. I also found the lasercut edges of the cut parts had too much of an angle on the edge, to bond without finishing. The filling properties of the Tensol, wasn't quite enough. Lasercut parts always have a small angle on the cut (~5Deg, assuming this is due to refraction) which I removed using wet and dry and a flat offcut of Acrylic. The baffle face was also finished with wet and dry, to give a matte texture, think this looks better than the usual gloss face finish.
Next step is to finish off all the bonding, fit and bond the baffle, then fit and test out the pump.
Using Tensol 12 to weld the sides together. As the tank is so small, a large toolmakers angle plate was really useful for holding the sides perpendicular to the base, a strong magnet on the inside, kept it all flush. Lots of videos on YouTube show the Acrylic adhesive being 'wicked' into the joint, via capillary action, giving a crystal clear joint with no bead. I found the Tensol 12 to be too viscous for this, it appears to have some gap filling properties, so had to apply it rather a bit like silicone in a bead. Not the nice clear finish I was looking for, but will be ok for a first off. I also found the lasercut edges of the cut parts had too much of an angle on the edge, to bond without finishing. The filling properties of the Tensol, wasn't quite enough. Lasercut parts always have a small angle on the cut (~5Deg, assuming this is due to refraction) which I removed using wet and dry and a flat offcut of Acrylic. The baffle face was also finished with wet and dry, to give a matte texture, think this looks better than the usual gloss face finish.
Next step is to finish off all the bonding, fit and bond the baffle, then fit and test out the pump.
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