50 gallon build

[avocadocrabbies]

I always planned on adding some of the smaller fake aquarium plants to my pools when I upgrade my tank and get bigger pools. As of right now they wouldn’t fit but I’ve wanted to do that for awhile!

ahh, good idea! I have some small fake plant things, just pop them in there. Also, how would you suggest cleaning them? Can't exactly boil or bake plastic like shells and wood

[PinchersAndShells]

ahh, good idea! I have some small fake plant things, just pop them in there. Also, how would you suggest cleaning them? Can't exactly boil or bake plastic like shells and wood

Hot water and vinegar if you want, just make sure to rinse all the vinegar off when you’re done.

[avocadocrabbies]

Hot water and vinegar if you want, just make sure to rinse all the vinegar off when you’re done.

thanks!

[quinnmquinn]

An update on this: I am having a very hard time water proofing the tanks. One I have been repeatedly testing finding leaks and adding silicone. The other ,which was water proof and held water for approx. 3 days just split a seam and I am starting to lose hope. If anyone knows how to best use silicone for water proofing please let me know.


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[avocadocrabbies]

An update on this: I am having a very hard time water proofing the tanks. One I have been repeatedly testing finding leaks and adding silicone. The other ,which was water proof and held water for approx. 3 days just split a seam and I am starting to lose hope. If anyone knows how to best use silicone for water proofing please let me know.


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Hi- I've never used silicone to water proof, but it sounds immensely frustrating. Honestly I would've lost hope after the first leak but I found a youtube video on waterproofing glass with silicone, I don't know if it would help at all but the link is down below All I can say is keep trying or improvise as you go! Your crabbies are going to be happy in their new tank no matter what water pool design you end up using

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhr2-T-nIUk

[aussieJJDude]

Imo, the issue sounnds more due to the fact you're trying to silicone arcylic (plexiglass) with silicone to create a watertight seam.

Silicone and plexi dont mix well, and never form a strong bond. This is due to the oils withing the plexi, as the silicone will never get a 'good grip' and the weight of the water pushing out the sides/bottom... busted seam.


If you want to glue the plexi to eachother, you need to chemically weld the seams so basically it turns into a box. You can buy the chemical used to weld the peices together, which fuses the entire structure. One commonly used brand is weld-on in the US, but there's others that do the same job.

(There's also countless of YouTube videos that show how to weld the pieces of plexi together, such as Joey King of DIY and Fishman)

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[quinnmquinn]

Imo, the issue sounnds more due to the fact you're trying to silicone arcylic (plexiglass) with silicone to create a watertight seam.

Silicone and plexi dont mix well, and never form a strong bond. This is due to the oils withing the plexi, as the silicone will never get a 'good grip' and the weight of the water pushing out the sides/bottom... busted seam.


If you want to glue the plexi to eachother, you need to chemically weld the seams so basically it turns into a box. You can buy the chemical used to weld the peices together, which fuses the entire structure. One commonly used brand is weld-on in the US, but there's others that do the same job.

(There's also countless of YouTube videos that show how to weld the pieces of plexi together, such as Joey King of DIY and Fishman)

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Thank you for this info I had no idea! I
guess that proves the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result! My dad was talking about chemical welding when I was at his shop but he said that it was expensive, is there a special type of equipment needed or just the compound?
Also will this work if the corners are not a tight fit already? The seams are quite wide.


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[quinnmquinn]

Looking at the chemical you sent we did try to use the number 3 as a sealing layer under the silicone, but the gaps were just to large. This is because it’s heat bent at the bottom 4 seams so the 4 side seams are gapped. I wonder if #4 would do the job.

[aussieJJDude]

Could try an arcylic rod on the insiding of each corner, and weld that into place? Similar if you were building a box out of wood, using the dunno, 2x2 to build the frame, and then plywood on top, drilled into the frame. (Difference being instead of drilling, your chemcially welding?)

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[quinnmquinn]

I set up the tank out of impatience. I gave up on the tanks for now but will be remaking them once quarantine is over. I instead used 2 of my extra 2.5 gallon as water tanks with egg crate as ramps. Here is the new 50 gallon:

[quinnmquinn]

I think when I’m able I will be adding two more hermit crabs for a total of 5. Do you think that’s appropriate given the new tank set up?

[aussieJJDude]

I think it could work, particularly with smaller crabs. As they grow, may be a different issue.

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[C_fiesta]

Good job on the build. IMO using the two 2.5 gallon tanks is a much safer option.