Can you dismantle an acrylic tank? It's a small cube with an internal sump. I'd like to remove the internal sump, the black acrylic sheet in the pic. Possible or nah? I have already removed the devider in the middle.
Question for acrylic tank gurus
- Thread starter Marz
- Start date
DiscusnAfricans
Past President
Of course you can... I just don't think you'll get it back together and know it's 100% unless you have it reglued by a professional.
I don't want the whole tank dismantled. I only want to remove the sump towards the back. I am not sure if it's a good idea to take a hammer to it 😆
FishEggs
Well-Known Member
It's definitely a risky job with the thickness of the acrylic being so close together you are chancing cracking the main side panel. it will also create a weak spot on those panels. it mostly depends on how good the welds are on that panel.
JLW
CCA Members
You cannot.
Acrylic is not glued together. The seams are not joined with an adhesive. They are welded together using a chemical welding agent. Once they're joined, they're joined.
If someone does a really bad job on them, you can often break the joint, and pop it apart, but you *should* not be able to do that. But, you'll leave a nasty scar on the acrylic surfaces.
Why do you want to take the filter out of the tank?
Acrylic is not glued together. The seams are not joined with an adhesive. They are welded together using a chemical welding agent. Once they're joined, they're joined.
If someone does a really bad job on them, you can often break the joint, and pop it apart, but you *should* not be able to do that. But, you'll leave a nasty scar on the acrylic surfaces.
Why do you want to take the filter out of the tank?
Thanks, that's what I thought too. The filter is poorly designed by Aqueon, it's really not a filter, it was just a filter cartridge and it's taking a lot of space in a small tank. I might modify it by building chambers and turn it to a small sump or cut the whole filter panel with a dremel or something similar. Cutting is still an option, right?
It's pretty solid, so yeah looks like taking it apart is not an option but cutting it should be okay.
JLW
CCA Members
Yea, if you used a cutting / cnc bit on a dremel, you'd be able to cut it away pretty easily. I don't think you'd get a wheel flush enough to be decent -- plus I always break those.
