Acrylic rods

[Anonymous]

Hey guys, the search feature is giving me fits so I can't find the thread I wanted. I know some of you have drilled LR and used acrylic rods for aquascaping to pin things together. Where do you get the rods? I'm going to redo my tank and want a more open airy less fruitstand look.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Len]

Gresham will hate my answer but I got mine at usplastics.com. Don't bother with anything less then 3/4" ... 1" preferable. 1/2" is WAY too flimsy to hold anything. I have 6' of 1/2" acrylic that I'm using as expensive poking devices now.

 

[Len]

Oh, and mcmastercarr has them too.

 

[trido]

Ive always used TAP plastics for all of my Acrylic needs. They have a nice web site but I'm sure the guys here know of a less expensive place to send you.

Here you go.... http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/search. ... chform.y=8

 

[Anonymous]

Gresham will hate my answer but I got mine at usplastics.com. Don't bother with anything less then 3/4" ... 1" preferable. 1/2" is WAY too flimsy to hold anything. I have 6' of 1/2" acrylic that I'm using as expensive poking devices now.

Thanks Len! So, which type of drill bit is best? Remember, use small words as I am power tool challenged

 

[Anonymous]

Use masonry bits, Tracy.

This is probably the thread you were thinking of: http://www.reefs.org/forums/topic32013.html

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

That's the thread Louey! Now, looking at the websites I see "cast" vs "extruded" rods-big difference in price. Which is better for my needs-the tank is only a nano so I don't have a ton of weight to worry about. I'm pulling out all the rock, pitching it (Ive got aptasia I can't get rid of) and redoing everything.

 

[Anonymous]

Extruded is all you need.

Cast is used for building aquiariums, where watertight seams are of the upmost importance.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

Cast basically mean you pour into a mold, extruded means it's squeezed through an opening.

I would probably look at fiberglass rods if you're looking to join rocks, while Len's flimsy scale sure comes into play, the with acrylic if it breaks it breaks, fiberglass on the other hand has more inherent strength to shearing stress.

 

[Anonymous]

Cast basically mean you pour into a mold, extruded means it's squeezed through an opening.

I would probably look at fiberglass rods if you're looking to join rocks, while Len's flimsy scale sure comes into play, the with acrylic if it breaks it breaks, fiberglass on the other hand has more inherent strength to shearing stress.

Tell me more
/gets a cuppa and sits down

 

[Anonymous]

The weight of the rock in a nano is not enough to worry about IMO.

Acrylic rods will be fine. And they are clear.

I can't remember now, but I think I used the smallest diameter rod. I think it was less than 1/2". Probably more like 3/8 or 1/4. It came it 6' lengths at the local Acme Plastics store. It was dirt cheap.

But I was only raising the rocks about 6" off the bottom, so there wasn't enough room for the rod to bow.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not thinking of raising the rock so much but to pin together some structures.

 

[Anonymous]

Ah, didn't know know this was for a nano, although if it's more than just trying to help with balancing, i.e. actually having stuff hang out on the side, I would go with fiberglass. I don't think it's any more of a pain, or trouble to get them either.

Basically difference is fiberglass rods have fibers inside of them that allow much more bending before they break, and even if they do break often the fibers will hold (unless there's too much weight on it), acrylic not so much, when they break they're useless. Now if you had a ready supply of acrylic rods, I'd say go for it, and just double (or triple) up on pieces that you really want to defy gravity a ton.

 

[Anonymous]

Gresham will hate my answer but I got mine at usplastics.com. Don't bother with anything less then 3/4" ... 1" preferable. 1/2" is WAY too flimsy to hold anything. I have 6' of 1/2" acrylic that I'm using as expensive poking devices now.

Nope, I use USP at times myself but not for something I can buy local like acrylic rods FWIW like Mike, IMO/IME fiberglass is better for this, and cheaper to boot

I used 3/8" on mine but I do not relay on them for full support. That is where hydraulic cement (Waterplug, Quick Plug, etc) comes into play (no curing needed).

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, learning a lot here. Gresh, can you elaborate on the cement? I haven't heard of it.

 

[Anonymous]

... Remember, use small words as I am power tool challenged

This is what I used instead of the fancy masonry bits.

Live rock is so soft that you don't need anything hard or sharp to drill a hole. But if you want a nice professional hole with uniform diameter, use a cheapest steel bit you can find.

As for the rod, I just go to a local sign store for the rod. Check your yellow page. They sell all kinds of plastics. In fact, I just scrap strips of acrylic (and other reef-safe plastics like ABS and PVC) for holding rockwork together. But, yeah, it would be more difficult to put together since the strips will have a rectangular cross section, while rod will have a circular one. One advantage is that with only one strip, the rock does not rotate (cf. with one rod).

For quick work, I use bamboo chipstick... but that is usually for temporary thing.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the feedback 8)

 

[Ben1]

When I did mine I used fiberglass mailbox things from home depot. They have a relector on one side so people can see the mail box at night. I just cut them to lenght and used what I needed. I think they were like $3 or something and 3-4' long.