Acrylic Rods

[crussett]

I'm working on doing the scaping in my tank and having trouble getting the height I would like. I've seen suggestions from people online about using acrylic rods to hold things together without having to worry about rock slides. Does anyone know where I could find these locally? I called AALL Glass as their yellow pages listing says they carry plastic rods but they don't have them in stock and won't be putting in an order anytime soon. If anyone has any other suggestion for aqua scaping I'd like to hear them. I tried using some epoxy but it didn't work well at all.

Thanks

[Delphinus]

If there was an Industrial Paints and Plastics somewhat near you they'd have some. If I have no idea if they have a presence in the Interior of BC but you can check their website for a map of their franchises. http://ippnet.com/

In a pinch, fibreglass rods might work just as well as acrylic (may even be stronger) and might even be easier to find. Look for snow markers meant to mark out parking lots and driways and sidewalks and such - Canadian Tire, Princess Auto, Home Depot and other similar places should carry them.

[Tracey2]

I bought mine at a farm supply store, TSC

[cwatkins]

I got mine from IPP in Langley/Surrey. I wonder if they could mail some to you?

[apexifd]

get those plastic curtain rods...

[chandigz]

The fiberglass rods are great. Less flex and quite a bit stronger.

[whatcaneyedo]

PG Plastics here in Prince George sells several diameters of acrylic rod.

[mseepman]

i checked the Kelowna IPP on Monday and they had plenty of acrylic rod available. I'm debating using it too.

[crussett]

I think I might try to get some from IPP in Kelowna this weekend. I did consider swiping the plastic rod used for adjusting blinds and using that, but I wasn't sure how much I could trust it.

I was thinking about getting 3/8" rods. Is the idea I would just drill a 3/8" hole about an inch deep in both rocks and cut the rod to the appropriate length and stick em together? I'm trying to build two columns and then build some supports for a shelf as well.

Thanks

[TJQ]

If IPP is the one in Kelowna off Spall, they have tons of rods and acrylic scraps as well.

[crussett]

I drove to Kelowna this morning and picked up about 14 feet of 3/8" acrylic rod and a small sheet of acrylic from IPP. The rods were super cheap but the acrylic sheet on the other hand was a bit pricy. Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to build some towers. I'll post some pics of the process and the results.

Chad

[crussett]

So here is what I came up with. I had some problems with the large shelf piece as it was too heavy. I ended up having to use 5/8" PVC inserted into a piece of acrylic with a 5/8" hole drilled in it. I then glued the PVC to the acrylic sheet. Also, I drilled 5/8" holes through a heavy rock to use as the base and through all the small rocks and threaded them on until they were almost all the way to the top. I drilled a shallow 5/8" hole in the shelf and placed it on. I then used some epoxy to level the bottom rock so it would not wobble and used epoxy to steady the shelf piece.

For the small tower on the right I drilled a 3/8" hole in the bottom of the rock and placed it on a 3/8" acrylic rod connected to a piece of acrylic. I then drilled a 3/8" hole in the top of the rock and the bottom of the larger rock. I then just stuck them together using a 3/8" rod. I still need to use some epoxy to stabilize the bottom rock.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2TBhPlNwHOM/TqI5xqzXRmI/AAAAAAAAAK8/ntgcsQPcJxw/s800/Aquascape.jpg

Chad

[cyberdude47]

i have a bunch left over from when I did my build, pm me if you need some