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Anyone ever use the suction cups on acrylic to move a large tank?


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Anyone ever use the suction cups on acrylic to move a large tank? I have only used them on glass. I am helping a friend move a 500 gal tank and want to use them. Will it work?

I think I used them to move my acrylic 325 when I first got that tank in 04. I do know that the good kind of suction cups have a little gauge on the handle that tells you the vacuum strength. If the grip is failing it will show you and you can pump the vacuum back up (down?) with the thumb button.

I moved my 300 by myself with a dolly. When I had to get a good grip, I flipped the tank over on its top so that I could grasp the edge of the eurobracing. This made it a lot easier to move and lift. I kind of feel that acrylic might be harder to move with the suction cups, just based on the fact that it probably flexes a little more and is not as smooth a surface as glass so the suction cups probably will fail a little sooner (all of this is conjecture and opinion, no real facts to base it on).

Acrylic is porous so not the best idea. How porous exactly? Dunno, but I wouldn't rely solely on suction cups if I were moving the tank, you might be ok to supplement with them but it would be good to have a few old fashion grunts holding the bottom of the tank just to be safe.

I would agree with Dan in that they are great for supplimentary help but, you really want to have the horsepower of some big guys and use the suction cups as backup. I have used them many times over the years to move both heavy sheets of acrylic and large acrylic project. The ones to use are the ones with the pump on them to keep the suction at it's highest.

I would agree with Dan in that they are great for supplimentary help but, you really want to have the horsepower of some big guys and use the suction cups as backup. I have used them many times over the years to move both heavy sheets of acrylic and large acrylic project. The ones to use are the ones with the pump on them to keep the suction at it's highest.

 

 

Sorry to hijack the thread... but do you know where these can be purchased? I want to get some for the exhibit.

 

Cheers

Mike

Sorry to hijack the thread... but do you know where these can be purchased? I want to get some for the exhibit.

 

Cheers

Mike

I've only seen them available on some industrial supply websites. They can be tricky to find. If I find my link I will post it, but if you start googling, you should be able to find them. I think most places only like to sell them to glass companies, so you might have to do some sweet talking to get them. At least that's the way it was 4 or 5 years ago.

I also seem to remember that Grainger sells them if you want to get them locally. Been a long time though since the last time I checked.

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