Will using silicon be strong enough to bond acrylic to glass in my sump?

Y

yoshii

Guest
I'm planning on using my old 30 gallon glass aquarium to turn into a sump for my 55, and I was wondering if using silicon to bond the acrylic baffles to the glass walls will be strong enough. I am trying to buy some Bostik Titan Bond Plus, but I've heard it's not available in the US :(
Thanks
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Me too. The last one I couldn't get out.
I actually just stared using EPDM Weather stripping to keep baffles in place.
 
bmkj02

bmkj02

Member
I never had luck. Glass baffles work better in a glass tanks as the silicone sticks better on glass not acrylic. It worked for me for a little over a year and then they started coming apart in both of my tanks. I went with glass baffles and never had a problems since.
 
jackri

jackri

Active Member
Originally Posted by bmkj02
http:///forum/post/3198426
I never had luck. Glass baffles work better in a glass tanks as the silicone sticks better on glass not acrylic. It worked for me for a little over a year and then they started coming apart in both of my tanks. I went with glass baffles and never had a problems since.
100% agree here. Silicone will not bond to acrylic -- it may hold it in place but you are not bonding it to the glass at all. Silicone bonds glass to glass and may hold acrylic in place on glass for baffles (which may work just fine). Weld-on chemically bonds acrylic to acrylic but does nothing to glass. Acrylic and glass look alike but they unfortunately don't work together very well due to their composition.
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Hmm, maybe I'll just get glass baffles to be safe, I just thought acrylic would be easier to work with :)
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Having done it as many times as I have, I have to say if done correctly, it is a strong bond.
How big is your sump?
What brand silicone did everyone use? What was the thickness of the acrylic sheet?
 
bmkj02

bmkj02

Member
Use 1/4" glass too. The ones at HD and Lowes are 1/8" I believe which is be flexible and the edges are sharp. You can always sand the edges though. I had my baffles cut at a glass shop and they sanded all the edges and corners. Cost me $43 for 8 baffles for 3 different sumps
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Originally Posted by bmkj02
http:///forum/post/3199220
Use 1/4" glass too. The ones at HD and Lowes are 1/8" I believe which is be flexible and the edges are sharp. You can always sand the edges though. I had my baffles cut at a glass shop and they sanded all the edges and corners. Cost me $43 for 8 baffles for 3 different sumps
Yeah, I was planning on going with the 1/4" :)
Wow, thats quite a good deal! I got a piece of acrylic a little while back cause I broke one of the glass panels for my cover, and it cost me like $30 just for that piece -__- So maybe glass will be cheaper :)
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
i went to the depot the other day to get a caulk tube of silicone. read every tube in the place and every singe one said not for use below water line or aquariums.
So i had to buy two of the little tubes that you sqeeze out instead. said fish safe right on the front.
make sure and let it set up for at least 24 hours if not 48 or more like it says on the package. mine is still new of course, but I piled the silicone on there about 1/2" thick on all sides i could reach and it seems really stable so far.
 
Y

yoshii

Guest
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3199901
i went to the depot the other day to get a caulk tube of silicone. read every tube in the place and every singe one said not for use below water line or aquariums.
So i had to buy two of the little tubes that you sqeeze out instead. said fish safe right on the front.
make sure and let it set up for at least 24 hours if not 48 or more like it says on the package. mine is still new of course, but I piled the silicone on there about 1/2" thick on all sides i could reach and it seems really stable so far.
Wouldn't your LFS have some that's fish safe? I know I pay a little more, but I know it's safe
 
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