afboundguy
Acan's are inedible candy
As stated what kind of glue would I use for acrylic baffles in a glass sump? I have an extra tank sitting around and wanna attempt to make it into a sump...
what kind of glue to use for acrylic baffles in glass aquarium...
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Silicone sealer.
Two major things to be aware of for this;
1- Most silicone sealers you'll find these days have anti-mold/mildew additives that are a no no for aquaria. You want 100% silicone, and you need to really go over the label and look for anything hinting at any Anti anything additives. To be safe just use "aquarium silicone" from a LFS or other retailer. Whatever you use, save yourself some aggravation and $ and just buy the calking tube, not the little tube. If you buy the little tube, you WILL run out just before your done.
2- As crazy as this sounds, acrylic material will absorb some water and expand. If the acrylic baffles are tight fitting in a glass tank, there is a chance that this expansion can crack the tank.
To avoid this, cut the baffles so they have some room for expansion. Marc ('s rocks) had a great solution for this. IIRC it's to leave a good amount of clearance on the baffle width, then add gussets on either side so they are held in place but can swell some without stressing the glass, but also not being overly weak. Personally I've gotten away with leaving about 1/8" clearance on the baffles, and taking that space up with silicone sealer. (Knock on wood)
Also, helpful hints;
-Wear rubber gloves when you do this, silicone is messy.
-If you want it to look nice, it helps a lot to use masking tape to mask off the area outside of where you want the silicone, apply the silicone, then peel off the masking tape before the silicone starts to set
-An ice cube works great for smoothing out the silicone beads. Do this before removing the masking tape.
HTH
Two major things to be aware of for this;
1- Most silicone sealers you'll find these days have anti-mold/mildew additives that are a no no for aquaria. You want 100% silicone, and you need to really go over the label and look for anything hinting at any Anti anything additives. To be safe just use "aquarium silicone" from a LFS or other retailer. Whatever you use, save yourself some aggravation and $ and just buy the calking tube, not the little tube. If you buy the little tube, you WILL run out just before your done.
2- As crazy as this sounds, acrylic material will absorb some water and expand. If the acrylic baffles are tight fitting in a glass tank, there is a chance that this expansion can crack the tank.
To avoid this, cut the baffles so they have some room for expansion. Marc ('s rocks) had a great solution for this. IIRC it's to leave a good amount of clearance on the baffle width, then add gussets on either side so they are held in place but can swell some without stressing the glass, but also not being overly weak. Personally I've gotten away with leaving about 1/8" clearance on the baffles, and taking that space up with silicone sealer. (Knock on wood)
Also, helpful hints;
-Wear rubber gloves when you do this, silicone is messy.
-If you want it to look nice, it helps a lot to use masking tape to mask off the area outside of where you want the silicone, apply the silicone, then peel off the masking tape before the silicone starts to set
-An ice cube works great for smoothing out the silicone beads. Do this before removing the masking tape.
HTH
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FWIW, I think the expansion/cracking tanks thing is pretty rare, but I know of at least one case where it seems most likely that it did crack a tank. I've put acrylic baffles in a bunch of sumps and never had a problem. As long as there is some clearance your probably OK - but I don't want it to be my advice that ends up cracking someone else's tank
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