I got the best luck! glueing acrylic to glass?

[the6goat6man6]

OK, after all that has happened during this upgrade, my baffles in my sump just let go!
And the funny thing is, the "wall" I put up to keep my pump dry is the one I figured who go if any, and it's FINE.


So, how do I glue acrylic to glass? I found some GE 100% silicone sealant "for plastic sheets and other plastics", says it bonds to glass, but a water tight seal and is excellent for marine apps abovw water line.

What should I do? Some good luck would help if anyone has any to spareuke:

 

[Cwazy Clown]

I would either go buy some 'aquarium silicone' from a lfs oryou can go grainer and buy rtv 103 or 108

 

[the6goat6man6]

I don't have a grainger near me. I called NAPA and they have Black RTV?

 

[Krish]

I would either go buy some 'aquarium silicone' from a lfs oryou can go grainer and buy rtv 103 or 108

I agree with Bolun. Can't go wrong with aquarium silicone. The black RTV, I am not familiar with. You really are looking for a silicone that can be used under water that is not toxic.

 

[the6goat6man6]

Hey Krish, could this be my problem all along? I used GE I. And the baffles did not last a week of use, cured 4days. Could this kaulk be my problem with my tank?

 

[krisfal]

GE Silicone I does not stick well to acrylic (but I believe it is the safe one-critical thing is no mildew and mold inhibitors) but it can be used to put acrylic baffles in a glass sump (I have done it several times) you just have to use a good size bead of silicone on both sides of the baffle. The silicone sticks great to the glass and the edges the baffle ends up sandwiched between the two beads of silicone. I would not trust it for a water tight application, but for baffle in a sump you usually have water going over or under anyway so a little seeping through the edge would not be a big deal!

 

[the6goat6man6]

Thats the weird thing, all the baffles let go but the one section I was trying to keep water tight held? I have one section at the end I am using to keep my mag drive dry (external app).

 

[krisfal]

If the mag drive is plumbed through that baffle with rigid plumbing it is probably helping to hold that baffle in place.

 

[mcoomer]

RTV isn't a very good adhesive for adhering acrylic to glass. It sticks very well to the glass but not the acrylic. Find a Tap Plastic store and get your hands on some E-6000 or E-6100. E-6000 comes in white and black and is a fairly thin adhesive so it does run a bit and can be difficult to work with if you're working at odd angles. E-6100 is a black adhesive and doesn't slump so it sits in place while you're working with your pieces. Great stuff and it's what I used to build my coast-to-coast and overflow box. It sets up pretty quickly. Put thin bead in place to hold your work and once that's set put another thin bead in place to seal your baffles.

Mike

 

[trido]

E-6000 is by far the best way to attach acrylic to glass. Ive never had a problem with anything Ive glued together with the stuff

You can get it at your local TAP plastics or online at many places. FWIW, I just saw that Micheals might carry it on the shelf too.
Here's a link to get you started. e-6000 - Google Search

 

[eww]

E6000 glue will bond to acrylic and glass. We can get it at most hardware stores and acrylic shops around here but I'm not sure about your neck of the woods. We used it to glue our coast to coast overflow in and it's been holding fine for almost a year now. I don't believe you can use it underwater though and it will need to cure before exposing it to your aquarium's environment. GE Silicone I is aquarium safe but will not cure underwater and it will not stick to acrylic so as Kris mentioned above you need to put a heavy bead on either side of the baffle to hold it between the beads. There should not be too much pressure on baffles anyway as there is typically water on both sides and therefore would be close to equal pressure from either side unless you have a large disparity of water level between the two sides. Even then the volume of water isn't typically enough to add up to much weight or pressure difference. It sound to me like maybe you did like so many of us do and try to make it look good by using less silicone or just tried to use it like glue between the glass and acrylic and it just wasn't enough to create the dams on both sides of the acrylic panels to hold them. Been there, done that. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles my friend but I'm afraid you are going to have to drain your sump completely to fix it.

 

[eww]

Funny we are all talking about E6000 at the same time.

 

[trido]

Haha! after posting I saw that that mcoomer guy likes the stuff too.

Here, I'll give you an example of how good the stuff is.

I recently made a glass lid for my 30G. I cut two pieces at 30"x 5" one is stationary and the other I need to move to work on the tank. I cut two pieces of acrylic at 1" tall x 2" long and glued them to each end of the glass standing on edge the long way. Now that the e-6000 is cured I cannot just pull them off of the lid without fear of breaking the glass. I will have to cut them off with a razor knife. The best way I can describe the stuff is....... its like silicone and acrylic glue mixed. I love the stuff

 

[returnofsid]

No silicone will work, if it's pure silicone, such as Aquarium silicone. It'll stick to glass just fine, but not to acrylic.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Besides hardware stores, it can also be bought at any craft store such as Michaels or Joannes

 

[mcoomer]

Funny we are all talking about E6000 at the same time.

Haha! after posting I saw that that mcoomer guy likes the stuff too.

If there's anything I hate more than zombies, it's copycats. You boys go get your own good ideas.

 

[Cwazy Clown]

LOL no wonder when I used RTV to glue my AIO to the tank it wasn't 100% water tight!

 

[the6goat6man6]

I will deffinatly check that out.

I was thinking (I know thats dangerous) and this is what I am going to do, and it's not going to be pretty. I have cut all new peices of acrylic same 3/16 thickness, this time I have cut
1 1/2 in strips to place flat on glass on both sides of the baffles, as reinforcement. Think that will help?

But I will deffinatly try and find this E6000, who makes it?

 

[the6goat6man6]

Just did the Google search, thanks for the link Trido. K-mart has it, thank you everyone!

BTW, I am as starting new, this was I can leave the broken sump in place for now, then swap. Like I have luck with that anyways.

 

[the6goat6man6]

so I just got back from getting amazing E6000, it says not to use near food or water?
Did I get the right stuff?