I am planning a new sump out of a 40 breeder. I am going to use glass for all of the main baffles, but for the baffle to hold my filter socks it will be much easier to use plexi. My question is attaching the plexi to the glass. My idea is to use more silicone than normal. It will attach to the glass and and hold the plexi in by more of a physical attachment than actually fusing onto the 2 surfaces. Is this the best way? I read about someone using gorilla silicone but i wouldnt think that was reef safe.
Using plexi baffles in a glass sump
- Thread starter john08007
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mcgyvr
New member
I have had great luck with this stuff..
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-10-oz-Silicone-Cartridge-GE-55/202038071
Its sold by the acrylic sheets and is a neutral cure silicone that tends to have more "bite" that adheres to the acrylic and glass quite well.. Its working time isn't as long as regular silicone so you need to go fairly quick..
I didn't need to do "thicker than normal" beads with it but do make sure you give it proper cure time as it does release ammonia which if put into service too quick will cause problems...
7 days in general is good for it to cure properly even with some pretty thick beads..
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-10-oz-Silicone-Cartridge-GE-55/202038071
Its sold by the acrylic sheets and is a neutral cure silicone that tends to have more "bite" that adheres to the acrylic and glass quite well.. Its working time isn't as long as regular silicone so you need to go fairly quick..
I didn't need to do "thicker than normal" beads with it but do make sure you give it proper cure time as it does release ammonia which if put into service too quick will cause problems...
7 days in general is good for it to cure properly even with some pretty thick beads..
mcgyvr
New member
I'm assuming you are using this for the horizontal piece with the hole that the sock fits into..
If so you may be better off just making that part fit to the baffles (put a few strips of acrylic vertical to form edges to lock into place or whatever) but have it be removable so as to allow cleaning under it and also to avoid any problem with adhesion..
But I will tell you that I used 1/4" acrylic baffles in my entire 40b sump and secured them with what I recommended above and its held perfectly....
If so you may be better off just making that part fit to the baffles (put a few strips of acrylic vertical to form edges to lock into place or whatever) but have it be removable so as to allow cleaning under it and also to avoid any problem with adhesion..
But I will tell you that I used 1/4" acrylic baffles in my entire 40b sump and secured them with what I recommended above and its held perfectly....
What I did was let the acrylic sock holder sit on top of the first glass baffle, then I cut a strip of glass for the backside of the sock holder to sit on. That way the acrylic was supported on both sides & the silicone is basically just holding the acrylic in place, not supporting anything. It’s been that way for 4 years & is still as good as when I built it. As far as silicone, I think what mcgyver linked will hold as good or better then anything u will find
If u look close at the pic u can see that it is 2 strips of glass on the back of the sock holder. One is for the acrylic to sit on & the other is to keep the water from flowing past the socks.
If u look close at the pic u can see that it is 2 strips of glass on the back of the sock holder. One is for the acrylic to sit on & the other is to keep the water from flowing past the socks.
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This is another one I did that I did a little differently. It is the same concept with the strips of glass that the acrylic sits on. What I did differently was made the baffle that keeps the water from going past the sock taller. I stopped it 1.5” from the bottom of the tank & it kinda works like a baffle. I did it this way to help on noise with the waterfall going they the sock. It did help some, but it didn’t get really quiet until I made some sock silencers.
The other difference is I used thicker acrylic & routed out the top edge so the sock sits down into the acrylic. So the top of the ring on the sock is flush with the top of the acrylic. By doing it this way just about all the water goes thru the sock. On my first one that the ring on the sock sits on top of the acrylic, quite a bit of water goes under the ring on the sock & not they the sock. U can also do this by just doubling up the acrylic. So the bottom piece the sock sits on & the hole in the top piece is a little bigger then the ring on the sock. So it is essentially recessing the sock into the acrylic
The other difference is I used thicker acrylic & routed out the top edge so the sock sits down into the acrylic. So the top of the ring on the sock is flush with the top of the acrylic. By doing it this way just about all the water goes thru the sock. On my first one that the ring on the sock sits on top of the acrylic, quite a bit of water goes under the ring on the sock & not they the sock. U can also do this by just doubling up the acrylic. So the bottom piece the sock sits on & the hole in the top piece is a little bigger then the ring on the sock. So it is essentially recessing the sock into the acrylic
DesertReefT4r
New member
I had a 10g and 20L as sumps and used acrylic deviders in both and did not have any issues. I used All Glass Aquarium silicone in the past and it made a good bond between the 2 different materials.
mcgyvr
New member
In general as long as you are aware of the limitations/requirements in using acrylic baffles you should be just fine..
Is glass baffles in a glass sump going to be better.. for the most part absolutely yes..
These are the big 2 things to know..
1-acrylic will expand from moisture and if you make the pieces too tight you CAN crack the glass tank when it expands.. This is usually eliminated by ensuring more than a 1/8" gap between the acrylic and the glass on each side and filling that gap with silicone that can expand without putting too much force on the glass..
2-Silicone does not bond well to acrylic like it does to glass.. So you are more using the silicone to "wedge" the glass into place vs bonding well to its surfaces..
mcgyvr
New member
No myth and yes I just said that right above your post
Morning Mcgyvr - why yes, you did. Apparently I can't read, am a dork, tired, not enough coffee, or probably some combination of all
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