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Beware 
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 Topic: Plexiglass and Silicon
Posted: May 31 2004 at 6:11pm |
I am finally building my refugia and was wondering if Plexiglass and 100% silicon calking are reef safe. Also if I put my heater in a small chamber would it affect anything? If Plexiglass is reef safe how thick does it have to be?
Edited by Beware
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Marcus
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Posted: May 31 2004 at 7:09pm |
Plexiglas (I think its basically the same as acrylic) is reef same. I think the question you are asking is, "Is anything from the Plexiglas going to leech into my tank?" The answer is no. The silicone is questionable. There are three manufacturers of silicone (Dow Corning, GE, and one other that I can't remember but its not important) and a whole bunch of companies that resell it. Personally, I buy the "Aquarium silicone" from Home Depot. I have bought Silicone I & II but have not had as good of success with them as I have had with "Aquarium silicone". I know others have used Silicone I & II without problems though. The thickness depends on the height of the tank. 1/4" should be thick enough for most sumps. But if you are building it from acrylic, then you might want to think about acrylic welding it rather than siliconing it.
Edited by Marcus
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jfinch
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Posted: May 31 2004 at 8:08pm |
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Plexiglass is acrylic and is totally reef safe. I've used GE Door and Window I in my aquariums without any problems. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about using any silicone that was 100% silicone and did not contain a fungicide. And as marcus mentions, you can't possibly go wrong with the Aquarium silicone either. But, DO NOT SILICONE ACRYLIC TO HOLD PRESSURE. The joints will likely come apart. I've used silcone and acrylic to install baffles and overflows, but never for the sides of a tank/sump. If you want to make an acrylic sump get some acrylic glue. Weld-on 3 or 4 is great. Weld-on 16 is good if your joints don't meet up perfectly. Search around here, there's some pretty good info and there's lots of people who have done it and can help. Good luck.
Edited by jfinch
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ewaldsreef
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Posted: May 31 2004 at 9:04pm |
John is right. In my experance I have found that silocone does not bond well with acrilic. I have had many a leak to back that up 
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Contact me for professional aquarium maintenance and localy grown coral frags. [URL=http://www.aquatitranquility.com][/URL]
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Beware
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Posted: May 31 2004 at 9:20pm |
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Thanks, I have had my SUMP tank in and going for about 9 months now. All I am trying to do is create baffles and what nots by sectioning my tank it is 18" tall. Anyway I am trying to get my system nearly automatic since I will be gone this summer and my parents are taking care, which is why I bought the RO unit.
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jfinch
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Posted: May 31 2004 at 10:18pm |
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Ok. Acrylic and silicone will work great for that.
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Posted: May 31 2004 at 11:32pm |
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How thick should the walls be? I already have the tank so its not holding the outside, just dividers.
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jfinch
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Posted: June 01 2004 at 6:39am |
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Dividers will not have much if any pressure against them so they can be as thin as you want. In other words, it doesn't matter, imo.
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Posted: June 01 2004 at 10:41am |
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All righty just checkin before I dump $20 into it.
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jglover
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Posted: June 02 2004 at 8:51am |
I used the cheapest acrylic I could get 1/8" I was broke at the time and it works great. I would recommend using silicone for your first time through you might want to change it in a week,(micro bubbles) so silicone will come off easily. Just remember to silicone the side of the glass that will hold the pressure, if your baffels are close together you can only silicone one side.
Also the first piece you should silicone is your baffel by your return pump, that way you can easily silicone both sides. I used the aquarium silicon from Home Depot, no problems.
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