Super glue or not?

[newsalth2o]

During sump comstruction of glass and plastic is it ok to use superglue on plastic to plastic joints then silicon over them when dry?

 

[caudill187]

I'm no expert on the subject, but I believe that there are acrylic specific adhesives that would be better? That may work better with glass than plastic.

 

[luke33]

Glass to glass is silicone, acrylic to acrylic is weld on. If you have a glass sump and use acrylic baffles and try to use silicone to bond the two they may come apart after time. Me personally i have used silicone in this situation and it worked, but it seemed like it could have busted out at any time.

 

[patent]

Is this just for something like baffles or sections, or do you absolutely positively need it to be water tight? you could use silicon for the former but you are essentially just bonding the silicon to the aquarium and then pressure fitting the acrylic in between layers of silicon. Not really the best approach, but it can work. I'd go to the hardware store and have some glass cut myself.

 

[Becca]

+1 to weld on

 

[newsalth2o]

I guess the real question is .. If you can use superglue gel on corals why not on plastics in the sump? the super glue it self , once dry, should not harm the aquaria, Correct?

 

[drainbamage]

I guess the real question is .. If you can use superglue gel on corals why not on plastics in the sump? the super glue it self , once dry, should not harm the aquaria, Correct?

in terms of being harmful to anything- you're absolutely correct.
The reason to not use superglue for construction purposes is it's not as strong of a bond as you could achieve through other ways. If you're just wanting something to hold pieces in place while you work, then sure, go for it. But you'd be better off with clamps or something- the superglue will harden and prevent you from tightening up the joins while doing your final sealing.

Hope that helps some!

 

[newsalth2o]

Got it. Im gonna try it and see how the sump holds-up. Thanks all

 

[drainbamage]

are you still planning on using silicon to bind the acrylic sheets (assuming acrylic, maybe you're using a different plastic?) Be careful, most of the time, silicon will not make a water-tight bond with acrylic- the baffles that came with my sump were siliconed in placed, and there's obvious water moving between them- so if you're planning on silicon for actually sealing the seams on your sump, definitely give it a week of water testing somewhere a leak won't matter!

 

[newsalth2o]

Been testing in the garage. Had 24 hours of water with no leaks I think it was more mechanical that accelerated the break. Had my 12 year old daughter helping me. But that's OK. She was with Dad! :angel:

 

[Reef Breeders]

Are you making the whole thing from plastic? Definitely use weld on.

 

[Jeepguy242]

superglue is way too brittle, and gets worse over time.

 

[newsalth2o]

Sump is complete and starting install. 72 hours run time and looks good

[video=youtube;A0HtPa7PFx8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0HtPa7PFx8[/video]

 

[Jeepguy242]

so did you use super glue, or silicone?

 

[newsalth2o]

Both

 

[newsalth2o]

Heres a video of the progress today mostly complete. Still need to put some life in it. Any sugestions?

[video=youtube;H7IkLuYoxyw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7IkLuYoxyw[/video]

 

[Jeepguy242]

your gonna have to clean that filter floss daily or its gonna become a nitrate factory, i would suggest taking it out completely.

 

[newsalth2o]

What should I use as a filter then? to help polish the water?

 

[Reef Breeders]

your gonna have to clean that filter floss daily or its gonna become a nitrate factory, i would suggest taking it out completely.

That is not true at all. I use a bunch of sponges and filter floss in my sump, as well as bioballs, and my nitrate level is 0. They do the same job as lr, create surface area for beneficial bacteria. Filter floss also catches debris, so just wash every month and it should be fine.

 

[Jeepguy242]

That is not true at all. I use a bunch of sponges and filter floss in my sump, as well as bioballs, and my nitrate level is 0. They do the same job as lr, create surface area for beneficial bacteria. Filter floss also catches debris, so just wash every month and it should be fine.

im not saying that the floss itself will become a nitrate factory, just the stuff it traps, i run a mesh sock in mine that i clean every other day, if not daily, and i feed heavy, if you leave the un eaten food in there it will cause problems..