External glass overflow silicone issue

[johnaggy]

Hi folks. Need some help figuring this out.

I would like to build a tank with an overflow weir, spilling water into an external overflow box. Tank will be made out of glass, not acrylic. Therefore overflow box needs to be siliconed to the back of the tank.

My problem is this: apparently, glass doesn't come in a full 100% black tint, which I was planning to use to hide everything back there, including the silicone binding the overflow box to the back pane.

So what options do I have to stick the overflow box to the back of the tank and still hide everything from being seen from the front?

What i cannot do:

- I cannot paint around the silicone because a) I can't paint inside the overflow box itself and b) even if so, the silicone will show through the front...an unsightly differently-shaded straight line.
- I cannot paint first then silicone over, because that has practically zero strength.
- I cannot add an internal acrylic sheet to hide the back glass as this will most definitely detach over time, becoming both unsightly and a dirt problem.
- I cannot instead of overflow weir do bulkhead holes and "sandwich" an acrylic box to the back glass with the bulkheads themselves, thereby being able to paint the back since no silicone adhesion is required...because the point is trying to have this overflow weir system. :)

Any ideas, or pointers to someone who has done this already?

Thanks!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

@BeanAnimal

 

[Kooma]

Run an external overflow with black silicone.

The back glass is covered in black vinyl except for the box area. The black silicone is up to the black vinyl. The box itself has a slide in weir I can remove to clean. The glass is notched at the top to allow water flow.

If I look for it I see it, but honestly it’s not a problem or unsightly. I’ll add some photos tonight.

You could vinyl the back and have the overflow linked with bulkheads, or an internal box to external piping like some of those overflow boxes are. That’s probably the best option for appearance.

 

[BeanAnimal]

As mentioned above The black silicone will help.

Tinted glass or glass with external black vinyl will lessen the visibility.

Another option is a 3D printed plate with a lip to hang it on the overflow. You may want to add slots to it as well, depending on livestock and overflow size.

I am not where I can post photos, but that is somewhat how my coast to coast overflow blends in.

 

[johnaggy]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I'm not sure I understand...I can vinyl or paint the areas outside the box, but then wouldn't that leave a square patch where the "inside" area of the overflow box is, with the pipes and all?

Or am I missing something? I don't think I can vinyl/paint on the inside area (on the back face of the back glass, but within the external overflow box, where the water flows), right?

 

[Freenow54]

Hi folks. Need some help figuring this out.

I would like to build a tank with an overflow weir, spilling water into an external overflow box. Tank will be made out of glass, not acrylic. Therefore overflow box needs to be siliconed to the back of the tank.

My problem is this: apparently, glass doesn't come in a full 100% black tint, which I was planning to use to hide everything back there, including the silicone binding the overflow box to the back pane.

So what options do I have to stick the overflow box to the back of the tank and still hide everything from being seen from the front?

What i cannot do:

- I cannot paint around the silicone because a) I can't paint inside the overflow box itself and b) even if so, the silicone will show through the front...an unsightly differently-shaded straight line.
- I cannot paint first then silicone over, because that has practically zero strength.
- I cannot add an internal acrylic sheet to hide the back glass as this will most definitely detach over time, becoming both unsightly and a dirt problem.
- I cannot instead of overflow weir do bulkhead holes and "sandwich" an acrylic box to the back glass with the bulkheads themselves, thereby being able to paint the back since no silicone adhesion is required...because the point is trying to have this overflow weir system. :)

Any ideas, or pointers to someone who has done this already?

Thanks!

Get an overflow that attaches by using bulkheads. Check out Modular marine. They make them so they don't overflow , and also will drill them to your specs. I don't understand why you want what you want , or how that would even be possible. however they do make black silicone . I bought some by mistake. Its the proper specs but I cannot get at it right now its all blocked in. Look on amazon