Modifying DIY Acrylic sump

[tang_man_montreal]

Hey all,
One of first of many threads at this wonderful place.

I just picked up a tank (new, never seen water, see my build thread) and the previous owner threw in a sump he DIY'd.

As you can probably see from the pics, there are a few issues with it.

I find that the water level will be too high, and I don't like that there is no bubble chamber for the overflow to pipes to overflow into the filter socks.

I'd like to modify the overflow chamber (in fact all the chambers) to sit a few inches lower, and I'd like to add a bubble chamber.
However I have never worked with acrylic.

I know I can shorten the baffles with a dremel, however is there an easy way to modify and add the bubble chamber? Can I simply use silicone when or do I have to use acrylic adhesive?
While I'm at it, I will add a cover to that chamber as well to minimize noise and splashing.

Here's a closer look of the filter sock chamber. It was designed such that the overflow pipes would fall right into the socks.. For what it's worth, the sump has eurobracing as well.

Thanks!

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Silicone is a no go on acrylic. What do you mean by bubble chamber?

 

[tang_man_montreal]

By a bubble chamber i mean a chamber for the flow from the tank to arrive in, and overflow into the socks before going to the rest of the sump.

I understand that silicone should not be used on acrylic in critical areas such as the exterior walls of the sump, but would it not be ok for baffles?

 

[tang_man_montreal]

Just bumping up my thread... anyone?

 

[DiefsReef]

In my limited exp all I have read say it will work for a time but will eventually fail. What about modifying and cementing some sort of overflow box or a small ATO box to the top of the sock chamber??

 

[Twitchy]

By a bubble chamber i mean a chamber for the flow from the tank to arrive in, and overflow into the socks before going to the rest of the sump.

I understand that silicone should not be used on acrylic in critical areas such as the exterior walls of the sump, but would it not be ok for baffles?

I have used silicone to bond acrylic before, I would never use it in a application where I am trying to keep water off a floor, but baffles and such it does the trick. It is one of the worst methods for bonding acrylic to acrylic, as weld on is super easy to use and results in a chemical bond. ( I normally use it when bonding dissimilar plastics) to get a decent mechanical bond using silicone you will have to apply a surface treatment to the acrylic areas that you are bonding first. Sanding the surfaces to rough them up before bonding is most common, and flame treating the surfaces to bond can really improve the bond strength. But if weld on is an option I would recommend going that route.