Can I silicone glass to my Acrylic Sump??

[RyanMKintz]

Can I silicone glass to my Acrylic Sump?? or do I have to get more acrylic, I am adding a baffle for my protien skimmer. And Have ton of old glass around. My LFS tells me I can but it could fail.

[Fiziksgeek]

Silicone doesnt stick to acrylic very well. Your LFS was right in this case, it may or may not work. Lots of variables..but if the flow is kept low and the water height difference is small, you have a reasonable chance of it working.

[VisionsSS]

Heres how it works:

Silicone doesn't bond to acrylic...at all really. The reason some are able to use acrylic baffles in a glass sump is the fact that if siliconed on both sides the silicone still has a good bond to the glass walls of the sump and "sandwiches" the acrylic pieces into place. This also usually works because the pressure is equalized from water being on both sides of the baffles, so there really isn't much pressure on one side trying to push the baffle out of place.

This just wont work at all the other way around (glass to acrylic).

This (link below) on the other hand might be the answer you've been looking for if you do not feel comfortable using weld on in an already built sump (very difficult to do...correctly).

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm

RyanBrucks posted this link in another thread the other day.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1397835

[Acrylics]

Just silicone strips of glass or acrylic on the walls on both sides of the baffle, will work no problem, at least IME.

HTH,
James

[sfsuphysics]

I'd just use acrylic, as it seems a lot easier getting it to fit, along with some weldon16 you should be set without needing "precision" work.

[AngeloM3]

No glass and acrylic don't bond with silicone... I found out the hard way.

[mtrull1515]

yeah i also found out the hard way that this wont work just use weld on and acrylic

[kalare]

I've built two sumps of glass tanks with acrylic panels for baffles. There's really not that much pressure going on and I don't really care if it leaks a bit do I? I've never had anything fail on me. I wouldn't do it for a tank, but for baffles, why not?!