Is plexi glass ok to use in my sump? If so how should I bond it to glass?

Plexi-glas is a trade name for acrylic ...

Silicone (true aquarium grade silicone sealant) will bond & seal to clean and dry glass.

Silicone sealant will bond, but not neccessarily seal, to clean and dry acrylic. You can achieve a seal but the slightest movement can break the seal IMO / IME.

Baffles in a sump do not need a 100% effective seal, so you can get away with silicone-attached acrylic baffles in a glass aquarium.

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In some instances, the baffles should be water tight.

For Example:
If your sump contains a refugium, you will want the baffle prior to the return pump to have a strong seal. If not, during a drain failure the return pump will pump all of the water from your sump, or at least from the partitions that are not sealed. Two problems now arise, you have a larger amount of water to clean up and the chances of your refugium dying are much higher since it will dry out.

Even if you have no refugium, a baffle prior to the retun pump is a good idea to keep the excess overflowing from happening if the drain was to fail. For this precaution, you would want it sealed tight.

Just a thought.

Well you would figure that HD would know that plexi is acrylic.. I asked if they sold it and they said no but they do sell plexi.. haha..

I am going to have a refugium in my sump.. So what will give me a strong seal? one of those bonding agents?

thanks for the help!

<figure that HD would know that plexi is acrylic.. I asked if they sold it and they said no but they do sell plexi.. haha..

Actually the HDs around me sell both Lexan and Acrylic.

From a post a while back: Acrylic is preferred for clarity and strength.

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Play Well

Mobius...I use weldon #16 or weld-on #40 if the cuts are not exactly 100% square. Wels-on #16 is the same as #5 except, IMO, easier to work with since it is a little thicker. #40 is 2 part...and is even a thicker consistancy. I have never built a sump, but I am building a calcium reactor then I am going to build a skimmer similar to the bullett line. HTH

Andy

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MY REEF

GREAT! This is what I have been looking for..I am going this weekend to get what I need to finish my sump refugium..
This stuff will bond to glass right?

To be honest I have never used it to bond anything but acrylic to acrylic. Not sure about acrylic to glass...your whole sump is not going to be acrylic? How are you making it?

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MY REEF

Since this is my 1st project with acrylic.. I though I would use my old 30 gal fish tank and partion it with acrylic..

I am not 100% sure, but I think you can just silicone the acrylic to the glass using aquarium silicone. I would do it on both sides.... since it is in your sump...you dont have to worry about leaks...I did silicone some jaco fittings in a rubbermaid 20g tub and it has no leaks in it after 8 months. HTH

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MY REEF

A glass tank with acrylic baffles shoud be fine for a sump. In fact, it's what i have now, and what I am building to go in my new stand.

When you cut the acrylic, cut it snug (no so snug that you are worried about glass breakage) and silicone the bejesus out of it. It is a sump, so you should not be worried about asthetics. Good luck.

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jImMy

"Watching fate as it flows down the path we have chose"
"...Never thought to question 'Why'?"

pAz LeNcHaNtIn... oh how i wish...

I wasn't sure it would bond, but I used aquarium sealant on my skimmer box and it is completely water tight. I have glass tanks and I built an acrylic skimmer boxes approx 5"x5"x5". I siliconed them to the glass (went over it twice on the inside only) and it has sealed very well.