Finished my stand/refugeum... it leaks like a siv :-(

[Pain Devine]

Well, I finished my stand/refugeum. It's oak, looks real nice. I made the refugeum out of acrylic... Unfortunately I tested it last night and it was leeking like crazy. So I stripped out all the cauk, pulled out all the acrylic, re-seated everything, re-sanded the edges, used up 2 more tubes of silocone... and tested it this moring... still leaks. It's like a greek tragety. Screw this, I'm making the fuge out of a 5 gallon bucket like everyone else.

 

[Enki]

That sounds really frustrating, dude. I feel for you

I know when sealing glass, you would use some sort of solvent to make sure there are no oils on the surface to interfere with the silicone adhesion, but I don't know what would NOT melt the acrylic... Rubbing alcohol? You probably did this but I did not see it mentioned. Are you using clamps of any kind to maintain pressure on the bonding silicone? That would probably help.

 

[Pain Devine]

Yea, I used mineral spirits and then I sanded the area. I didn't really put a 'lot' of pressure on the joints... It was a silly idea anyway. I spent more on the materials than it would have cost to buy a danged aquarium. ugh...

 

[dansemacabre]

I may very well be mistaken, but I thought you weren't supposed to use silicone on acrylic(?). I'd try a two-part marine grade epoxy...I was recommended PC-11, and while I've yet to glue in the baffles (I will be in about 30 minutes though), I was told it was a killer hold by a person on this forum (forgot who) and the guy at the hardware store told me he had to take a hammer to it when he used it to glue something...and the actual panel broke when he hit it, not the epoxy. Anyways, I'd try an epoxy before giving up. It's only an extra $5-10, so give it a try, and then (hopefully) you won't have wasted all that time and money on your acrylic and such. If I'm wrong about the silicone (and as I said, I very well may be) someone slap me. Hope this helps you out. Oh, and I know on the PC-11, it recommends slighty roughed up edges so it can bond easier.

 

[sumphead]

BINGO dansemacabre. Silcone doesn't stick to acrylic. Re-sand you edges and find a product called Weld-on. Weld-on #3 is liquid form and is added with a needle bottle. Weld-on #16 is gel form for rougher edges and I recommed putting it on with a fine brush. It set's almost instantly and is cured in 24 hrs. Your seals will be stronger than the acrylic itself.

 

[Pain Devine]

Oh! Well, aint I silly. Doesnt matter any more now... I tore it all out and went with a rubbermaid tote for a fuge. But at least I've learned something! Thanks all!

 

[Centurion]

yeah the weld-on actually first softens/melts the 2 pieces of acrylic, then chemically bonds, fusing it together like it was 1 piece in the first place. good stuff!